By Glenn Rolfe

GEORGETOWN — Sara Heinicke’s maternal passion are her children — sons Gavin and Grayson, at home, and Jacob, the oldest.

Then, there are her other “babies.”

Horses, potbellied pigs, a rooster, hens, and a cat and dog combo share her small farm on Seashore Highway — home of H & W Sanctuary.

Caring for and giving unwanted animals loving homes has been a lifelong passion for the Texas native, employed as a behavior intervention specialist for the Indian River School District.

“I grew up in East Texas, way out in the middle of nowhere. I have always been an animal lover,” Ms. Heinicke said. “We had a lot of land and people would dump litters of kittens and dogs in groups. And my poor mother, a single mother — most of the time working two jobs — she had a heart as well, and I could talk her into not leaving them behind every time. So, I have been doing this since childhood. We had tons of animals growing up.”

H & W has been in the works for about a year.

“Obviously, I had to take a break when I was raising children and going to school. I have been doing it since I was a little girl,” Ms. Heinicke said. “I just missed it. And I finally finished my master’s degree in May 2021. I bought this house in June 2021 … and started.”

The sanctuary name, H & W, is taken from the last-name initials of her children and stepchildren.

“I wanted something that embraced my children’s last names,” said Ms. Heinicke. “One of the main reasons that I started this was because of my two children that have disabilities.”

Recently, she experienced both jubilation and sadness.

In June, Ms. Heinicke celebrated H & W becoming an official nonprofit rescue sanctuary. That 501(c)(3) status, coupled with an Employer Identification Number, will allow for tax-deductible donations to support H & W’s mission, which is to provide a safe, welcoming place for rescue animals to live out their lives.

But, on July 5, she lost her soul buddy, Dillinger, an aging draft horse whose final life chapter was spent in the pasture and shelter at Ms. Heinicke’s 1½-acre property.

“My old draft Dillinger got put down. He was 30-plus in age, had arthritis and it was detected he had a heart murmur,” Ms. Heinicke said. “But he was saved from slaughter. And the purpose of bringing him here was to let him live out his life and have a good life, (at the) end of life. Obviously, it wasn’t long enough for me. But I knew it wasn’t going to be 20 years.”

In addition to caring for the animals and the daily activities of life with her kids, she also has a knack for creative endeavors. She attaches handles on empty bulk animal food bags, turning would-be waste into something useable. She also dabbles in woodwork, making home décor and signs.

On the farm, her two horses are a mother, Regan, and her baby girl, Dallas. Regan unknowingly was pregnant and at slaughter when she was rescued, along with three potbellied pigs that wound up at H & W.

“Max Meadows Rescue is the one that rescued them from slaughter, and then I adopted from her,” said Ms. Heinicke.

A fourth pig involved a road trip across several state lines.

“One of the pigs, we actually drove out to Ohio to get. That was an eight-hour trip, one way. That was fun. The other three came from Max Meadows,” Ms. Heinicke said.

One of her four dogs, Broderick, is a foster. The other three are family members.

“I do fosters through Grass Roots Rescue,” said Ms. Heinicke. “But I personally am a sanctuary. So, animals that I bring to the farm outside of Grass Roots just live here.”

Her rooster and hens are not rescues.

Operating her sanctuary effort as a single mom, she is much appreciative of any assistance she receives. Her kids help with chores, and her father, who lives in Maryland, offers a helping hand, sometimes as a house-sitter.

There is also a farrier, John Whaley, who helps out, as well as Ken Montgomery, a good friend who does a lot of work with Max Meadows Rescue and was there in stressful times with her horse Dillinger.

“You learn to network in the community. I haven’t expanded too much, yet,” Ms. Heinicke said.

Recently, she joined the Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m hoping joining the Chamber of Commerce, I’ll be able to meet some people,” she said.

The bottom line is expenses for food, medicine, hay and vet bills can pile up, especially in today’s inflationary times.

It cost upward of $5,000 to fence in her property, which includes an Airbnb she rents.

Ms. Heinicke bought a pickup truck to haul the hay. “And then gas prices skyrocketed. So, it has been very financially straining lately,” she said. “But we’re making it.”

Sorella Amore, a maker of unique gifts (shopsorellaamore.com), has partnered with Ms. Heinicke with exclusive H & W tote bags. Proceeds from tote bag sales support the sanctuary.

She is hopeful her nonprofit status will encourage others to support H & W’s mission.

“It would help to care for them for the rest of their lives while they are here. The food, and a lot of rescues come with meds,” said Ms. Heinicke, noting horse medicine alone can cost $215, for one bottle. “I don’t think people understand how expensive it truly is. When I lost Dillinger, for the vet to come out … euthanization and body removal, that was almost $500.”

Ms. Heinicke’s dream is to someday expand beyond the 1½ acres. “I am limited currently on what animals or how many I can take,” she said.

And she would love for her sanctuary to be integrated in education and community service.

“I really wanted to get nonprofit. You can give donations without it but having that EIN number and being tax deductible and all, obviously that is going to be more beneficial,” Ms. Heinicke said. “Also, if there are some students who need community service for college hours, now we can offer that because we are a 501(c).”

She welcomes opportunities for students. “Especially because they don’t always get to take field trips much anymore,” she said. “This is local. It’s in the district.”

In the future, Ms. Heinicke hopes to bridge the sanctuary with her own education. She is quick to note that animals can be excellent therapy.

“I am doing my hours right now to become a behavior analyst. That is what my master’s is in. I just have to finish my hours. They changed the hours from 1,500 to 2,000, so I am lacking like 400 hours,” said Ms. Heinicke. “So, I’d be kind of doing something bridging my degree with the animals.”

“Especially with our children. Gavin is one of the children in the district that has disabilities that have behavioral deficits as a secondary. We just don’t have a lot of strong support for some of those children because they kind of don’t really fit in any one program. My 13-year-old has autism, but he also has some other deficits,” said Ms. Heinicke. “And honestly, one of the main reasons that I started this was because of my two children that have disabilities.”

H & W Sanctuary, which has a Facebook page and can be contacted via email (handwsanctuary@gmail.com), is now set up to receive communications and donations directly:

• By check, mailed to H & W Sanctuary/Sara Heinicke, 13093 Seashore Highway, Georgetown, DE 19947.

• Venmo: @Sara-Heinicke-1, Georgetown, DE, United States, Delaware.

“I started this one year ago, and I aim to help as many rescues as I can,” Ms. Heinicke said.