A rescue that didn’t start in a boardroom. it started on an Army base, with two generations who refused to leave animals behind.

Little Lotus Rescue & Sanctuary began long before we filed our nonprofit paperwork, before intakes, before adoption applications, before we built the reputation we have today.

It started simply because there were animals who needed help and
there were military families who stepped up.

From Army Base shelters to a community lifesaving mission

a veteran family who refused to leave animals behind

Before paperwork, before the 501(c)(3), before anyone knew the name “Little Lotus,” there was simply Annette, a veterinary technician and an Army wife, quietly working behind the scenes to save the animals who ended up in on-post shelters.

Her daughter, Sandy, grew up in that environment. An Army brat who understood that you take care of your community, and you don’t walk away from those who depend on you. Later, Sandy married a soldier herself, and the military roots of Little Lotus grew even deeper.

Annettes son now actively serves in the Navy.

This wasn’t a rescue born out of convenience.
This was a calling.
And it started with a veteran family who refused to leave animals behind.

Then came Sierra Vista and the mission got bigger

What began on an Army base expanded into Sierra Vista and the surrounding cities.

Soon shelters, neighbors, law enforcement, and other rescues knew that they could call LLR when the cases were complex or medically fragile.

We didn’t turn away because it was hard.
We leaned in because we were raised to.

Helping service members meant helping their pets

When soldiers PCS or deploy, pets often faced uncertainty.

Annette and Sandy:

  • found fosters

  • found homes

  • provided medical coordination

  • kept animals safe when families couldn’t

Compassion and solutions, an approach that still guides everything we do today.

Today we are still a veteran-run rescue

Our roots aren’t a footnote.
They are the foundation.

Military values show up here every single day:

  • We stay calm in emergencies.

  • We solve problems instead of pointing fingers.

  • We show up when the community needs us.

  • We do what we say we will do.

  • We fight for lives that others think aren’t worth the effort.

Because compassion without action isn’t enough.

This is who we are

And you are part of this story

Every adopter, every volunteer, every donor, every foster. You stand shoulder to shoulder with us in a mission that started as family and has grown into a lifesaving community.
And we do it all because we come from a family who refused to leave animals behind.

And that will never change.