Andy and Oak, A Remarkable Gift in His Memory

The MISS Foundation, and grieving families from around the world, would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Don and Hayden Quattlebaum, and the Andy Quattlebaum and Blackwell Family Foundation, for their tremendous gift in the naming of Andy’s Sanctuary at the Selah Carefarm in honor of their beautiful son Andy and his precious golden Labrador, Oak. Their incredibly generous gift reflects Andy’s overwhelming love and compassion for animals of all kinds and their never-ending love and grief for their beloved son.

Andy, a student at Clemson University, had a beaming smile that illuminated everything around him.  He was sensitive and kind, funny and tender, and he loves his family with his whole heart. He is so deeply missed by his parents, every single moment of every single day, and by all the humans and four-leggeds whose lives he touched.

This generous gift allows us to provide grieving families a safe place to reflect and remember their loved ones and to obtain essential support through life’s hardest tragedies. “We are very proud to be able to support such a needed cause. We know first hand how difficult grief resources are to access, and how grief is shamed by many. The work that Dr. Jo and the MISS Foundation do is a much needed resource  and so helpful for those in deep pain from the loss of a loved one. It has helped us survive, and I know it has the same impact on so many families in need. Thank you for all that you do,” Don and Hayden Quattlebaum wrote in a poignant letter to the MISS Foundation.

We are beyond grateful for Andy’s Sanctuary and the thoughtful and generous gift from the Quattlebaums, and we are so very thankful to their son, Andy, who inherited his parents deep love of animals and nature.

The beautiful plaque created in Andy and Oak’s honor now hangs in the entryway and reads: