ANIMAL ADDENDUM

ANIMAL ADDENDUM for Ozarks Church of Nature & Magical Food Forest

This addendum applies to any guest, visitor, work-trade participant, camper, or longer-term community member who wishes to bring an animal onto the property.

The Ozarks Church of Nature & Magical Food Forest is an active rural homestead with livestock, working livestock guardian dogs, poultry, farm cats, wildlife, gardens, food-growing areas, and natural terrain.

Because resident animals already live and work here, every visiting animal must be managed in a way that protects people, livestock, wildlife, resident animals, property, and the visiting animal itself.

Bringing an animal onto the property is a privilege that requires prior approval.

  1. PRIOR APPROVAL REQUIRED

No dog, cat, livestock animal, exotic animal, or other companion animal may be brought onto the property without prior approval.

Approval for one animal does not automatically include additional animals.

Approval may depend upon:

  • Species
  • Breed or type
  • Size
  • Temperament
  • Containment plan
  • Behavior history
  • Compatibility with livestock and working dogs
  • Length and purpose of stay
  • Location of the proposed campsite or living area

Management may decline an animal if the circumstances do not appear safe or compatible with the property.

  1. RESIDENT LIVESTOCK GUARDIAN DOGS

The property is protected by working livestock guardian dogs.

These dogs are not recreational pets.

Their responsibility is protecting livestock, animals, property, and their established territory.

Visiting animals must not:

  • Chase resident livestock guardian dogs
  • Threaten or attack them
  • Interfere with their work
  • Enter livestock areas without permission
  • Approach livestock unsupervised
  • Be allowed to roam freely into their territory

Guests understand that working livestock guardian dogs may respond defensively to unfamiliar animals entering livestock or protected areas.

Visitors are responsible for preventing unsafe interactions.

  1. CONTAINMENT

All visiting animals must have a reliable containment system appropriate for that individual animal.  Be aware that we are on a sometimes busy tourist road.

Possible containment may include:

  • Secure fencing
  • An enclosed camper or residence
  • A secure kennel
  • A run
  • A leash when appropriate and safely manageable
  • Another previously approved containment system

The animal may not simply be allowed to roam because it normally remains nearby at home.

The containment method must actually work for that animal.

Animals known to climb, jump, dig, chew through barriers, escape kennels, break restraints, or otherwise defeat normal containment require a plan that accounts for those behaviors.

  1. CONTROL AND SUPERVISION

The person bringing the animal remains responsible for it at all times.

An animal may not be left in a situation where it can:

  • Chase livestock
  • Attack another animal
  • Harass wildlife
  • Enter gardens
  • Damage property
  • Threaten visitors
  • Roam onto neighboring property
  • Chase vehicles
  • Create repeated barking or disturbance
  • Enter private residential areas
  • Interfere with work being performed on the property

Guests are responsible for knowing where their animal is and maintaining reasonable control.

  1. AGGRESSION AND BITE HISTORY

Before approval, applicants must disclose any known history of:

  • Biting a human
  • Biting another animal
  • Serious fighting
  • Aggressive chasing
  • Livestock aggression
  • Territorial aggression
  • Resource guarding that creates safety concerns
  • Repeated escape behavior
  • Any other behavior reasonably relevant to safety

A past incident does not automatically mean an animal will be rejected.

Failure to disclose a known serious behavior issue, however, may result in immediate reconsideration of the animal’s approval.

  1. ANIMAL-TO-ANIMAL CONFLICT

The person bringing a visiting animal accepts responsibility for preventing conflict between that animal and resident animals.

If a visiting animal repeatedly threatens, attacks, chases, harasses, or creates unsafe conditions for resident animals, livestock, wildlife, or humans, the animal may be required to leave the property.

Depending upon the seriousness of the situation, the human guest’s stay may also be reconsidered.

  1. SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE ANIMALS

We respect legitimate disability-related needs.

Any legally applicable accommodation requirements will be handled according to the circumstances and applicable law.

At the same time, disability-related status does not make unsafe behavior irrelevant.

All animals must remain reasonably controlled and may not pose an actual safety threat to people, livestock, working animals, or property.

If an accommodation is requested, we encourage advance communication so that animal safety, livestock safety, location, containment, and any practical concerns can be discussed before arrival.

No guest is required to disclose unnecessary private medical information.

  1. LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE

Guests understand that this is not a controlled suburban environment.

Animals on the property may encounter:

  • Goats
  • Poultry
  • Livestock guardian dogs
  • Farm cats
  • Deer
  • Wild hogs
  • Coyotes
  • Snakes
  • Ticks
  • Spiders
  • Stinging insects
  • Other native wildlife

The sanctuary cannot guarantee that a visiting animal will never encounter wildlife or other animals.

The visiting animal’s person is responsible for deciding whether this environment is appropriate for their animal.

  1. VETERINARY CARE

The person bringing an animal is responsible for all veterinary care required during the animal’s stay.

The property owners and hosts are not responsible for:

  • Routine veterinary care
  • Emergency veterinary expenses
  • Medication
  • Transportation to veterinary services
  • Injury caused by the visiting animal’s own behavior
  • Illness or injury resulting from ordinary rural or wilderness risks

If an animal appears to be experiencing a serious emergency and its person cannot be reached, reasonable efforts may be made to obtain assistance when practical.

Financial responsibility remains with the animal’s owner or responsible person.

  1. FOOD AND ANIMAL SUPPLIES

Guests must provide their own:

  • Animal food
  • Bowls
  • Bedding
  • Kennels
  • Fencing or containment equipment
  • Veterinary supplies
  • Medications
  • Waste bags
  • Grooming supplies
  • Other necessary animal equipment

Resident livestock or pet food may not be used without permission.

  1. PET WASTE

Guests are responsible for cleaning up and properly disposing of waste produced by visiting animals in commonly used areas, campsites, paths, gardens, gathering spaces, and other locations where waste creates sanitation or nuisance concerns.

Pet waste must not be left in gardens, food-growing areas, springs, waterways, walkways, or shared gathering spaces.

Disposal must follow the property’s waste rules.

  1. GARDENS AND FOOD-GROWING AREAS

Animals may not be allowed to dig, urinate repeatedly, defecate, trample, or otherwise damage food gardens, medicinal gardens, newly planted areas, nurseries, or other protected growing spaces.

Remember:  Many of the plants growing here are food or medicine.

  1. DAMAGE

The person responsible for a visiting animal is responsible for reasonable costs associated with damage caused by that animal, including damage to:

  • Fencing
  • Structures
  • Gardens
  • Equipment
  • Vehicles
  • Livestock
  • Other animals
  • Personal property

Any reimbursement should reflect actual reasonable costs rather than punitive fees.

  1. BREEDING

Visiting animals may not be intentionally bred on the property without prior written permission.

Guests are responsible for preventing unplanned breeding involving their animals.

  1. ANIMALS MAY NOT BE ABANDONED

No animal may be abandoned, surrendered, or left behind on the property without explicit prior agreement.

Permission to bring an animal does not mean the sanctuary assumes ownership or future responsibility for that animal.

When a guest leaves, their animals leave with them unless a separate written arrangement has been made.

  1. EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT

If an animal escapes, becomes aggressive, threatens livestock, threatens a person, or creates an immediate safety concern, hosts and other responsible persons may take reasonable steps to protect humans and animals.

This may include:

  • Closing gates
  • Temporarily confining the animal
  • Separating animals
  • Contacting the animal’s responsible person
  • Contacting appropriate emergency or animal services when genuinely necessary

Safety takes priority during an actual emergency.

  1. REPEATED PROBLEMS

We understand that accidents happen.

A gate can be left open.

An animal can slip a collar.

A dog can react unexpectedly.

What matters is how the situation is handled afterward.

Repeated escapes, repeated aggression, refusal to maintain containment, disregard for animal rules, or refusal to address known safety problems may result in the visiting animal being required to leave.

  1. ANIMAL APPROVAL INFORMATION

Responsible Adult:

Phone:

Animal Name:

Species:

Breed / Type:

Age:

Approximate Weight:

Spayed / Neutered:

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

[ ] Not applicable

Describe the animal’s normal temperament:

Describe the proposed containment system:

Has the animal ever bitten a person?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Has the animal ever seriously bitten or attacked another animal?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Has the animal ever chased or attacked livestock?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Does the animal have a history of escaping normal containment?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

If you answered yes to any question above, please explain:

Are there any behaviors or circumstances we should discuss before arrival?

 

  1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I understand that approval to bring an animal is conditional upon responsible management of that animal.

I agree to maintain reasonable supervision and containment.

I agree to communicate honestly about known behavioral concerns.

I understand that the safety of humans, livestock, working animals, wildlife, visiting animals, and resident animals is the priority.

I understand that an animal creating serious or repeated safety problems may be required to leave.

I accept financial responsibility for my animal’s care and for reasonable actual costs resulting from damage caused by my animal.

I have read and understand this Animal Addendum.

Printed Name:

Signature:

Date:

Animal Approved By:

Date:

Special Conditions of Approval, if any:

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