Kathy Stevens, Founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary

The fact that Hannah the sheep is in love with Rambo the sheep is no secret. Indeed, this is obvious even to our first-time volunteers, as Hannah bolts from her stall each morning in search of her Romeo. If she finds him immediately, all is well. But if Rambo is out of sight, she is initially disturbed, then worried, and finally panic-stricken. Once she locates him, all is right again in her world. She settles into her sheepness, content to roam the barnyard, graze, and plot feed-room break-ins…that is, as long as Rambo is no more than a foot or two from her. It is a relationship that she needs desperately, and one that Rambo mostly tolerates.

Enter the other woman.

Barbie is a “broiler,” a term used by the poultry industry to describe chickens intended for meat. Broiler, meaning to exist solely for being broiled, baked, or barbecued. She’s one of hundreds who’ve arrived at Catskill Animal Sanctuary from New York’s five boroughs as escapees from live poultry markets, slaughterhouses, transport trucks, and the ritual sacrifices of Santeria. We’ve taken chickens from dumpsters, chickens stuffed in mailboxes, and chickens who were drowning in crates left in flooding streets. Our latest, Barbie, was found hiding under a Honda.

Like many of our animals, Barbie free-ranges during the day. While she is young, the exercise is good for a body that could quickly grow morbidly obese. There’s also no outdoor home for Barbie, as our ratio of roosters to hens is hundreds to one. So Barbie snuggles into her home in the main barn each night. In the morning, she is lifted out to explore the barnyard and cozy up to whomever she chooses.

Unfortunately, like the girls who’ve come before her, Barbie has chosen Rambo.

For several weeks, Barbie has been napping right next to Rambo. Sometimes she climbs on top of his back, the patient Rambo motionless, and falls sound asleep. Rambo takes her overtures in good stride.

For a while, Hannah tolerated the new friendship. After all, Barbie was merely a hen; Hannah could still rest side by side with her love, or stalk him (her favorite pastime next to breaking into the hay room) as he traveled through the barnyard to ensure all was in order.

Rambo, however, had other things in mind.

A few weeks ago, I watched as Rambo walked up to Barbie and pawed the ground. Pawing is Rambo’s signal to humans that he wants a massage—something he receives, oh, forty or fifty times a day. Clearly he thought that if human beings could discern his wishes, a chicken could, too. I stood there, gaping, as our extraordinary friend tried to teach his bird pal to do his bidding. A few days later, Rambo was lying in a pile of hay. Next to him was Barbie, pulling bits of hay from his woolly coat.

The deepening of this relationship was too much for Hannah. One recent afternoon, she was nowhere to be found as I entered the barn to set up feed.

“Where’s Hannah?” I asked animal caretaker, Walt Batycki.

“She’s in time out.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“She head-butted Barbie halfway across the aisle.”

Tension mounted when Barbie routinely began using Rambo as a sofa. For weeks I’d heard about but not witnessed this new development in the relationship between the great sheep and the presumptuous chicken. And then one crisp morning I exited the feed room, and there, in the middle of the aisle, were Rambo and Barbie. Barbie was one happy hen plopped dead center on Rambo’s back. Rambo was completely unfazed. I dashed back inside for a camera—people had to see this—then moved slowly toward them.

“Rambo, you are a prince,” I praised him as I sat down just feet from them to snap the best shot.

And then I heard it: the rapid click-click-click of sheep hooves moving toward us. It was Hannah. She had spotted them.

The ball of brown wool pushed past me, strode within inches of the offending pair, neither of whom budged. She glared at them and she looked at me. She looked back at them, she looked at me. There was no need for words here, as “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” and “ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME HERE, OR WHAT??” were etched into every gesture.

“I’m sorry, Hannah,” I whispered, approaching her. But Hannah pooped and marched outside, wanting nothing more of Rambo, the interloper, or me.

I never imagined I’d work at a place where a sheep and a hen would vie for the attention of a second sheep’s affection. But then again, I never imagined that a dying cow would lick my face over and over until he took his final breath, or that a former cockfighting rooster would evolve into a being who ate lunch with us, took car rides with me, and happily climbed onto my dog Murphy’s bed to share a nap.

These are the things that love elicits. Many of us know the joy of drawing the best out of a child, or the rewards of saying to a rescued dog, “You’re safe with me,” and then participating in the transformation of that broken spirit. At Catskill Animal Sanctuary, we do this with pigs and cows, with blind horses and chickens, and the results have changed my life. I invite you to check out my book, Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary and to share a little of my world. When you know them as we do, being vegan is an easy choice, indeed.

We’re beyond honored and thrilled to announce that Jim James, lead singer of the mega-popular, arena-selling-out band “My Morning Jacket,” has announced the upcoming release of a limited edition EP, with a portion of the proceeds coming to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! The EP is a collection of George Harrison songs recorded by Jim back in 2001 and have been sitting in a vault ever since. Read more…

END OF JUNE DEADLINE

The final days of our matching gift drive are upon us! We’re so close, please help us reach our goal! A supremely generous supporter has stepped up to match all donations through the end of June, up to $50,000. With just a few days left in June we’ve almost reached the full potential of this drive. We have over 150 rescued residents in our care and work endlessly to protect billions of farm animals throughout this country, and these funds will go a long way towards our $300,000 annual operating budget. Please help us take advantage of this rare opportunity with a donation of any amount large or small! Read more…

LATEST RESCUE: Quincy the Duck

Quincy is a domestic Pekin duck, the kind often seen in rows hanging by the neck in Chinese restaurants. Some misguided person probably bought him as an Easter gift and then did not know how to properly care for him. He was found abandoned as a tiny duckling in a NYC park. Sadly these “post-Easter abandonments” are all too common.

Now he is being watched over by the staff of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and he has bonded with everyone — and stolen all of our hearts. We are building a proper wading pool for him and hope to get him with some duck friends very soon. You can sponsor Quincy for $10/month by filling out this form.

Watch a video of Quincy at the farm…

Jenny, Dylan (rescued as a veal calf) and Doug

Hello Crazy Sexy Posse! My name is Jenny Brown and I am the Co-Founder and Director of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary—a non-profit organization and shelter that rescues farm animals and works to end the systematic abuse of farm animals everywhere. I am mother to over 150 furred and feathered souls who have, in one way or another, been abused, neglected, discarded or abandoned. I am also a cancer survivor! Yay me!

At the wee age of 10 years old I was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma or — in other words — BONE CANCER (gasp!). I endured almost 3 long years of chemo and lost my lower right leg. I’m also a veggie-lovin’ vegan who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky and never even heard the word “vegetarian” until, uh, college? Seriously. There was rarely ever a vegetable cooked in my house that didn’t have a ham hock (aka: pig’s knee) in it! Every meal incorporated meat or dairy (usually both) until my first semester of college where not only did I hear the word “vegetarian” but I became one instantly after reading about the plight of farm animals. It was then that I made some life-changing connections between the meat on my plate and the miserable life of the individual it came from.

My guess is that if you’re a part of this online community you’re probably taking steps to get healthy, adopt a greener lifestyle, kick your cancer’s ass, or all of the above. I am sure you are also beginning to understand that adopting a well-balanced vegan diet is a great way to possibly achieve all these goals. And let’s not kid ourselves—old habits are hard to break. Changing your diet can be really challenging—especially since we live in a society where animal products are BEYOND prevalent—they are the mainstay. But if you need more reasons or motivation for moving towards a plant-based diet, how about 100 of them —because that is roughly the number of animals you will save each year by going vegan!

Andy the pig – rescued last summer from slaughter

And chew on these stats: The average meat eater is responsible for the deaths of some 2,400 animals during his or her lifetime. In more personal terms, during a 75-year life span, a typical U.S. resident is responsible for the suffering and death of 10 cows, 34 pigs and other small mammals, 2,535 turkeys, chickens and ducks, and uncounted numbers of aquatic animals. Good Lord! We’re walking graveyards!

Sadly, most people just don’t realize how dramatically meat and dairy production in the US has changed over the past 50 years. Those childhood images of happy animals living on sunny, idyllic farms couldn’t be further from reality. Virtually all animals that are raised for food — or their products — live miserable lives in intensive confinement in dark, overcrowded facilities called “factory farms.” These nasty corporate operations emphasize high volume and profit with little or no regard for the environment or humane treatment of animals.

Animals raised for food endure a life of suffering which is something not evident in the neatly wrapped packages of meat offered for sale at grocery store counters. We are so disconnected from the process of raising and killing animals that if you ask a child where meat comes from she might just say the freezer!

Albie wearing his artificial leg, Photo Credit: Ambers Clark

We pay others to do our dirty work. Bruce Friedrich (one of my heros!) asks, “ how many of us could spend an afternoon cutting animals’ throats, or even watching it? And then ask yourself in what other areas of your life do you pay others to do things you find too repulsive? And how ethical is it to pay someone to do things that are wholly unnecessary and too atrocious to watch?”

So just do it guys – cut out the meat and dairy! It’s so easy and when you really break it down, think of it this way: Is the trivial pleasure of your taste buds worth a life of misery for some poor nameless farm animal that feared death? That wanted to live? That mourns for the calves or the piglets torn from her? That suffered her entire life in a gestation crate or in a battery cage so that people can eat her flesh, her mammary secretions (milk) or her unfertilized embryos (ahem, eggs).

My husband Doug and I started Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary to not only help as many farm animals as possible but to get people thinking about the individuals behind the corpses on their plates. The ones who come through our doors are but a tiny fraction of the billions of animals suffering RIGHT NOW for the meat and dairy industries. But together with these animals our job is to raise a greater sense of ethical awareness—to fill the collective hole in the conscience of society—and hopefully in turn, save more animals by convincing people not to eat them.

Carli the dog acting as surrogate Mom for tiny Clover the goat

Sanctuaries are unique in that we have the opportunity to potentially open the hearts and minds of those of who visit. Seeing is believing, and once visitors are able to see and interact with these animals in a natural, loving environment, there is no denying that they think, feel and simply enjoy life.

So if the temptation of pepperoni pizza or that hamburger is stronger than your health-motivated will power, remember that those slices, that patty and those wings came from someone.

As Albert Schweitzer– the great humanitarian & philosopher—once said—“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.” This is what I ask of people and what I ask of you. And if you need a good dose of ethical motivation, come on down to our sanctuary sometime and let your heart, not your habit, do the guiding!

Pumpkins,

This past weekend I had the divine opportunity to speak at The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s ThanksLiving event. Fun! Amazing! Inspiring! I love my animal rights pals and it’s such a privilege to bridge our two worlds – health and compassion. Naturally, I spoke about the effects of a plant-based diet in the role of prevention and reversal of disease and then my BFF Rory Freedman (Skinny Bitch) brought it home with some real deal horrendous facts about what goes on in factory farms.

Jenny Brown and her amazing hubby Doug Able (WFAS Founders) blew our minds with the most delicious feast and a parade of ridiculously cute animal friends. Get this, the turkeys were the guests of honor and they looked gorgeous. So regal. So elegant. Think Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” but with white feathers.

The event really got me thinking about my holiday menu. Brian’s family is trekking to Woodstock this year and since they are willing to take the leap and go veg for the weekend I want to make it extra special. But I keep going back and forth. Do I replace the traditional “meat in the middle” dish with a hearty vegan alternative (NOT TOFURKEY – damn that’s nasty!) OR do I just make a bunch of little dishes and encourage my family to entertain the idea that a meal is complete without a main event?

Here’s an option I’m considering sent by my new friend Gretchen. It’s from some fancy vegan cookbook. I’m serving massive amounts of salad as well, but an all raw holiday? Nope, they definitely ain’t ready for that (and either am I – pass the gravy!)

Chestnut Roast

Note: This recipe serves 4-6, so double or triple accordingly!

2 T Earth Balance
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 lbs chestnuts, peeled and roasted or three 15-oz cans whole chestnuts, or about ½ lb dried chestnuts, soaked and cooked
2 T parsley, chopped
2 T lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
the equivalent of 2 eggs in egg replacer
a few fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
¼ c oil
dried breadcrumbs for coating

Melt the EB and sauté the onion and celery over moderate heat for 10 minutes until soft but not brown. Transfer to a large bowl. Drain the chestnuts and add to the bowl, mixing then mashing together well.

Add the parsley, lemon juice, egg replacer, and garlic.

The mixture should be soft but firm enough to form into a roll; add breadcrumbs as necessary, more if you’re using canned chestnuts. Season w/salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400. Pour a little oil into a roasting pan and put into the oven to heat.

Form the chestnut mixture into a roll about 8 inches long, pressing it together carefully, then coat it well with the dried breadcrumbs.

Put the roll into the roasting pan and carefully turn it so that it is coated with hot oil.

Bake for 45 mins, until it is crisp on the outside, spooning a little more oil over the roll from time to time. Serve cut into slices with delicious gravy/gravies.

How about you? Any ideas for alternative holiday meal planning?

PS. Check our my girl Corinne with her hubs Steve and their new pig pig pal!

Whirled peas,
Kris