Experience Report: My Adventure at Finca Noah Begins (Patrizia)

With an oversized empty dog crate, an even larger suitcase, and a backpack, I walked through customs in Palma de Mallorca. Farah was already waiting for me. Everything was quickly loaded into the van and we were on our way to Finca Noah.

After a 45-minute drive in Farah's distinctive Mallorcan driving style, we stood before the white gate of Finca Noah. It slowly opened and I could spot a horse and a donkey on my right, and the feathered residents on my left. The drive continued until we reached the green gate, where a pack of joyfully wagging dogs was already waiting for us, longing and barking loudly.

Now I finally stood before Casa Jeannine and could hardly wait to enter this tiny house, which I had only known from photos until then. I was amazed at how much fits into such a small space. The entrance with kitchen, eating counter and a comfortable sofa, a bathroom with plenty of room for toiletries, and a small but charming bedroom that invites you to linger. The furnishings leave nothing to be desired—from dishwasher to stove, oven, air conditioning and television, everything is there. I felt extremely comfortable right away and, as an experienced camper, it was no problem for me to use the outdoor toilet outside Casa Jeannine and step out of the tiny house again before bed.

Everything was quickly put away and I was ready to help with the evening tour. But where can a volunteer jump in during the first few hours? Believe me, there's a job for everyone at Finca Noah, so I stood there among sheep, a pony and a deer, and got to work sweeping, collecting and disposing of the "droppings" with a shovel and broom. It sounds simple, but the sweeping and collecting technique must first be practiced and then perfected, because every "dropping" is meticulously collected and disposed of. Farah has eagle eyes and finds even the tiniest overlooked "dropping". It's hard to believe how much "droppings" sheep, a deer and a pony produce in one afternoon. If it were gold nuggets, everyone at Finca Noah would be rich ☺.

After the dropping tour, we headed back up to the enclosures. There, three four-legged friends were waiting happily for their evening walk. Since I'm not so familiar with dogs, I received a training session on how to safely enter a kennel, how to properly leash a dog, and how to safely exit a kennel, and off we went for a tour in the twilight.

When we returned from our walk, it was time to feed the dogs their evening meal. For this, full food bowls were placed in the enclosures and the remaining bowls were prepared for the free-roaming dogs (I call them that because they can move freely around the sanctuary). As soon as the garage door opened (the dogs have to wait there until the food bowls are distributed), the hustle and bustle began until finally every dog had found and licked clean their food bowl.

To conclude the evening tour, the food bowls were collected, washed and placed in the gravel to dry. The volunteer on-site Animal Police helpers headed home. Mike, Farah and the six free-roaming dogs went into the sanctuary and I retreated to my cozy tiny house. It became quiet on the grounds and everyone went to bed.

When Mike opens the garage door at 7:30 a.m. and six well-rested dogs begin their morning ritual, a new day starts. At 8 o'clock, everyone gathers for a brief briefing in the garage, because that's where the daily schedule is discussed and tasks are assigned. Armed with a mop, bucket, garbage bags and cleaning cloths, I now stood in the cat enclosure, which was lovingly equipped with blankets, scratching trees and loungers, various toys and of course plenty of cat litter boxes. To efficiently clean the enclosures, an experienced helper stood by my side on the first day. Just as meticulously as the collection of the "gold nuggets" in the evening, the cat litter boxes are cleaned here, cat litter is refilled, and the cat litter scattered throughout the room is swept together. You can't imagine what a mother cat and her babies can turn upside down in one night. The blankets are neatly folded and laid down again, and soiled blankets are replaced. Then the floors are mopped

wet and the food and water bowls are rinsed, dried and freshly filled. It's a true pleasure to watch the kittens playing and romping around, but there's not much time for petting, since other residents of Finca Noah are waiting for the "staff". As soon as you've finished the first enclosure, another mother cat and her babies are already waiting impatiently for their human caregiver. And once again it's: mopping, washing, refilling, folding, distributing food and petting.

Since the dogs, parrots, ducks, chickens, rabbits, peacocks, horses, donkeys, ponies, sheep, pigeons and last but not least the deer "Coco" also have their needs, their enclosures are also mopped, washed, refilled and cared for.

At Finca Noah, cleaning, tidying up, repairing and reorganizing happens all day long. Because such a paradise requires a lot of care and many helping hands. The physical work and climate change should not be underestimated—the constant bending and lifting of objects that, in my case, were definitely heavier than my pen in the office ☺, and the temperature difference from Switzerland are no joke, but definitely worth the muscle soreness and slight sunburn. When you settle down around 2:00 p.m. sweaty, dusty and dirty in Conny Land (a covered shelter on the sanctuary) for lunch, you know what you've accomplished.

The time between 2:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. is free time for the volunteers. Since I arrived without my own vehicle, I spent the time with the other Animal Police helpers. Once we sat comfortably at the table, another time we made oversized mandalas out of the many stones on the grounds in the shape of a crown or lettering until 5:30 p.m., when the evening tour was announced.

The evening round is a shortened version of the morning tour. Here we check once more to make sure there's enough food and water, the enclosures are cleaned again, and the "gold nuggets" are collected. We take the dogs for another walk until the evening feeding of my four-legged friends, whom I'd already grown fond of after just one day, is celebrated. Around 8:00 p.m., it becomes quiet again at Finca Noah and everyone gathers for one last "chat" until you fall into bed tired but happy and look forward to the next morning. Because even though mopping, washing, refilling and folding happens daily, you never know what new animal stories the next day will bring and which animal you'll lose your heart to. In my case, it was a female dog named Rubina.

For me, it was an indescribable experience far from the office routine. I had the chance to meet people who care for animal welfare every day and pour their hearts into making Finca Noah what it is: "A lottery jackpot for every animal lucky enough to live there temporarily". I take my hat off to you and would like to thank you once more from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be part of your team for 16 days.