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We love chickens.

Secondhand Stories is a registered non-profit chicken sanctuary and online used book shop based out of Rideau Lakes, Ontario (one hour south-west of Ottawa and one hour north of Kingston). We are home to 16 special rescued chickens. Meet our rescue chickens here!

We accept donations of gently used books from the community and resell them on our website to help raise funds for our sanctuary. It is a passion project that aims to bring the reading and animal loving community together to make a positive impact.

Our Mission

Secondhand Stories mission is to provide a loving forever home to abandoned, abused, and neglected farmed animals.

Years In Review

2023

2022

Our Roots

Secondhand Stories started as a fundraising initiative for our friends at The Sweet Sanctuary. We started an Instagram page in 2020 selling books and donating all the profits - raising over $25,000 for them! After supporting The Sweet Sanctuary for many years, and being inspired by them, we have finally followed our dreams and purchased a rural home with 28 acres to start our own microsanctuary.

Media

Our Founders

Liz Wheeler is a passionate animal advocate who is dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our community. She has completed a certificate in Animal Welfare from Thompson Rivers University and a certification in Anthrozoology at the University of Windsor. In the past five years, her enthusiasm for connecting people and animals together has led her to a career as a professional fundraiser. She's worked at the Ottawa Humane Society, Humane Canada (Canadian Federation of Humane Societies) and is currently the philanthropy officer at Faunalytics. Liz spends her life dedicated to animals and when she's not working or running Secondhand Stories she is finding new ways to advocate for animal rights to various levels of government.

Craig Wheeler is a life long animal lover and compassionate person. He has fostered over 250 cats and kittens, including advanced critical care cases, and volunteers his time with local animal rescues and sanctuaries in a variety of capacities including trap, neuter, return, general advocacy, and general labour. Craig leads our animal care operations and ensures the chickens get their daily care, cleaning and feedings. He is our behind-the-scenes rockstar.