Born into the farm-animal equivalent of a puppy mill, Avery had been taken from his mother, painfully castrated, and sold off as a pet before he was even five days old.

Animal husbandry projects through programs like Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H typically end with participants auctioning off the animals they have raised, knowing that their erstwhile companions will be headed to slaughter.

It took two days for animal advocate Julie Robertson to capture Anna and Maybelle.

Paul Harvey wasn’t crazy about us at first. After all, he’d been living among a very big group of goats with little in the way of daily human interaction, so he didn’t know quite what to make of all the attention he was suddenly receiving at our Southern California Shelter.

This spring brought two very special new residents — both of them blind — to our Northern California Shelter.

A crowded box of chicks sat at the post office unclaimed and ready to be stamped “Return to Sender” — until the peeping sounds from within moved a compassionate mail worker to take action.

Meet Vince and Calvin: two tiny goat kids starting a new life, together.

Jolene was in rough shape when she entered a Southern California animal shelter. Her poor health turned out to be her ticket to sanctuary.

Every year young people throughout the country raise farm animals as part of programs like FFA and 4-H.