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The Sanctuary Residents

Harvey and his five herdmates were born in the early spring of 1988. Twenty years have passed since then, filled with changes.

Through a series of near-miracles, the cows now have a 77-acre farm, with enough pasture and hayfield to be self-sufficient. Their spacious new barn is tucked into the corner where the woods and the fields meet.

The biggest change, though, has been the life-cycle. It was easy when they were all sweet young calves, to say that I'd do everything in my power to give them a safe and happy life, until they died naturally, of old age. Old age was a lifetime away. I didn't know how long a cow's lifetime was. It turns out that cows live about as long as dogs do. They pass away in their late teens. Which, as anyone who has loved a dog, or a cow, will tell you, is far far too short a time.

But that's how it is.

And they did have a safe and happy life, filled with love and plenty. Many have passed away so far. They are buried here at the farm, their graves marked with wild roses. The living graze peacefully amongst them.

There are thirteen cows here now. And three quirky horses, four rambunctious emus, three noisy geese and two sassy goats. The following are just some of the stories of the critters that made this sanctuary their home.

The first animal you encounter upon arrival at the sanctuary is Duke, the emu. He purrs like a big cat and struts up the driveway to welcome you. Duke (and his partner, Daisy) came to the sanctuary from a breeder who had gotten tired of caring for them. Because they had escaped several times from the fenced-in yard, they were being kept in a small enclosure smaller than most bathrooms. At the sanctuary, Duke now has acres to roam. He is very friendly and insatiably curious. Watch his hairdressing skills on a sanctuary guest in the video on the left!

Emmie came from Mexico. PETA rescued her when they were documenting the abuses that Mexican heifers went through before being allowed into the USA. She arrived as a tiny, terrified, trembling little waif. For a whole month she huddled in a corner of the barn, shaking. Eventually she realized that she wasn't going to get hurt anymore, and gradually grew into a self-assured beauty and joined the rest of the herd.

Bianca was born on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. Every day, a young mother who lived close to the farm took her two little girls in a stroller past the field where Bianca lived. And every single time they rolled by, Bianca left the other cows and came running over to the fence to schmooze. The mother fell in love with her, and asked the farmer if he would sell her. He refused, but the mother was determined, and called every day for about a year and a half, to ask if he'd changed his mind. He kept refusing, but as fate would have it, when he tried to breed Bianca, she couldn't get pregnant, and therefore couldn't produce milk. Lucky Bianca! The farmer finally agreed to sell her. She's been here for the past ten years.

Angy was also saved by pure love. A girl worked at a farm, just as I had years ago, and just as I had, years ago, thought about Harvey "I know I can't save them all, but I can save just this one ..." And so Angy arrived, bright eyed and bushy tailed, in a minivan. At three years of age, he already has the attitude that he is the boss of all the cows.

Willis came from Pennsylvania, his safe-being the last wish of a farmer's wife. She died the day after she met with me to arrange his coming to the sanctuary.

Then there was Bucky, standing up to his knees in muck in a small pen next to a busy highway, with a big plywood sign: BULL FOR SALE. The members of the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance raised funds to bail him out of his situation. A few hours after he arrived, he accidentally knocked me over and put me in the hospital, but the only real damage was a broken nose, and that healed. I learned to be more cautious, and after being neutered, Bucky became as gentle as all the others.

Doretta arrived at the sanctuary along with Bucky, the cow. They had lived together in a small muddy enclosure with several other animals. Rescued by the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, Bucky and Doretta came to the sanctuary together. While Bucky settled in quickly, Doretta had a more difficult time. She exhibited neurotic behavior, circling the same small area over and over again, and attacked people. The sanctuary soon took in other geese, and with companionship, Doretta has lost her unnatural behaviors and now enjoys dabbling in puddles and waddling along with her friends.

Billy came from Delaware. He was a 4-H "project" whose kid decided that animals were to love, not eat. The family kept him as a beloved pet until the mother became terminally ill. Even in the midst of that human tragedy, they made sure that Billy was placed somewhere he'd be safe forever.

Gizelle came to the sanctuary from a household where she had been fitted with a thick collar and tied to a doghouse to restrain her from eating the flowers in the garden. She was under-nourished, unwanted and terrified of everything. Brought to the sanctuary to provide companionship to a goat already in residence, Gizelle has filled out and become less skittish. She has free run of the sanctuary and enjoys grain and all kinds of vegetables.

Prince George is among the more recent guys to join our cow family. Animal control officers in Maryland found him chained to a log in the woods, starving. Although they seldom dealt with "livestock", they felt the same compassion for him as for the companion animals that they worked with daily. They fostered him for 11 months, until they finally found him a "forever home". Now fat and sassy, he has been part of the family for almost a year.

As an old, retired racehorse, Inquisition's days were numbered. Her owners had already dug a hole for her burial, just waiting for her to die. She was kept in a small pen with three other horses and was unsuccessful at competing with them for the limited food available. She was bone thin and covered with sores. She was rescued along with another horse and brought to the sanctuary, where she now enjoys endless green grass, fresh hay and grain. Since she began her new life at the sanctuary, she has filled out completely and now shines with health.

What's next? I don't know, but my heart is open.