Farm Sanctuary Animal Rescue

One of the highlights of Facebook is reconnecting with people from so many different parts of your life.  In large part due to my vegan work, I reconnected with my friend, Stacy, from high school.  In following one another, I saw that she and her fiance, also from high school, spent some time at Farm Sanctuary, an incredible animal rescue haven I have long been interested in visiting myself.  Stacy was gracious enough to share her experience here so that we could all learn more ~ now my desire to visit is even stronger!
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So beautiful!

Animals at peace

Over the summer I had the privilege of visiting my personal utopia, the Farm Sanctuary animal rescue.  The shelter I visited, which is one of three run by this outstanding organization, is located in Watkins Glen, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.  Farm Sanctuary simultaneously cares for animals that were abused and neglected on factory farms and educates the public on the horrors of the factory farming industry.   

Stacy and her new friends!

I had been involved with Farm Sanctuary for several years: a walk-a-thon here, a benefit dinner there.  Somehow, I had always felt that my participation was incomplete.  I now understand what was missing ~ the feathers and fur!  As a guest of their bed and breakfast, I was granted the perks of special early morning tours.  During these tours I met and interacted with several of the non-human residents.  Of course, I quickly became addicted to cow kisses and sheep snuggles and so I would hop onto all the public tours throughout the day.  Before each tour, guests watched a short video about Farm Sanctuary's history and about the atrocities that take place on factory farms.  The video is not for the faint of heart and I considered watching it to be my penance for all the years I callously consumed the flesh of these defenseless sentient beings.  The most meaningful benefit of being a bed and breakfast guest was that I was allowed to make a personal contribution to the animals' welfare by stacking bales of hay and sweeping out the sheep barn.  Muscles sore, fingers blistered, I had the time of my life!
To learn more about Farm Sanctuary go to farmsanctuary.org