MANCHESTER - Sasha was a 9-month-old puppy when Dorothy Davies and Monte Jackson met her.

The border collie/cocker spaniel mix could no longer be cared for by the family who owned her, so Davies and Jackson stepped in and adopted her more than 20 years ago.

Sasha lived for 17 years, but one could argue she lives on in the spirit of a safe haven for animals run by Davies and Jackson in Manchester.

The couple started SASHA Farm — an acronym for Sanctuary And Safe Haven for Animals — in 2001 in the southwest corner of Washtenaw County on Mahrle Road.

"We moved here in 1981 from the suburbs of Detroit, and the plan was to raise all of our own food, including chickens for eggs and goats for milk," Davies said.

The couple saw a need for a type of no-kill shelter, and word spread quickly that they had the space to take in animals. Soon people began dropping off turkeys intended for Thanksgiving dinner and other unwanted animals.

At the time, Davies worked full time as the director of the Manchester library and Jackson was a truck driver. With their son also leaving for college and animals pouring into the farm, they were quickly overwhelmed.

"I had to make a choice. I couldn't keep up with both," Davies said. "I wasn't doing my work as well as I should have, and I wasn't caring for the animals as well as I should have. So, I decided to form a nonprofit, and it just started to grow."

SASHA Farm, which was incorporated in 2001, has since grown to around 265 animals. Goats, horses, pigs, dogs and more live on the 40-acre farm, which is bordered by an additional 20 acres of woods on one end.

Its current residents include two dogs rescued from Hurricane Katrina, and Jefferson, the infamous steer who ran away from an Eastern Market slaughterhouse in 2003 and wandered the streets of downtown Detroit. Davies brought Jefferson back to SASHA Farm after a two-week battle with the owner of the slaughterhouse.

SASHA Farm has one full-time and one part-time employee, an intern and several volunteers. Because the farm is a nonprofit, a variety of fundraising efforts are needed. They host an annual banquet and an annual walk-a-thon on the property, and animals are available for sponsorship.

"Someone can sponsor an animal for a year, and there are different prices," Davies said. "You get a really nice photograph of the animal and a story about them, and they're 'yours' for a year."

Sponsors can visit their animals, and an event for sponsors only is held annually.

"The bulk of the money we receive is private donations, and not real big ones," Davies said. "Our budget is between $100,000 and $120,000 a year, and I have to find that money every year. Because if I don't find that, where do they go?"

SASHA Farm is raising money for a new barn, possibly two, and Davies hopes the barns can be built before winter. With more than 60 goats and 30 sheep, they will not all fit in the current barn when the weather turns cold.

"It's going to be a scramble for me. I have got to find $50,000 to $60,000 before winter. That's a lot of money," Davies said.