About
What does Mudita mean?
Mudita is a pure joy unadulterated by self-interest. When we can be happy about the joys other beings feel, it is called mudita; the antonym is schadenfreude. Mudita is the joy one feels when seeing others thrive. That is the essence of this sanctuary: helping only for the selfless pleasure of animal welfare.
How It Started
When Ariane was a child, she got really sick. Bedridden due to various illnesses, she found comfort and love from her house pets. It was already then that she decided, even though she didn’t fully realise it at the time, that she would take care of animals with the same patience and love as those pets took care of her as a lonely, sick child.
And she’s kept that promise, taking in animals of all shapes and sizes, never being able to refuse an animal’s right to live. Mudita Sanctuary wasn’t a conscious choice, it was destiny: slow, subtle and unstoppable. Little by little, her house, garden, and fields were filled with loving four-legged guests. While she took care of them by herself for the longest time, she realised that she could help more of them by accepting the help of volunteers and benefactors. So she asked her daughters for help. That’s how Mudita was created.
What is Mudita Sanctuary?
Mudita Sanctuary is a safe haven -some have even dared to call it a heaven on earth- for animals big and small, young or old. Animals from all walks of life get a chance to live out the rest of their lives at the property.
It goes without saying that we cannot accept all animals in need because for that we would need a sanctuary the size of all of France. There are no particular criteria for an animal to become a permanent guest at the sanctuary. Those who stay are typically those for whom we could not find a suitable home.
What do we do?
Primarily we take care of our permanent animal guests. Some of them have suffered terribly from their life before Mudita and need constant care, love and attention. Because we are not satisfied with helping "only" the number of animals we can accommodate, we are also active in capturing, neutering and finding homes for wild or abandoned cats in the region. On top of this, we regularly get calls from people who know of animals such as dogs, goats or horses that need immediate rehoming due to negligence or abuse. We have built a small network of people who can help us place these sweet souls into happy homes. If you're looking to adopt an animal, contact us!
(Our guests aren't up for adoption)
Who is Mudita Sanctuary?
Mudita Sanctuary, the essence of it, was started by Ariane von Rothkirch, a renown interior architect who decided to devote her entire time to her animals, rescuing and giving the best life to as many as she could. She is the primary and sometimes sole caregiver for the animals of the sanctuary.
Her daughter Larissa is in charge of the website and anything that can be done off-site as she lives in Belgium. Volunteer Alice manages the social media platforms and Erika helps us with fundraising all the way from Italy.
Mudita is also all the volunteers who come help us and without whom the workload would be too cumbersome for Ariane