The Middle Way

The Middle Way offers therapeutic riding to children and veterans, making sure no one is turned away due to their inability to pay. Our biggest dreams for the future include having our own indoor arena so that we can continue our work year round and eventually offering a sanctuary to victims of domestic violence.

Mary Calanni’s profound compassion and love for all animals was the catalyst for creating an animal sanctuary in Park County, Colorado. In 2003, Mary and her husband, Sam, began rescuing unwanted animals and giving them a home at their ranch in Guffey, Colorado. Most of the animals they rescued were either feral, had medical issues, or were too old to be adopted. This was the beginning of Big Mountain Wildlife and Animal Sanctuary. Over the years they cared for hundreds of animals including horses, llamas, cats, and dogs.

In 2018, Mary and Sam were no longer able to care for all of the animals, however, they wanted the sanctuary to live on. Julia Anderson stepped up to continue their important work and lead the non-profit. Thus, Big Mountain Wildlife and Animal Sanctuary evolved into The Middle Way sanctuary in order to continue Mary and Sam’s legacy.

The new board of directors of The Middle Way envisioned a sanctuary that would also offer therapeutic work for both animals and humans. Today, The Middle Way cares for and works with more than 17 horses in total, including both therapeutic horses and sanctuary horses, while Mary continues to care for the cats and dogs at her ranch.