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About Living Love

Around 2006, Animal lovers Cindy Gunter and Sandra Santee found there was a lack of care for homeless cats and dogs in the Highland Lakes area. They took in abandoned animals and cared for them, trying to find them new homes.

Then in 2013, Claire Edwards joined this cause. A few months after joining, Claire and Tom Edwards purchased the property and buildings that are Living Love today.

Living Love also serves as a sanctuary facility for those who, due to special needs or other factors may never be adopted. Here, they enjoy all the blessings of a forever home, with daily compassionate care from the volunteers, top quality medical care, and a peaceful life in their own house, gardens and runs. 

how it all began

For our three co-founders, Cindy Gunter, Sandra Santee and Claire Edwards, a facility to help them provide for their rescued animals was a dream. In the early days of their rescue efforts, 2006-2012, all of the dogs and cats were housed in their backyards.

pet pals indeed

While volunteering at Pet Pals in Marble Falls, our founders met. In 2011, Sandra Santee and Cindy Gunter, who had been housing dogs in their backyards for 3 years, met Claire Edwards. The trio founded and named Living Love Animal Rescue in 2013. Also volunteering at Pet Pals was our Director of Operations, Rosalie Brosh.

why things had to change

Claire discovered the local animal control building was not air conditioned. After financing the upgrade, she began looking at property in the area to better support the local animals. In 2014, she and Tom purchased a 9.5 acre property and made that the new home of Living Love!

making it our home

With the property purchase came many upgrades… roadwork… buildings… etc. On the 9.5 acres sits a house, which we have renovated to become a cat sanctuary house. When the property was purchased, along with it came the feral cat colony of over 50 cats and their care.

what we've done

Word got out about our new facilities through the local grapevine, and we soon became a group of dedicated volunteers. As we grew, so did the care we were able to provide and the number of animals we could help increased. Since we began, we have cared for over 3,000 local animals, and adopted out over 1,000 animals!

our future

As we continue to grow, so do our goals and dreams. Currently we are renovating to house even more animals and provide safety and care. Our community has been very supportive and we look forward to serving the needs of our local animals for a long time to come.

Saving Lives & improving Our Community Since 2009

cats & dogs cARED FOR

adoptions annually

cats at our facility now

Our Mission

Nestled in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas is a 9 acre ranch dedicated to the care, welfare and adoption of abused and abandoned dogs and cats. Our mission is to provide sanctuary, care and love to animals in need. We are 100% volunteer run, no kill, no cage dog and cat rescue.

Our Vision

We have dogs and cats available for adoption and sanctuary pets who will spend their lives with us due to their conditions. Our goal is to improve the lives of area dogs and cats through rescue, care, education and community, and to be a resource for pet owners.

We estimate that we have cared for over 3,000 cats and dogs since 2009. We have about 100 adoptions annually, which is the best part of what we do.

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IN LOVING MEMORY

Claire & Tom Edwards

In 2013, Claire and Tom Edwards purchased the property where Living Love now calls home. The seven years prior to this, these animals had been managed in the backyards of two animal lovers with huge hearts. Those two fellow animal lovers were Sandra Santee and Cindy Gunter. The property with its buildings made the cause a reality and gave LLAR a place to live and grow. Living Love has had over 1,100 adoptions since its inception – what an amazing success story! Tragically Claire and Tom have both passed away in 2020. Their spirit lives on with us and the animals at Living Love. As Claire would say “No Kill, No Cage – Just Love.” Thank you for being a supporter of Living Love Animal Rescue!