Rescue Stories

The dairy industry routinely exploits animals who face slaughter when no longer profitable. These are the stories of a few individuals who escaped that cycle of harm.

Dory was found on a New York roadside by a paving crew, covered in sunburn and road rash and too weak to stand.

Ashley lamb will grow up surrounded by love at Farm Sanctuary. If her mother hadn't been rescued, Ashley would have faced a far different fate.

Blue was raised as part of Future Farmers of America, but his young guardian couldn't bear to see him hurt.

After being found on the side of the road, Poppy hen found her way to Farm Sanctuary and is ready to live a life of peace and tranquillity.

In 2022, a woman inherited a Vermont farm, a quaint property with a tall red barn housing ten cows. Because she wasn’t a farmer herself, she was advised to send the cows to slaughter. Instead, she reached out to Farm Sanctuary.

Last fall, Farm Sanctuary welcomed Deborah, Tracey, and Lisa — three bonded geese rescued from cruelty — to our New York shelter.

A sweet sheep named Dottie gave birth to twin boys on January 21, 2021, in Dutchess County, NY. What should have been a joyous event for Dottie was likely one of great stress. Dottie’s baby boys – Freckles and Patches – entered the world to severe neglect. Yet the persistence and determination of compassionate neighbors and our Farm Animal Adoption Network have given them a second chance.

Last fall, authorities removed 44 animals, including Lizzie and Robbie pigs, from a cruelty situation in New York’s Finger Lakes region. These survivors are now celebrating their first fall at Farm Sanctuary.

Earlier this year, Dan, a former beef farmer, asked Farm Sanctuary to help rehome his herd. Impressed by the cows' intelligence, Dan began to reconsider his relationship with them. Ultimately, he decided he could not, in good faith, send thinking, feeling beings to their deaths.