This is Austin and far in the back is Lily the goat. I started a farm animal rescue when I bought these 18 acres in Feb 2003. In fact I started selling tropical fruit trees to help raise money for this because there doesn’t seem to be many around. The mentality of many folks around here is to kill a sick or injured animal. I had a hen once I couldn’t get a vet to even look at. Anyhow, Austin was brought to me at 2 days old because his mother, an old gal, tits had dried up and she could no longer produce milk to feed him. His sister died shortly after birth.
The day after I got Austin a neighbor brought me a wild baby pig found on the side of the road half dead. It was only maybe 2-3 days old. It was cold that past night and this poor little pig was lifeless. I wrapped her in a blanket and kept her warm a few days. To be honest I really thought she was going to die.
I put both of them in a baby play pen with a heat lamp. For several months I hand fed them. At first every four hours and then less frequent. I kept them close to me- next to my bed or next to my desk. To them, I’m mom.
They are both getting pretty big now. I had three older goats I found homes for already. This is actually quite rare since most people want to adopt cute babies. That’s how so many animals get abused, left or discarded….people buy them when their cute and when they aren’t cute any more, they loose interest.
Every week I get emails or calls asking if I can take another animal. Farm animals, if allowed to live a full life, live 15-25 years. That’s a lot of food. I’m vegetarian and I don’t have a problem with people eating animals, I don’t but I would never turn out an animal to be eaten. Especially animals that have already had a rough life, been abused or neglected. People think I’m crazy when they see how they are cared for- fresh produce (donated and grown) some have fans in their cages, pigs have a pool and shade umbrellas and the animal pens have screen housing to help cut down on insects and mosquitoes… I can’t ever buy into the concept of “They’re just animals and they’ll get use to it.” Ok, I’m crazy but in my heart I believe this is my purpose.
So I want to share some pictures and stories. Not to make you sad but to make you aware and hopefully put a smile on your face.
Tamara
www.tamstrees.com
