Safe in Austin

Scene — “JAMIE I NEED YOUR FACE”

“But why”

“Because that’s what the people want. Your face.”

And this is what we get my friends.
Yesterday we posted a very cute picture of Jill, begging for p*e pads because we are like… completely out.. and when you’ve got 33 dogs… that just can’t be a thing…

And then today… I realized P*E PADS WERENT EVEN SHOWING UP ON THE WISHLIST.
So no one had bought them.
And yall.
🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

So I had to go find Jamie because according to all the fancy social media people we need to post her face… and only three or four times a week… only vertical pictures/videos, less words… ya know, like the opposite of what we do.
But we can try new things.

And I finally found her.
In the hot tub.
Fully clothed.

It’s been one of those “Alexander and the no good very bad horrible day” kinda days.
Where everywhere we looked something was broken.
(The air conditioner in the house. The UTV vechile… again)
The computer charger came without an actual charging cord.
The password retrieval system did not work.
The special needs dogs are throwing up.
We’ve got volunteers out with Covid.
Rain.
So much rain.
Which means so much mud.
And did I mention we are out of p*e pads?!?

So I found Jamie.
Got some “awesome” shots of her face.
And am playing the algorithm game.

Hopefully this time Amazon will be in our favor and you people can send us p*e pads. 🤣

— Lyssa

💔Rescued only to be killed. 💔

“What do you mean it’s a “cat bed”??!
But, I love it.” ☹️

Jill was a Galveston bait dog before her rescue!
Her Momma Duchess and five other siblings were rescued from a dog fighting ring. At that point all Pitbulls in Galveston shelters were euthanized just for looking like a pitbull. But some shelter employees worked to get them out before they were put down simply because of what they looked like. Jill and her siblings were two weeks old at the time. I saw the social media post trying to get them out and it had been shared over 500 times (and this was ten years ago!). I thought for sure they had been saved but something made me call anyway!
2 1/2 hours later the kids and I pulled up to the shelter in a rented mini van and ended up bringing home 13 Pitbulls.
(We only went for 6! 🤦🏽‍♀️)

Jill has been with us her whole life, and as you can see she’s just vicious... 🙄🤔❤️

We are using this face to tell everyone that we are almost out of p*e pads and we really could use some help getting some purchased from our wishlist!






PayPal- [email protected]
Venmo-
Instagram/facebook
Check- 14601 Honeycomb Dr, Leander, TX 78641

Sitting here explaining to the big kid summer campers why this $2 donation made me cry and what I want them to learn from this. 🥺❤️

I don’t normally share this stuff but this moment felt important enough to share-
Out of the 100,000+ followers we have, we’ve had around 20ish people make a donation today. And out of all the people that follow our page there are a huge number of people that could donate $100 and it not effect them at all.

But this person.

This one person who can barely afford to give away $2…..
she chose to give it to me.
Do you have any idea how profound that is?

Thank you my friend. ❤️
Your two dollars was such a gift to my heart today! Your support means the world to us!
It costs around a thousand dollars a day to run this place and care for the animals and humans that we do. And it may be true that your $2 doesn’t dent that a whole lot, but it sure made my cup run over!! What you donated was so much more than money cause even with all the funding in the world…. I couldn’t do any of this without Hope.
Thank you for knowing exactly what my needed!
Nothing is an accident! ❤️

Donation options-
PayPal- [email protected]
Venmo-
Facebook/Instagram
Check- 14601 Honeycomb Dr, Leander, TX 78641

885 days ago.
During a public day my oxygen dropped.
It wouldn’t come back up.
I had no idea when my vision got blurry and my feet, hands and lips went numb that day how long I would be hooked up to cords relying on machines to sustain my life.

Today, as my alarm went off for the 3rd consecutive day at 4am, so exhausted and yet excited, I was hit with some irony.

The fight I’ve had to live for the last 882 days.
You see, before I came through the gates of Safe In Austin just over five years ago now, I had given up. I had no hope. I wanted out.

Then I found Safe in Austin, safety and unconditional love. I started to believe life was worth living. That maybe just maybe life wasn’t just about surviving until you get to escape.

But then my oxygen dropped and suddenly all the effort I had put in fighting to figure out how to die for so long became energy to fight to stay alive.
And honestly to do more than that.
To live.
And, really even more than that. To help other people, no matter what feel accepted, valued and worthy. For being themselves.

It’s been a rough week to be an American. With so much division and so much heartache. And as I sit making last minute plans for the final day of camp in just a few hours… I’m humbled by the heaviness of this life I live, of Safe in Austin’s role in our society.
In the lives of our visitors.

No matter what within our gates, the only rule is kindness.
No judgement.
Acceptance.
Supporting each others hearts even if we don’t all agree on beliefs.

Last night broke me. We had finished a very successful day of camp. I was watching kids try new things, older kids diffuse situations that I didn’t know they were capable of. I was proud, proud of the programs we were creating, the lives that we were changing. How far we had all come. Then it started with Jamie’s words about how we have to change everything, how social media isn’t about being real anymore, it’s about playing the algorithm game and before I knew it I was sobbing in the fetal position on the side of the pool.

I was tired.
Why does it all have to be so hard?
We had just had a magical day of camp. Everyone was working hard and having fun to provide a safe place to people who needed it.
Money is tight. Needs are SO high. The school year is about to start which means we have families who need our support in so many ways.
Vet bills.
Medication costs.
Feeding the kids and the animals that come through our gates.
It all adds up and it doesn’t stop.

Keeping those kids and the visitors away from the money stress, the wondering how it will all work out… is essential.

But what’s most important to the kids who walk through our gates?
A place to belong.
But really, a place to be.
Sometimes that’s all it takes to save a life.
I know it saved mine.
And that providing a space of that is not free, even if the love and hugs our animals share are.

It feels overwhelming, impossible even at times…. But then I remember.

I remember the me that walked through the gates five years ago. That desperately wanted to die and how I became the person of the last 885 days. Desperately fighting to survive.

Thats because of the magic of Safe in Austin.
Thats because of the support from our rescue family.
Thats because of you.
The magic you are a part of every time you like, share or comment on a post. Every time you donate.

Please keep helping us transform hopelessness and despair to magic and love. Campers are going to show up today, in just a few hours, and then again next week and the week after. We can’t keep showing up for them, I can’t keep showing up for them, without your support.

All it takes is a little bit from all of us.

I know you’ll show up.
You’re part of the magic.

We are not sponsored….. but we should be!!
We have literally tried every single one of them, and Home Chef is definitely the winner!!

Here’s the thing. Cooking and preparing dinner is one of the most stressful times of the day. We always have so many mouths and extra mouths to feed every day and finding the time to cook is nearly impossible. Our day doesn’t even end till well past midnight (for David especially cause he does midnight check ups!) and feeding all the animals AND all the humans…. It’s too much!

This guy use to say he couldn’t cook anything. But here’s the deal- He has a patent attorney with a chemistry degree! He can mix things and follow directions like a freakin champ!!
With Home Chef everything for the meals come in that meals individual pouch. Just simple grab that bag, pull up the instructions, and follow them!!
He’s cooking all the things now, and I just have to find a few minutes to eat some of it and tell hom he did a great job so he’ll do it again tomorrow!! 🤣

Just sayin!!!
Plus, it’s not like he doesn’t have lots of help!! 😂🤣

Snowballs, snow cones, and Santa in a Swimsuit!!!

☃️❄️🎅🏼See you at 6pm today! 🎅🏼❄️☃️

Christmas in July Event at Safe in Austin!
14601 Honeycomb Dr
Leander, TX 79641

Come support and learn about how Rescue animals, rescue us right back! ❤️

❄️🎅🏼What are you going to ask Santa for this Sunday?!!

“Tell me one thing you think people should know about you.”

It was the first night of Sunset Society, almost three years ago now and at the time the group of teenagers didn’t have a name. Their answers however… astonishing.

“I’ve had 12 homes.”
“I don’t have parents anymore.”
“My parents had to call the cops on me last night.”
“I just try to not want to die.”
“Sometimes when I smile.. I don’t mean it.”
“I don’t really have any friends..”
“My mom hurt me… and I’m just figuring out how much.”
“I eat alone in the bathroom at lunch.”
“I’ve never felt like I truly belonged anywhere before.”

Those answers, of those teenagers, sitting around the fire passing an old feed scoop, laid the foundation for one of our most successful programs at Safe in Austin. These kids needed this time, this space and these animals way more than I ever could have imagined. It had been a crazy idea… a way to offer my recently retired teacher heart some relationship building…

Every Monday since, rain, shine, hot, or cold, there’s been a group of teenagers gathered together. We eat dinner, we play games, learn about social norms, take care of and love on our rescue animals.

I’ve gotten to watch the at risk teens, explain to the abandoned puppies that they are part of the rescue family now.. They don’t have to be scared, they will never be alone and they will have all the time they need to learn to trust love. The “tough kid” or “loner” or “different’ labels so many of them have outside of our gates disappear on Monday evenings as I watch them grow in confidence, compassion, empathy and love.

This year the opportunities offered to these teenagers will grow as we bring in experts to teach them about everything from vet care to dog training, from basic car maintenance to cooking and balancing a checkbook, running a website, planning fundraising events and so much more. We also have weekly social emotional lessons through art therapy amongst so many other things.

We currently have openings for Sunset Society for the 2024-2025 school year, and if you know anyone grades 6-12 who could benefit from a program that will meet them where they are, teach them how to trust themselves and others, all while letting them play with animals and make friends tag them in this post, send them our application, help us find them. The program has already changed lives, mostly my own.

– Lyssa

☠️ three days old and Poisoned with diesel ☠️💔
That’s what I’m being told. All the other litter mates have passed. This little guy and I are trying so hard to beat the odds.

I was asked this week by a teenager who understands all too well the feeling of hopelessness and being horrifically hurt by people that should have loved him-
“If he’s probably just going to die, why go through all the trouble.”

Me- “Because his life, no matter how small, is worthy of being celebrated and I’m determined to show him what unconditional love feels like regardless of the amount of time we have together.”

This young man, who was working real hard to stay tough and not give away too much of himself in fear that it will end up painful like it has so many times in the past said - “So that’s what this place is all about? Showing people like me these things by showing us the animals you save?”

I smiled and said “You know you are kinda brilliant! I know your heart has been hurt too many times, but I can already tell how big it must be.”

He teared up right in front of me turned away quickly and said - “Ya. Maybe. I think this place might be a good idea.” 🥹

Welcome to the rescue family Buddy. ❤️

Our mission at its purest - unconditional love and kindness without judgement. I don’t know how long we have with this little kitten, but we will give him all we got cause his life has already shown more love and offered more healing to this young man then anyone else ever has.
“Saving lives and Healing hearts. Rescue animals rescuing children”

Your support means everything ❤️
Five Dollar Friday Donations-
PayPal- [email protected]
Venmo-
Instagram/facebook
Check- 14601 Hobeycomb Dr, Leander, TX 78641

It’s my mini-me’s birthday today!!!

I have been dreading this last year of highschool everyday for the last 17 years, and yet you make me so proud with how genuine and confident, talented and loyal you are that I Can Not Wait to support you through every step of it! You’re stunningly beautiful inside and out and I am just in awe of you everyday in every way and so so proud to be your momma!!!
Happy Birthday Beautiful!! 😘

Gates are open to the public for the next two hours!!! Come celebrate with us!!! 🌈🦄

Safe in Austin Rescue Ranch
14601 Honeycomb Dr
Leander, TX 78641

Where unconditional love and kindness is celebrated year round! We believe what makes you different makes you extraordinary!
Come meet our family, two and four legged and learn about our mission of “Rescue Animals, rescuing us right back!” ♥️🧡💛💚💙💜

Maya Angelou once said “love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

I never truly understood the importance of pride. Judging people for who they were or who they loved seemed foreign to me even before I found the gates of Safe In Austin.

But then last November Josephine, Geneva and I all got the honor of being the flower girl team in a beautiful wedding. A wedding that wouldn’t have happened without bravery. A wedding that wouldn’t have happened without an immense amount of courage. And I was full of heart bursting pride for my friends, who were willing to stand for who they are and who they love.

I spoke at their reception about their love, the true kind, the love that changes things. The love that listens. The love that shows up for each other and their people no matter what that looks like. The love that unfairly required them to lose so much, just to be who they were. We celebrated in a room full of people who we weren’t always sure would show up, but they did because friends… rescue family… our pride community needs to know people will show up for them.

It makes this years pride month and tomorrow’s pride public day all the more important to me because I was to celebrate all of the people, for who they are, and celebrate the bravery it takes to be who you are. While the gates of Safe in Austin are open and accepting year round, i know the world isn’t safe like that and that it takes strength to walk as who you are everyday. I can’t think of a better reason to throw a party than to celebrate all of you.

Come join us for rainbows and a LLAMA and rainbow unicorns tomorrow, Saturday June 22nd from 6-8pm.
~ Lyssa

Let’s rate the cuteness of this picture shall we?
Whatcha think?! Comment below!🤓

Between the two of them they have two working legs, but that doesn’t stop them from living their best lives!! they are big fans!!

Who’s coming to meet them and all the rest of our babies this Saturday- June 22nd from 6-8pm for our ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Public day?!

Can’t wait to see you there!

I forgot to post this to Facebook!!! I’m so sorry!!!

1. 🥁
2. Ta Da!!
3. It’s going to be ok Buddy! I promise!
4. “That was an ordeal”
5. “Are we there yet?”
6. Made it!!

Something’s happening….. 🤔🤗

‼️Rescue Alert!!!‼️

Any guesses?!

Also shoutout to these two cuties for being up for anything!

PS- Don’t tell my mother! She’s out of town and as soon as she sees this she’s going to call me and say “Jamie Marie….” 🤣

Can’t believe that our Pride celebration is only a week away.
Like with anything else, who you love is part of who you are, and who you are is unconditionally and completely accepted around here.

From one of the people most special to our rescue family.

“I was a member of a community that I thought loved me. But once I came out, suddenly I lost that, and it was like the people who claimed to love me wished they had never met me.
Safe in Austin welcomed me with open arms, and helped me find a new community. More than that, they provided a new example of what acceptance truly feels like and what love truly looks like. I have been healing and loved within these gates in ways I couldn’t have imagined before, without having to hide any part of what makes me who I am. I have had to spend time figuring out which pieces of who I was were masks I created to rise to conformity and please the people I let hold the power, and which pieces of me were genuinely me. Safe in Austin has walked alongside me in this journey, loving each piece of me as it fell into place.”

Next Saturday June 22nd from 6-8pm come celebrate love. It’s kind of what we are all about around here!

Two years ago yesterday one of our most significant and important families full of superhero’s found us. Their mama’s words after that first visit remind me where it all began.

“Safe in Austin is a place with no judgment, where everyone is equal, and superpowers are celebrated.

Maximus the horse that has blood sugar issues and a special diet. Just like Emilee.

Tulip the goat who has a difficult time walking. Just like Caleb does on his difficult days. Champion the cow that uses a wheelchair like Caleb will need one day. Texas the dog that sits in a special chair to prevent aspirating food, like he used to have to. A friend that wears a backpack on her back all day. Just like Caleb.

Franklin the dog with Autism. Just like Brayden.

A litter of puppies that will soon be adopted. Just like Ellie.

A whole farm full of animals that others viewed unworthy of the life that they have because of a disability or illness. Just as I was viewed unworthy of life saving brain surgery by an institution because I am stage IV. A dog who has seizures. And a cow that watches her child work harder than others to function day to day. Just like me.

Within the past few months, Caleb has realized he is different than his p*ers, and has felt defeated. Without many words even being said, Caleb learned today that his disability is actually his superpower that makes him unique in the world. I hope that when he gets his leg braces next week, when he falls trying to keep up with friends on the playground, when he is too sick to get off the couch, or struggles with learning how to read, that he will remember the animals with the same super powers as he does, that still live an extremely happy life.

I hope the others, and I, will remember the same for our situation. I heard “just like me” so much today. Our life has been a life where there is beauty in the ugly, a life worth fighting for in the middle of the pain, joy in the tears, questions with no good answers, possibility in a life people see as impossible, and hope when others saw it as hopeless. It is an absolutely exhausting journey worth traveling. Today, the first time in our life, we were in a place where every single one of us were surrounded by those who understood and have gone through exactly what each of us have gone though.

Who knew so much healing could come from holding a tortoise and going on a “rollercoaster ride” down a hill? ❤️”

The amount of life we’ve lived with this family over the last two years could fill multiple books… but what I know for sure is that they each have become a part of Safe in Austin on a level so much larger than they could have known. ❤️❤️❤️

Inside Out 2

Oh. My. Word.
I can not.

I took 26 of some of my favorite people with me and We Showed Up!! As juvenile as a bunch of adults dressing up to go to an animated movie is…. It was significant.
I feel like it was study guide. One that should be mandatory for everyone.

I mean bravo Pixar. It was beautiful. The detail and the accuracy, the subtlety but importance…. You just nailed it.

I won’t be a spoiler but there is a line - “Riley wants you Joy”,
you’ll have to see it to understand the context, but I can’t even think about it right now without instantly tearing up and my heart moving straight up into my throat.
Just beautiful.

This is my life.
Teaching emotions.
Teaching that they are valid and important. All of them. Helping people see inside themselves and others so they can find the truth. That every part of you is necessary and beautiful; and your story is a million little pieces of you that don’t define you…. It’s the way you bring it all together and share it with the world that does.

We showed up for ourselves.
We showed up for the kids and families we mentor.
We also very specifically showed up for our friends with DID. In a world that often inaccurately depicts Disassociation as scary or even dangerous, this was the exact opposite. Animated or not it was a stunning and respectful example of how important all parts of you are and how incredibly profound and beautiful the inner world can be.
I loved seeing you all celebrated in that way! ❤️

I’m going to sit around in these feels for a while and see what comes from it all.
I highly recommend you go check it out for yourself!! ❤️

Our apologies to everyone at the Dollar Tree this morning that had to wait in the line while they rang up 70 laundry baskets and 36 dinner plates One. At. A. Time. 🤦🏽‍♀️

Summer camp prep is no joke!

Thank goodness for the nice lady that said out loud “Hey, you’re the Safe in Austin rescue people”! That at least help make us look a tiny bit less crazy! 🤪

Do you know what we use these baskets and plates for with our kids??! 🧐☺️

“The world is so complicated, but the simple and life changing gift of friendship is within all of us, always!”

Frantic is our sweet boy that always has a smile on his face! He suffered a spinal injury leaving him paralyzed and deformed, and had the worst septic urinary infection that the specialist had ever seen. He had to get his back legs amputated, go through six weeks of intense medication and have his bladder suppressed. He learned how to walk all over again with his wheels (and he wins every handstand competition). He is an incredible inspirational to children that meet him that are dealing with similar issues, and an actual rockstar to the kids that also have wheels! The joy he brings by being an example of perseverance and joy are beyond anything I could have imagined.
Those moments are magical and important but I think the real gift Francis is sharing with the world is being an advocate for the differently abled.

It happens quite often that people see him with his two legs, and scars, and wraps, and wheels... and they say “That’s heartbreaking” or “I feel so bad for him”.
It gives me a chance to say- Why?? Look at his smile!! Looks at his freedom! Look how appreciative he is of this moment and your friendship! Keep that in mind when you see or meet someone new that is differently abled. I promise you, the very last thing they want is for you to feel sad and walk away. Just like Francis here... what everyone, no matter their story or abilities wants to hear is- “Hi! My name is Jamie! You are awesome! I’d love to be your friend. ❤️”

These are the moments you help make happen with your donations and wishlist purchases… the moments we can’t do without you. Let’s declare today a clear the list day! You showed up last night and I’m excited to see the wishlist items continue to get purchased so that we can continue focusing on making magic!

Find out how to play your part below!!

My heart is broken.
How do I even start a post like this?
What words do I say?
The stories aren’t mine to tell… heck I don’t even like to tell my own.

But world. I’m exhausted.
Last week we had the absolute highest need summer campers we’ve ever had.
And my teenagers leading the way… come from the hardest and scariest places you can imagine.
There were moments I wondered what the hell I was doing.
Where I doubted every single part of the mission…
But then it was magic. An absolute display of how what we do works.
For the animals and the kids.

Taking the ones that are broken, hurting, lost, scared and loving them unconditionally while they learn that they too have the magical ability to offer unconditional love right back.

I was so proud.
And then, the culture shock, of sitting around filling medicine containers brainstorming just how much we ask for money, or ask for wishlist Wednesday purchases because everyone is running low on everything.
Then there are no trash bags.
No Clorox wipes.
And well crap; the hydrocephalus dogs need more Prilosec.

So I stopped.
And I said… our rescue family shows up when we need them.
They have to.
It’s the only way we can do any of this.

This picture… it sums up what the first week of camp was about. That birdhouse in my hand… the little girl made her mom drive back to camp because it was broken and at Safe in Austin we offer unconditional love to broken things… and it makes them heal. This little girl didn’t really care about the birdhouse… she just wanted one more hug… one more moment of solitude amongst our crazy… the birdhouse was her gateway to that.

We can’t keep bringing in the largest and most intense campers ever without you.
We can’t keep saving animals without you.
Heck, we can’t keep turning down animals without you. Because that breaks our hearts.

Algorithm or no algorithm please just show up for us. Like you always do. The wishlist is packed with animal supplies, cleaning supplies and so many essentials that we just desperately need.
Middle and High school camp is next week. 30 high needs campers coming to use for a safe place anything you can do to help… is not only greatly appreciated but deeply needed.

Wishlist can be found in comments
PayPal — [email protected]
Venmo —
Checks — 14601 honeycomb, Leander Tx 78641

Thanks family.
We need you.
— lyssa