After coming to us with an infection in her hoof that had destroyed the bones in her leg, Emmy is finally without anything having to support her leg in seven months! The bone in her injured joint is finally growing again and ankylosing at the fetlock joint. The results seen in her radiographs made it possible for Emmy to no longer have to wear any support bandage, cast, or splint.

Continued exercise, laser treatments, and wear of her specialized shoe should hopefully have Emmy walking evenly on both toes very soon.

It is not easy to look at what Sabrina has suffered for being born into dairy. She experienced a vaginal prolapse after she gave birth to her last calf in March 2023. The pressure of the fetus, the weight gain Sabrina experienced due to pregnancy and her genetics all played a role in her vaginal prolapse. After 3 months of the tissue bulging out every time Sabrina lied down, the prolapse began to remain out even when she stood up. The continued pressure caused Sabrina to have an instinctive urge to push, creating further problems.

Once a cow prolapses, they will continue to prolapse during each pregnancy. Because there is a genetic component to this tendency, most cows and their calves are culled so that they don’t pass on the trait. Sabrina’s dairy intended to place her on the truck that brings the mothers to slaughter at her dairy farm. There was no sense of appreciation for what her body had been through or given to the dairy farm. It was all about profit.

Sabrina received the required medical attention by the wonderful staff at Cornell Animal Hospital and is now safe and sound at our haven.

Found at the Pilot Truck Stop after jumping or falling off of a transport truck in North Carolina, Clementine has made the journey here to Gentle Acres thanks to the efforts of Sisu Refuge and Blind Spot Animal Sanctuary. This 4 pound bundle of goodness will soon meet her future BFF Winston very soon!

On May 30, 2023 we received a call about a little jumper who escaped from a transport truck to slaughter. A compassionate passerby stopped to scoop up this wee sir and immediately called for help. When we saw the placement plea from PigPig of St. Albans, we knew he belonged with us.

Welcome to our haven Winston, our very first piglet family member!

And Dusty makes four!

A band of brothers has formed amongst our cows Benny, Red, Poe and our newest addition Dusty.

After the heartache of losing Ziggy Stardust, his sweet mama Mambo had another baby boy who bears a striking resemblance to his late brother. Naturally, we named our newest addition in our Ziggy’s honor.

They’re finally here! Ziggy Stardust merchandise is on our website and ready to purchase in time for the holidays!

Ziggy is forever immortalized in this beautiful image painted lovingly by Jill at Emery Farm Sanctuary to help us raise the necessary funds to bring Ziggy’s mom Mambo and her newborn bull calf out of the dairy industry.and relinquished to GAAH.

100% of the proceeds from the sales of Ziggy’s merchandise is going directly towards building Mambo’s new run-in shelter. Named Ziggy’s Hideaway in honor of our boy, this run-in will be able to give safety, protection and comfort to all those who seek haven for many years to come.

This original, one-of-a-kind digital painting was created with love by the vegan artist Lisette Rotman. Lisette creates whimsical characters that depict farmed and companion animals in smile-inducing creations. She was gracious enough to create this bold & playful image to commemorate Ziggy’s life. It perfectly captures the little calf who everyone fell in love with and whose silly, energetic, goofy ways would knock his favorite humans over for moo kisses.

All funds raised from the raffle to win this one of a kind piece go towards building Ziggy’s mama, Mambo’s new enclosure for her and her unborn calf.

Our sweet duckling Rain has aggressive sinusitis with bullae that is in the periorbital & infraorbital spaces surrounding his eye. This infection is so extensive that there is loss of bone in the sinus region and potential for the area that drains the sinuses to be destroyed. Rain’s breathing is compromised and the pressure on his left eye is causing vision loss.

A marsupialization (a surgical procedure performed if a cyst or abscess keeps coming back) was performed after Rain’s infection became so bad that his beak was being pushed out of alignment by the “bullae” forming at the sight of his sinus infection, also causing him difficulty with eating and drinking as well as resulting in a compromised neurologic state.

Fortunately Rain has been responding well to his antibiotics and regular marsupializations. Stay tuned for updates on this brave boy!

This sweet soul is a Holstein bull calf born at a dairy farm in Massachusetts. Red is the newest angel to escape dairy and live out his life in sanctuary at GAAH.

How could we resist this precious teeny tiny face?

Traveling all the way from New Jersey, Penelope (aka “Penny”) arrived on July 21st, the very first kitten to join our GAAH family.

Penelope came to us from Homeward Bound Rescue as one of the many “overflow” kittens all shelters get during kitten season, a time of heightened need for feline adoption.

We can’t wait to see how Leo and Marley welcome this new girl into their feline brood!

Three more bull calves are free from the dairy industry life!

Milo, Poe, and Otis came all the way from Massachusetts to begin their new lives of kindness and compassion. While Otis and Milo stopped by just to visit for a while until they make their way to their forever homes with Fauna Haven Animal Sanctuary, Poe will remain with us and find his way into Benny’s heart as his new baby brother.

We are thrilled to have Poe as our newest addition.

In her initial arrival to GAAH, we placed baby Willow in Mama Rosie’s stall so that she could feel the immediate comfort and nurturing Rosie provided all of our haven animals. Rosie offered Willow a safe space where she was able to find her footing and nuzzle as much as she needed to feel a sense of security and tenderness.

Before Rosie’s passing Willow wouldn’t allow Pax near her in the barn pasture or when he began sleeping in her stall. After Rosie’s passing, we found Willow and Pax side by side, roaming the fields and eating together from the same bowl.

We like to see Willow’s newfound trust in Pax as Rosie’s legacy, one of a lifelong trusting partnership and some seriously cute displays of lamb love.

After months of treatment, hopeful and challenging days, struggle and perseverance, moments of joy and sadness, our girl finally let us know that she was ready to rest.

The disease process that is meningeal worms is complex, confusing, and ultimately devastating. We did all that we could to keep our promise to Rosie of providing her with an enriching, loving, healthy, and kind life. In the end, in order to fulfill that promise, we were forced to say goodbye.

We will think of and miss you every day our Rosie girl.

Little Pax has welcomed a big sister into his life!

Willow is a 2.5 month old lamb who came to us after we received a concerned call from our local veterinarian. When we picked her up, we were taken aback at the amount of injuries she has endured.

She is presently healing from open wounds on her chest, both front legs, her right ear where her tag was ripped out, all of this from getting caught in the metal perimeter fence because she is blind. Her left ear is the worst and is currently infected from where one of the livestock guarding dog puppies chewed it when her entire head was caught in the fence.

We brought her directly to our vet. She is fighting a high fever caused by the infection in her ear and has started on antibiotics and pain medication. She is incredibly resilient for all she’s been through in her short life.

May we present to you “The Peacemakers”. Our new little turkeys are incredibly calm, quiet and have a certain peace about them. Maddy (Madeleine Albright), Marie (Madame Marie Curie), and Ellie (Eleanor Roosevelt) enjoyed their first day outside feeling the blades of grass underfoot. Oh the beauty that Spring brings.

What is sweeter than a newborn lamb? This precious angel is the newest resident of GAAH. He came from a local sheep farm from a first time mama who rejected him at birth. He is two days old today. He is all that is sweet and good in this world.

We’ve decided to name our new boy Pax, the Latin word for Peace. With all that is currently happening in Ukraine, and with the world’s 3 largest religions celebrating Ramadan, Passover and Easter this week and next, it is time for us to come together and celebrate Peace. Peace for the animals, for the children, for the suffering, for the planet, and for our future. Welcome home Pax.

After undergoing surgery and weeks of incredible care by the nurturing veterinary staff at Virginia Tech, the health of our sweet Ziggy Stardust failed and we were forced to say an untimely goodbye.

There will never be another Ziggy but we know, though our time together was brief, he came to us to fulfill our purpose, and he has paved the way for more sweet souls to enter our hearts and haven so we can continue to rescue again and again.

It’s baby bird galore here at GAH!

Our local Tractor Supply store sells ducks, chickens, and turkeys and has agreed to contact us if they ever get any that are injured or sick. We have been awakened every morning since by the bird songs of our new little additions.

Many of them still need to be named and, in honor of Women’s History Month, we are taking submissions after female figures who have made a positive impact on our world

Our founder was contacted by media producers for the Greater Good and Animal Rescue Site for their very first interview!

She talks all about what inspired her to start GAAH, the cruelties of the farm factory industry, and the value of treating all sentient beings with kindness and compassion.

We’ve hit a few bumps in the road the past two months, but luckily are coming out of it a-ok.

One morning upon opening the barn, we came in to find our lovely Rosie unable to stand. She ended up being diagnosed with meningeal worms which cause neurological damage by entering spinal canal. These worms can be detrimental, causing hind leg weakness and unsteadiness that progresses to hind leg dragging, the inability to walk in a straight line, head wobbling, tremors, and finally the inability to stand. After administering an intense regimented treatment protocol, Rosie is stable - her gait has improved, she is less disoriented, is eating well, and maintains good quality of life. We will be monitoring her continued improvement and overall well-being!

Our youngest farm family member Ziggy ended up at Virginia Tech for emergency surgery after discovering that his bladder was completely blocked and kidneys were shutting down. It was a wild ride with a ton of ups and downs but our boy is back home and thriving.

The end of 2021 left us with a great loss when we had to say goodbye to our sweet Big Red Mama. She became acutely ill, was rushed to the emergency vet, placed on medication, and closely monitored. Within 48 hours her sickness became too much for her to bear. Her final breaths were taken in comfort, with us in our home, wrapped in our arms.

It’s our first loss here on the farm and we know it won’t be our last. We buried her alongside our chicken coop to keep her close to her avian family. Big Red Mama will forever be a part of our haven and hold a special place in our hearts.

This Thanksgiving brought us a whole lot more to be grateful for with our newest addition Ziggy Stardust.

This little guy got nice and cozy his very first night home, curiously taking everything in and affectionately engaging with us from the moment he stepped foot onto our farm.

While Ziggy is happy and healthy he has tested positive for coccidia, a highly contagious intestinal parasite which can be easily treated. We are quarantining him and treatment has started so that we can safely introduce him to his big brother Benny.

Please consider helping us care for Ziggy during this time.

We received a phone call the other night from one of our neighbor farmers about a four month old calf who had broken her leg. Sadly the break was too severe for us to be able to save this little love as we had so hoped.

While we weren’t able to welcome Little Love into our haven family, we were grateful for the opportunity of building important relationships with the beef and dairy farmers in our small Virginia community. So when the time comes that an urgent situation presents itself or a special needs animal is facing life or death, they call us, and a life can be spared or saved.

Early November has already marked some seriously frigid temperatures so we have immediately taken the appropriate steps to keep our furbabies warm.

The perimeter fence around our barn is complete! We now have a run-in allowing the animals to easily move inside and out, graze freely, and keep safe from predators and getting lost.

At just ten days old this little sir joined our haven. Now, at just shy of two months old, he is far from little, growing at an astronomical rate every day.

Blueberry’s bachelor pad has officially been infiltrated! Five hens are making themselves cozy sharing his coop.

October marks the month that our little man Yoda has officially been banded. We chose banding over knife castration as it seems to be a safer option, without bleeding and with less potential for infection.