Contact

FAQs & O‘ahu-based Resources

​

We are completely volunteer run and rely on our volunteers to help answer our many emails we receive each week. It would be a huge help if you looked for your answer here before sending us an email. This FAQ covers questions about volunteering, visiting, donating, surrendering animals, and more.

Mahalo from The Aloha Animal Sanctuary Team!

​

 

Supporting the Sanctuary

 

How can I support the efforts of Aloha Animal Sanctuary?

Thank you so much for wanting to support our efforts! Aloha Animal Sanctuary’s work is possible due to the generosity of our volunteers and donors. There are multiple ways you can support our efforts: volunteer your time and skills, make a donation, purchase merchandise, attend a visitor or volunteer day, make purchases or use apps that will give a portion back to the Sanctuary, share about our work and the importance of showing compassion to animals, and incorporate more vegan meals and other animal-friendly practices into your routine.

 

Here are a few helpful links for donating …

​

• If you would like to make a donation, please go to our donate tab.

• If you are interested in sponsoring an animal, sign up here.

• To donate supplies and animal food, see our wish list at the bottom of this page.

• Become a recurring donor through Patreon and receive insider updates here.

• Consider visiting the on-site Sanctuary Spa for a massage, which donates 15% to the Sanctuary!

• Use the app abillion to upload your vegan product and meal reviews. For every review, you get $1 back to donate to a qualifying organization of your choice! Be sure to choose Aloha Animal Sanctuary as the recipient to make sure it goes directly to our efforts.

• To purchase Aloha Animal Sanctuary merchandise, check out our store!

​

For more about volunteering, check out these pages …

​

• To sign up for our volunteer interest list, click here.

• For a list of upcoming visitor and volunteer days, click here.

​

What does it mean to sponsor an animal?

Sponsoring an animal means making a monthly financial commitment in an amount of your choosing which will go toward the care of that animal. All monthly sponsors receive a certificate of sponsorship, 3 Sanctuary logo stickers, quarterly updates, and a portrait of the sponsored animal. Sponsors who support more than one resident or donate more than $40/month are eligible to receive a hoof print package of their sponsored resident/s!

Learn more about sponsoring an animal here.

 

And if you would prefer making a one-time donation, you can find more information about that here.

 

Does the Sanctuary need items donated?

Yes, the Sanctuary is always happy to accept donated items from our wish list. To donate supplies and animal food, see our wish list at the bottom of this page.

 

If you have an item not on our list that you think we may be able to use, please reach out to us to check and plan a time to drop it off (note: we do not have open hours, so would need to pre-arrange drop-off).

 

Where do I learn more about the animals at Aloha Animal Sanctuary?

For a complete list of the animals at Aloha Animal Sanctuary, click here and scroll down under the animal sponsorship information. If you live on Oahu or plan to visit, you can also sign up for one of our visitor days to meet the residents in person. See upcoming events here.

​

And to follow along on social media, add us on Facebook or Instagram: @alohaanimalsanctuary

 

 

Visiting & Volunteering

 

Is the Sanctuary open to visitors?

Right now, Aloha Animal Sanctuary does not have open hours for drop-by visits. If you’d like to visit, we do host regular visitor days when you can come out and visit our sanctuary. We do not offer private tours to individuals at this time. Please see our events page for upcoming visitor days and to register for them.

 

Can the Sanctuary accommodate groups wanting to visit or volunteer together?

We have limited capacity to take on group tours or volunteer/special event days, but we would love to get some more information about you so we can reach out when we do! Please email our Director of Public Relations at jessica@alohasanctuary.org, and when we have the capacity to take on group experiences, we will reach out to you!

 

You may also want to keep an eye on our visitor days and volunteer days here, in case one of those would work out for your group.

 

Do I need to register each adult and child in my group when signing up for a visitor day?

Yes! Please RSVP and register for each adult and child you will be bringing, as we have a maximum number of visitors we will allow in each tour (smaller tours = better and safer experience for all!). 

​

If I can’t make it to the visitor day I registered for, will I be able to receive a refund?

We do not offer refunds; however, 100% of your ticket cost goes directly towards the care of the animals. We thank you for your understanding and contribution.

​

What is included on a visitor day tour?

Tours will include education about the background and mission of the sanctuary, along with introductions to each of the animals who call the sanctuary home. For the animals who love their photos to be taken (yes Haku, we are looking at you...) there will be plenty of photo ops as well. 

 

However, we kindly remind all visitors that we are a sanctuary and not a petting zoo. Some animals may not want to interact with us during the tour, and we will never force them to. At Aloha Animal Sanctuary, the animals come first. 

​

What should I bring and wear for a visitor day?

We ask that you wear closed-toed shoes when coming to the sanctuary. Unfortunately, we do not allow companion animals to visit the sanctuary. We highly recommend long pants (due to mosquitoes), bringing a reusable water bottle, and bringing a rain jacket/wearing sunscreen, depending on the weather (it's Hawai'i, so you should bring both!). 

 

Masks are not required as we are outdoors the entire time, but of course you are welcome to wear them if you would like. If any of your participants have symptoms or are feeling sick, do not attend. Please be respectful of others' space during the tour - maintaining a 6ft distance from those not in your household.
 

How do I get involved with volunteering for the Sanctuary?

Thank you so much for your interest in our volunteer program! We truly appreciate our volunteers and could not do the work we do without them. 

 

If you are interested in all volunteer opportunities (one-time and long-term) with the Sanctuary, please click here to visit our volunteer page and fill out the form to be added to our volunteer interest list. 

 

If you sign up for the interest list, you will receive emails regarding new volunteer opportunities as they become available. Please also see our events page for upcoming volunteer days and to register for them.

​

Do you accept volunteers under 18?

Volunteers under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent who is fully trained for the given role. Please note that some of our volunteer tasks are not suited for young children. 

​

What kind of work do volunteers do?

There is a wide range of volunteer opportunities available at the sanctuary, depending on our current needs and your availability. Some roles will mean working directly with the animals to feed them and/or provide additional care (after extensive training). While other opportunities are available for building projects, gardening/landscaping, admin, marketing, and more!

 

Please visit our volunteer page to fill out the volunteer interest form which allows you to note what opportunities you would be most interested in.

​

Is the Sanctuary hiring?

Aloha Animal Sanctuary is a 100% volunteer-run organization, none of our staff receive compensation. If you would like to join our volunteer team, please visit our volunteer page to be added to the volunteer list.

​

 

Animal Surrender, Rescue, & Help

 

Can you take my pet or an animal I found? 

We truly appreciate your kindness to animals and desire to find a suitable home for them. We wish with all of our hearts that we could bring every animal to the sanctuary.

 

Unfortunately, we are currently limited in available space and resources, so we are often unable to accept additional animals to the sanctuary. We do our best to connect animals to resources and placements outside of the sanctuary when we cannot bring them directly to sanctuary.

​

Here are some other resources for finding rehoming help on O'ahu:

 

For Cat Rescue: 

• Cat People of Oahu | Facebook

• Catopia Hawai'i | Facebook

• Hawai'i Feline Forum

• Hawaiian Humane Society 

​

For Bird Rescue:

• Hawai'i Bird Rescue

• Hawaii Chicken Rescue

 

For Farmed Animal Rescue

• We created this facebook group to connect potential rehabbers, rescuers, and adopters with animals in need. Please note that we have no way of thoroughly screening members in this group and therefore we strongly encourage home visits first whenever rehoming an animal. Farmed Animals Rescue and Rehoming | Facebook

​

I need to find a home for a wild chicken (due to injury, landlord complaints, etc.) can you help?

Have you already joined the Facebook groups below and posted asking if anyone is interested in adopting/assisting? If not, please try reaching out there for assistance:

 

• Hawaii Chicken Rescue

• Farmed Animals Rehoming

 

There are a lot of wild chickens in my neighborhood, how do we humanely limit the population?

If you are hoping to help control the chicken population, we would recommend not feeding them as they will continue to reproduce and have more babies whenever there is an excess of food available. In addition, if you find nests of eggs you can freeze them before they become developed. Finally, learn to embrace cohabitating with nature!

 

I have witnessed animal cruelty, how do I report it?

We are always so sorry to hear about these very difficult and traumatizing situations. Witnessing animal abuse is incredibly painful, thank you for caring for animals.

 

We would recommend reporting animal cruelty to the Hawaiian Humane Society. In order to persecute, they will need adequate evidence. It is recommended that you try (safely!) taking videos, having a witness, and including everyone's names and home addresses when you file your report.

​

For more information regarding the laws around animal cruelty in Hawai'i, visit this page.

 

Again, thank you for your compassion and care for animals. These situations are so tough, and we empathize with you.