During the summer months in the desert, heat advisories are the norm, making the smallest to biggest of tasks harder than they have to be.

There are hundreds of farm animals that live at the Las Vegas Farm, so the woman who runs the rescue has to bring the AC outdoors.  Sharon Linsenbardt walks the grounds of her farm daily.

The Las Vegas Farm and Barn Buddies Rescue looks after all kinds of animals.

“We’ve got horses and donkeys and mules; and goats and sheep and pigs and llamas and mules,” said Linsenbardt.

For almost 60 years, Linsenbardt has rescued farm animals’ from near – death, but some of the most difficult moments still come every year during the valley’s summer heat.

“We’ve got freezers running, coolers running, swamp coolers running, ice freezing,” said Linsenbardt.  “We’ve got a huge power bill.”

Linsenbardt and her husband receive an electricity bill for almost $4,000 monthly.  Their water usage is also included in that bill because they’re on a system that produces well water.

But even with the amount, they shell out a month for utilities, Linsenbardt said they do whatever they can to make it work.

“I’ll keep my house at 80-85 if I have to, and make sure these animals have their swamp coolers going,” Linsenbardt said. “If we lose power here it is a life and death situation.”

Shaded by trees and awnings, the farm is essentially a microclimate.
But Linsenbardt’s got it down to a science, even giving animals their own form of air conditioning.

“We will freeze these solid as this is now,” Linsenbardt says as she holds up a water bottle for used for feeding. “And we will change them out to this maybe two to three times a day.”
 
“You can see she was already laying next to it, and we’ll give them a fresh one,” Linsenbardt said.

Linsenbardt says she knows each animal by name.  She says she also knows what each one needs, and likes.

But spending every minute, of every day outside in the blazing sun isn’t easy.

“If I weren’t doing this I’d be a lump in a chair somewhere in the cool,” Linsenbardt said. 

But for Linsenbardt, every sacrifice is worth it. 

“It’s got to keep going. If I don’t do it, who will,” Linsenbardt, asked.

According to Linsenbardt, the farm lost power recently during a storm, which can critically affect the farm’s water supply. So, now the rescue is trying to raise money for a backup generator and other things. 

To help go here.