Meet the Herd

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 Ophelia was picked up as a stray in Kentucky. The dog shelter was no place for a very large farm pig, but permission had been granted by a judge to put her in foster. Legally she was a 'stray hold' for a year! We officially became her forever home after the year was up. She is a larger-than-life character who loves a good scratch. She will roll over for a belly rub as soon as you touch her fabulous floppy ears. She's a wonderful old lady who is always maing us smile!

Freddie is a very sweet and proud thoroughbred. He was bred in Florida with extremely good bloodlines. As a yearling he was sold at auction for $65,000. He raced in Florida several times and won his owners quite a purse.

However, in one of his races he was severely injured when his knee gave out. Because he was worth good money, he did receive surgery to repair the knee. Sadly, his racing career was not the same and he was sold on. Eventually, the day came when he was no longer able to keep up and he was sold for $200 to be a pleasure horse.

The person who bought him had no experience with an ‘off the track’ thoroughbred. He removed his racing shoes and took him out trail riding every day for several weeks.

Eventually this once prized horse was reduced to skin and bone and had developed abscesses on all four feet. He could barely stand. 

Along with another concerned friend we took him on and set about the long recovery process.

Today he is a very handsome and healthy boy. His feet will never be great but he’s happy that he has a peaceful and easy life. 

These adorable little donkeys came to us from another sanctuary who were downsizing.

In their former lives, these donkeys were used for a fundraising gimmick called ’Donkey Basketball’.

Usually staged at schools in the gymnasium, the staff members are split into teams and each person has a donkey to ride. Can you imagine these poor donkeys carrying the weight of a grown adult?!

Lucky for them, they are now retired in their late teens. These boys are very suspicious about humans – can you blame them?

Dinky loves them very much. He thinks they are his donkeys. We’re ok with that x

This beautiful little Arabian mare came to us via Georgia. She had been passed through 6 different owners before we heard that she was part of a large group of horses heading to Mexico to be meat.

This little girl has been through so much in her short life.  Being a spirited and smart Arabian, she had been labeled as a difficult horse. Previous owners used her for barrel racing and when she arrived, she had severe problems in a rear leg. This has left her very fearful of anyone getting on her back. She will never have to worry here and is promised a quiet retirement being a gorgeous pasture ornament. 

Allie is very weary of men – especially if they are wearing any kind of hat. 

She’s a sweet, highly intelligent girl who has really come a long way with her trust issues in her time with us.

Barry came to us from a cruelty/neglect case. He was seized by animal control. His case was held up by the pandemic, so the poor fella spent many, many months at the dog shelter before being released to our rescue.

He finally got neutered and settled into a quiet life where he never has to worry if he’s going to have food and water. 

Barry accepts scratches now that he trusts us.

Georgia was found on the side of a highway having fallen (or jumped)off a transport truck. She was approximately 2 weeks old and weighed 10 lbs.

Her little body was scuffed from the road but thankfully there were no other injuries. Georgia is growing into a very big girl. She has the sweetest personality. She lives with Brentley who has decided she is the boss. Georgia is ok with that.

 These two sweet girls came from a small dairy farm in Wisconsin that closed down. They are the sweetest little things. They live a happy life with their friends. 

Mojo Jojocame to us along with 2 other small goats and Uma the calf.

He was almost a year old and very stinky from being an intact male. He really thought he could

run the farm – sometimes he still tries to!

He has the look of an evil monkey hence the name (re Power Puff Girls)

Lucy is a Dwarf Nigerian goat. She came to us after her family went through a divorce.

She is a bold and outgoing young lady. She has been used to living with little Ricky and with the pigs, Mamma and Minnie.

Now she enjoys being the matriarch of the goat herd. She is definitely 

the boss!

Gordon wandered into a warehouse, which was in an area surrounded by lots of other warehouses. The finders were confused as to where a goat could've come from. There are no farms in that location. After some research, he was assumed to have escaped from a slaughter house, which is close to that location. Gordon is a very friendly and sweet goat. We think he was likely a 4H project who ended up at the livestock auction. We're happy to give him a safe and peaceful life. 

Bruce (Banner) is one of the boys from the Felicity hoarding case that we worked on last summer. Out of 30 + pigs we only have 3 left here - that’s pretty good considering all the boys were unsocialized intact boars. The remaining 3 are still a little timid but very sweet. I have a bit of a soft spot for this guy. He’s super hairy and handsome. 

Vlad, (named by our veterinarian for being particularly difficult to handle), came to us from a

hoarding situation. He was one of around 30 pigs living in an unsafe environment. Many of the

pigs were breeding uncontrollably causing birth defects and illness. Vlad is a cautious guy

preferring not to be touched. He lives with 2 family members.

The Virginia Hams consist of Beamer, Bonita and Shirley.
They came here several years ago from our friends at Rangers Rescue in Virginia. Lorelei got me started on this pig journey and has been a great source of knowledge and experience.
Each one of these pigs was picked up by animal control as a stray. Poor Bonita was in terrible shape, with a nose ring and long curled toes nails, she was very timid.
Beamer (formerly Moonbeam) is a large and in charge guy. He likes a belly rub, but he will bite if you’re not paying attention.
Shirley and his sister Laverne were rescued together. Sadly, Laverne died while getting spayed, so we never met her. Shirley quickly bonded with Beamer and Bonita. They sleep in a pile in their house.
This winter their heat lamp is not working so we would like to replace it with a safety lamp made by Premier 1.

This little girl has been through a lot in her almost 8 years.
She was mauled by a dog at a year old resulting in the loss of her ear and neurological issues that affect her front right leg. Plus, substantial scar tissue.
After a house fire she was re-homed only to be dumped shortly after.
Her original owner claimed her, but she’s been living in a dark basement for the past year. Luckily for Charlotte her human knew she needed to find a better situation for her.
Sometimes the Universe pushes you to step up for a soul in need; this was one of those times.

These two girls were living in an apartment for the first year of their lives until their owner realized that they were quickly outgrowing their environment and were getting too heavy to carry down flights of stairs. They came to live here so they could be outside enjoying the dirt. 

Visitors are warned when entering the pen that Penelope likes to nip at passing legs.

Spinderella is a Kune Kune who came to us from a breeder who was concerned that she was special needs. When she’s excited, she spins in circles with her tongue out to the side. She’s a sweet girl who loves a good scratch from human friends. She is a little aggressive to other pigs but lives with little Hamish very peacefully.

After Clovers’ piglets were adopted out in pairs little Rufus was driving his mama crazy. She did not want to play with him all the time, so the poor guy needed a friend. We reached out to our friend at Belly Brothers Pig Rescue to see if she had a piglet of similar age who they were placing. Rio, named during the summer Olympics, was the only piglet in his litter that kept getting overlooked. He was a timid little guy who needed a little time to get over being scared of everything. He and Rufus became immediate buddies and Clover accepted him as her own. He was born a couple of months after Rufus but is much bigger than his friend now. He’s a very handsome and sweet guy who overcame his fears to become one of the nicest pigs here.

 Fredo is from the very large Kentucky hoarding case we worked on. He is part of a litter of 5 that we took from this case, known as the Kentucky 458. Fredo has always had health issues and remains smaller than his siblings. He lives a harmonious life with other pigs.