News
May 19, 2025 — Walmart Spark Good Grant Awarded
A heartfelt thank-you to the Cape Coral, FL Walmart (Facility #6941) for awarding our sanctuary a $1,000 Spark Good Local Grant. This funding supports our Sustainable Fencing & Animal Shelter Improvements project, which enhances safety, comfort, and long-term care for elderly and special-needs animals. We truly appreciate Walmart’s support in helping us build a more secure future for our residents.
Walmart’s Spark Good Local Grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where Walmart operates. Each year, Walmart U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Distribution Centers award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000 to support local nonprofit organizations. To learn more about Walmart’s philanthropic efforts, visit www.walmart.org.
On Sunday, May 18, 2025, Little Bear Sanctuary’s Founder Chris Vane and Co-Founder Randy Sellers attended the 15th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival to view a special screening of Friends Not Food, a comedy sitcom filmed on location at the sanctuary. Friends Not Food was part of the Environmental Shorts lineup shown at 3 PM on Sunday, alongside Blue, Urgent Sea, and Yellowstone Voices.
Friends Not Food offers a humorous and heartfelt look into sanctuary life, promoting compassion for all animals. The show was among the diverse lineup of narratives, documentaries, and shorts presented at this year’s festival.
Learn more about the show on our Friends Not Food page or view it on IMDb. For more information about the festival, visit the Fort Myers Film Festival website.
March 22, 2025 — Walmart Spark Good Grant Awarded
We’re honored to have received a $1,000 Walmart Spark Good Local Grant from the Punta Gorda, FL Walmart (Facility #778). This award supports our Sustainable Nutrition for Sanctuary Animals initiative, which ensures our rescued animals receive the high-quality, species-appropriate diets they need to thrive. We’re grateful for Walmart’s continued investment in local communities and animal welfare.
Walmart’s Spark Good Local Grants are designed to address the unique needs of the communities where Walmart operates. Each year, Walmart U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Distribution Centers award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000 to support local nonprofit organizations. To learn more about Walmart’s philanthropic efforts, visit www.walmart.org.
Happy Friday amazing supporters! It’s a big day for Little Bear Sanctuary! Today we officially celebrate our 5th anniversary, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to unveil our upgraded website at https://littlebearsanctuary.
I’m so proud of the way it turned out.
Our new website offers user-friendly browsing, news, events, and an improved user experience.
What does this mean for you? You can easily make donations as you’ve always done. We will send separate instructions to our monthly donors on how to change to the new system. (Don’t worry, It’s easy, and no rush).
If you’re not yet a monthly supporter, you can become one for only $5 a month. Check out how your, $5 a month helps! Here’s the direct link to sign up: Donate the cost of a cup of coffee per month – $5/Month
Please look around and let us know what you think. We love to hear from you.
Thank you to all our supporters who have helped us grow over the past five years. As a public nonprofit, we solely rely on donations to continue our work.
We are looking forward to the next five years!
Christopher Vane
Executive Director
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. July 12, 2022 – Here we “goat” again! Catskill Animal Sanctuary (CAS), one of the world’s leading sanctuaries for farmed animals — is pleased to announce that it will host the third annual Goat Games. From August 12-15, CAS will be joined by 13 additional farmed animal sanctuaries located throughout the U.S. that will rally the support of animal lovers nationwide in support of their life-saving work. To register or make a donation, visit thegoatgames.org.
In 2017, Chris Vane took a chance on a long-time dream and purchased a 30-acre property in Southwest Florida. This was no ordinary home purchase, though. Chris wanted to create a safe space for abandoned and abused animals to live out the rest of their lives in peace, free of cages. With the support of community members and total strangers alike, Chris has been able to love and care for over 150 different animals at his sanctuary over the years—and he has big plans to help countless more.
Step out into Christopher Vane’s backyard and you’ll quickly learn that the Punta Gorda man has a whole lot of pets.
“We have over 150 farm animals, 74 pigs … these animals have come from hoarding, situations, neglect, abuse,” Vane said.
Chris Vane lost focus as he sat in the crowd at a real estate seminar. It was 2015. He was more than a decade into a second career. As the speaker offered up million-dollar ideas, Vane’s mind was a million miles away.
Christopher Vane opened Florida’s Little Bear Sanctuary in honor of his late mother, who taught him compassion. He’s saved more than 150 farm animals.
CHARLOTTE COUNTY — You might recognize this local man, after being recently named GoFundMe’s Hero of the Month.
Chris Vane is the founder of Little Bear sanctuary in Punta Gorda.
Little Bear is the home of around 150 rescued farm animals.
In the last year, it’s also been nationally and globally recognized for it’s efforts.
The average family has a couple animals—maybe more in more extreme cases—but 58-year-old Christopher Vane is not an average person. He has over 150 pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, goats, and even a 15-year-old tortoise named Keisha.
Vane’s mission is to rescue farm animals from slaughter so they can live out their lives in peace. His no-kill sanctuary is called Little Bear Sanctuary, a 30-acre property in Punta Gorda, Fla. where animals are free to roam in their natural habitat instead of being locked in cages.
