Raising dough: Councilor bakes over 1,000 vegan cookies for senior animals charity

Burqueños looking for meaningful holiday gifts can turn to an unlikely source: City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn. When she’s not working on housing policy or climate legislation, she and her partner, Paul Roybal, spend the season in their kitchen baking thousands of vegan cookies for people and dogs. The homemade treats support Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary, which has provided hospice care for abandoned senior animals since 2002.

“I love this time of year. Everybody’s in a generous, loving spirit,” Fiebelkorn told City Desk ABQ. “I love being able to combine making nice things and giving people really personal gifts with raising money to help senior dogs, horses and birds, because that’s kind of where my heart is.”

This year, Fiebelkorn and Roybal have filled 92 dozen orders and expect to raise $3,000 to $4,000 for the sanctuary, which is about what they bring in each year from the fundraiser they’ve run for about eight years. Before supporting Kindred Spirits, Fiebelkorn baked cookies for other animal groups, turning the project into a long-running holiday tradition.

Fiebelkorn bakes every single cookie herself, working late nights throughout December. “I’m never too busy to help animals,” she said. “It really is a labor of love, and we really enjoy it.”

Roybal handles the dog treats, dehydrating sweet potato chews every night for a month. The couple donates all the ingredients, so every dollar from cookie sales goes straight to the animals. This year’s menu includes sugar cookies, macadamia ginger cookies, biscochitos and gluten-free macadamia gingers for humans for $20 an order, plus sweet potato chews for dogs for $8 an order.

Orders are open throughout the month. Pickups are available this weekend and next. The address will be provided after ordering. For anyone getting cookies shipped, orders should come in early next week to ensure holiday delivery.

The fundraiser started years ago when Fiebelkorn had leftovers from a bake sale for a local animal rescue.

“I said, ‘Hey, anybody want them? If you donate to this group, I’ll give you these cookies.’ And it kind of went from there,” she said. “Now we get hundreds of dozens of orders, and we make between $3,000 and $4,000 every year.”

Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary is located in the East Mountains north of Albuquerque on Highway 14. The sanctuary cares for dozens of senior animals in a hospice setting on four to five acres, where they live cage-free and “family style.”

“Every little bit helps when you’re running an organization like that, because this is a hospice center for senior dogs, horses and birds,” Fiebelkorn said. “Thousands of dollars go a long way towards medical bills and food.”

The councilor and Roybal deliver the funds in person each year. “We get to take the money up to them and meet all the dogs and the horses and the amazing birds who are there,” she said. “It’s just this lovely experience.”

She discovered Kindred Spirits around 2015 through Albuquerque’s animal rescue community. Fiebelkorn said she was immediately struck by the sanctuary’s care for senior animals, a passion that mirrors her home life.

“We adopt senior special needs animals at my house,” she said. The couple currently shares their home with three senior special needs dogs and one 74-year-old Amazon parrot who is paralyzed. “There’s just a love connection between us and these senior animals who need help.”

As the first vegan animal rights activist to serve on the City Council, Fiebelkorn said the fundraiser fits her advocacy work. 

“We’re helping the animals at this sanctuary, and not harming any animals in the making of the cookies,” she said, noting the difference between animal welfare and animal rights activism.

Beyond the cookie fundraiser, Fiebelkorn and Roybal serve on the board of Positive Links, a nonprofit that highlights the connection between animal abuse and human violence. She serves as board president and noted that research shows 76% of people who abuse animals also abuse a child, partner, or elder.

She and Roybal also serve on the board of Sprouting Compassion, a nonprofit focused on vegan education. Fiebelkorn volunteers with dog rescue groups and Santuario de Karuna, a farmed animal sanctuary in the East Mountains. 

People can order online or by email at tammyfiebelkorn3@gmail.com. Pickup locations and times are shared after your order is placed. Orders for shipping should be placed early next week for holiday delivery. Cookies come packaged in festive containers ready for gifting.

“We really just want to raise as much money as we possibly can to help the animals,” Fiebelkorn said. “Anybody that’s interested in participating, just shoot me an email or fill out that form.”