Meet the Residents

Moonstone Farm Sanctuary is home to horses, ponies, cows, steers, chickens, cats, dogs, goats,  a rabbit, and a flock of visiting poultry who like to come over from their home next door. Here are some of their stories.

 Perez was rescued from a dairy farm on the day he was born. A very kind woman named Amy was driving down the road past a dairy farm when she saw a newborn calf standing in the road, with his umbilical cord still hanging down. Being an animal lover, she immediately pulled over, picked up the calf and carried him into the farm yard. When she talked to the farmer she found out the calf had been taken from his mother at birth, and, being no use to the dairy farm, was going to be auctioned off for meat. She argued with the farmer. She wanted to save the little fellow, not deliver him to his death. Finally the farmer said, "OK, lady, take him!" She carried the little guy out to her minivan, called her husband and said, "Honey, we have a cow!" Fortunately he was a kind and understanding man and accepted the new addition. The family went vegan that very day, now that they had learned the truth of dairy cruelty. The calf was named Perez by popular vote of the family's church congregation. Perez got a terrible umbilical infection. Female calves have their cords dipped in iodine at birth, but since the male calves will be dead within days, theirs are not dipped. The family spent over a thousand dollars in vet bills, and nursed Perez back to health. He grew up strong and sweet natured. But when he was seven months old, the family had to relocate across the country. The logistics of getting Perez there were just too difficult, so the desperately sought a home for him where he would not be killed for meat. Three years ago, they found us and Perez now has his lifetime home at Moonstone Farm Sanctuary.

Archie was rescued by us at age one from a neglect situation. He was very skinny and very small for his age when he came to us.  The family that was raising him with the idea of getting cheap meat didn't realize you can't just throw a calf out in a grass field for a year, and not feed them. He soon had eaten down all the grass and was literally starving when he came to the attention of Moonstone Farm Sanctuary. He has made up for it now with lots of good hay and grain! He has been estimated to weigh 1600 pounds now!

Lily Ann is a  Hereford cow who came to us at age one. She was very small for her age and her face and ears were covered with grotesque warts. According to the farmer who bred her, her parents were both normal size, so we believe the warts stunted her growth. We had the warts removed by our vet and fortunately none have grown back. She is a beautiful young lady now, who will be two years old in March, 2016.

Noble was rescued from a dairy and beef farm at age 3 months. We had gone there to rescue Lily Ann and when we arrived, little Noble was in the pen with her. The farmer told us he had brought the calf in to "band him." That's where they place a rubber band around the testicles, which then atrophy and die due to lack of blood flow. This is done with no pain relief and is standard practice in the cattle industry. We couldn't leave the little guy there and drive away knowing he would suffer this incredibly painful fate, so we made a deal with the farmer and brought him home with Lily Ann.

Dahlia is a beautiful, friendly and sweet natured Jersey cow who was used as a "family milk cow" for many years. Every year she would be bred, and her calf taken from her at birth, and then her milk used for the human family. This is standard practice because, like all mammals, cows must give birth to produce milk.  After she began to develop recurrent udder infections, Dahlia was sold to a bigger dairy farm. The farmer bred her but she did not get pregnant. That made her worthless to the farmer and she was likely to be butchered.  She had a friend who loved her though: a neighbor woman who had grown very attached to her (pictured above with Dahlia).  Her friend raised money to save Dahlia from slaughter, and she came to live at Moonstone Farm Sanctuary. She is a very rare creature: a retired dairy cow who will be able to live out her natural life.

Link, Zelda and Shelly are sweet, friendly goats who were purchased as babies by a family who had just moved to the country. The two children of the family begged their mother to get them a pony, and she said she would do it, if they were able to prove their responsibility by taking care of the goats for one year. Well, the children tired of caring for the goats, so the mother sought new homes for them. Everyone who answered her ad wanted to kill and barbecue the goats. She didn't have the heart to see that happen to them, and so turned them over to Moonstone Farm Sanctuary.

Oliver is a retired child's riding pony, enjoying being able to relax in his old age. He is estimated by our vet to be in his late thirties.

Cadbury is a miniature horse who was extremely malnourished when he came to our attention. In the first picture you can see how thin he was and that he had not shed out his winter coat, a sign of ill health. He had chronic diarrhea when we first got him. After many vet bills, it was figured out that he was allergic to grass and grass hay. After putting him on a special diet, he gained weight and regained his health. After several years of special feeding, we reintroduced grass hay gradually and he is able to eat a normal diet now.