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Milton and his twin sister, Anastasia, were born on a small, local dairy farm. When a female is born with a twin male, she's most often a "Freemartin" animal, or sterile. Because Anastasia couldn't be made pregnant and produce milk, and Milton is a male, considered a "byproduct" to the dairy industry, they were both going to be killed. Instead, we rescued them, but we could not save their mother—she was already producing milk and therefore valuable. We know we can never replace their mother, but they will live a long and wonderful life knowing only love.
Miracle's mother, Trudy, was one of the animals rescued from the Catskill Game Farm, including a miniature horse named Clarence. Trudy was adopted to a family with Clarence, who was assumed to be neutered. Apparently he was not, thus, Miracle was born! She’s a mini hinny (mom’s a mini donkey, dad’s a mini horse). They returned to the sanctuary when their human was diagnosed with brain cancer and could no longer care for them. Trudy is typically outgoing and often encourages her more reserved daughter to come out of her shell.
Sven was rescued from a backyard slaughter operation in Orange County along with over 100 other animals. He’s sweet and very bold, he’ll just walk STRAIGHT up to someone to say hello.
Hermione was dumped on the lawn of The Homestead when she was still a baby, emaciated and riddled with internal and external parasites, rotting hooves and scours. We were concerned that she wouldn’t survive, but she did, and today she’s a happy-go-lucky member of our free-roaming “Underfoot Family.”
Willy came from our largest mammal rescue in our history, when we saved 42 sheep from horrific cruelty and neglect at a nearby slaughter operation in Fall 2022. Willy was among many of the adult sheep who suffered from extreme emaciation, high parasite counts, and hoof rot. He is incredibly smart, innovative (you should see the places he finds to use as scratching posts), and a loyal friend.
Jasmine came from New Lebanon, NY, where she was found in the woods alone by a woman walking her dog. After several unsuccessful attempts to return to the woods and capture her, Jasmine was successfully lured by a vegan shepherd's pie the woman made. It’s likely she escaped from a farm based on the type of pig she is - she was about three months old at the time. Now a fully-grown adult, Jasmine is one of our friendliest pigs, and will lay down for belly rubs on cue when she sees a tour group approaching!
Ferguson was born at Catskill Animal Sanctuary to Cleo, who was rescued from a massive tenant farm & hoarding/neglect situation in Westport, MA. Mama Cleo showcased classic signs of neglect, including being very underweight. We later discovered that she was pregnant! Cleo was the first to give birth, but there were complications and Cleo was rushed to the vet. Sadly, one of her babies didn’t make it, but little Ferguson was miraculously revived by Dr. Ferguson, who he was named after. Today, Ferg is an exemplary member of the "Underfoot" family, and is often one of the first faces to greet visitors when they arrive to Catskill Animal Sanctuary!
Cricket was rescued from the notorious hoarder depicted in our founder Kathy’s book, Where the Blind Horse Sings. Cricket was chained by the leg to a tree, without access to water or shelter, and endured this wretched life for nearly two years while many worked tirelessly to bring her to safety. This breathtaking photo was taken the first moment Cricket was released into her large pasture.
When local "humane" farm, Sprout Creek, closed down due to a decrease in funding and COVID-19, their animals were listed to be sent to auction. Hundreds of people messaged us asking, "Can you help?" After local animal organizations, Hudson Valley Animal Rescue and Sanctuary (HVARS) and Hunks n Hunnies Sanctuary, rehomed about 200 of the animals, we brought Levi and his friends, Chester, Mollie, and Arlo, home to Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Read their full story here. All grown up now, Levi is our "athlete" of CAS— he's known for being able to jump over any obstacle in his path! He's also super friendly and affectionate.
A prominent vet in the animal welfare field rescued Robin Hood and his friend, Little John, from a school hatching project. Unfortunately, many of the birds (especially roosters) who are hatched in classrooms meet a very sad ending. We're very happy that Little John and Robin Hood were saved!
This sweet girl found Sanctuary in our quarantine field after she was diagnosed with CAE, a contagious virus that commonly affects goats and sheep. Though a CAE diagnosis can mean death for someone like Rose Willow on a farm, her family wanted her to live out her life safely. Since we have a lot of experience managing CAE, we agreed to offer her a place with our other CAE+ and CL+ goats.
Sidra is an egg-hatching project survivor. A boy who didn’t want the chickens he’d hatched for his science class to die reached out for support, and Sidra came to us. Sidra is a brazen, in-your-face, my-way-or-the-highway kind of gal.
Quincy was found at a property that we had looked at as a potential new home for the sanctuary. Our team was able to capture him after a few weeks of trying to win his trust. He’s a total sweetie. He is VERY fast and agile. He likes to have his belly scratched when he’s up in the rafters.
Stewart "Stewie" was rescued from a massive tenant farm & hoarding/neglect situation in Westport, MA. Upon arrival, Stewie showcased classic signs of neglect, including being very underweight. Today, he's completely forgiven us humans for the way he was previous treated, understanding that at CAS, he is safe for life. He is often the first of the "Underfoot" sheep to approach guests and ask for attention or snuggles— sometimes, if you stop petting him, he'll politely ask you to keep going by pawing you with his hoof!
Lonnie’s mother, Jacqueline, was rescued in 2015 from the notorious “backyard butcher” in Newburgh, NY. More than 100 animals were rescued that day; all had lice, a parasite count so high that many were severely anemic, fungal infections, respiratory issues, and a contagious virus known as ORF. Shortly after Jacqueline’s arrival, we discovered she was pregnant. In January 2016, Jacqueline gave birth to sisters Lonnie and Loretta. Because Lonnie was born here, she’s only ever known kindness.
Gilbert was rescued from a mass hoarding and animal neglect case in Westport, MA. Nearly 1,000 animals were seized. This case, which was the largest cruelty case in the history of the Northeast, was dropped with zero charges due to bureaucratic issues.
Lena was rescued from a massive tenant farm & hoarding/neglect situation in Westport, MA. Upon arrival, Lena showcased classic signs of neglect, including being very underweight. We also discovered that she was pregnant! She gave birth to her daughter Seneca on International Women's Day, so Seneca was named after the historic Seneca Falls Convention. Both Lena and Seneca are very affectionate and sweet members of our Underfoot herd, and still have an extremely close mother-daughter bond.
Bernadette is another surprise sheep! We started getting phone calls about a loose sheep, and then later on that same day she showed up at our driveway. She escaped back in the woods and then appeared in the horse field. Animal Care was able to catch her and safely get her into a barn. We’ve no idea where she came from. The likely story is that someone may have dumped her on our road, knowing the sanctuary is here.
Mario and his sister, Audrey, came from former pig farmer Bob Comis, who had a change of heart when he repeatedly noticed the intellectual and emotional capabilities of the animals he was exploiting. Audrey was said to be the "smartest" pig, and Mario, the "kindest." They are both super friendly and love to hang out with humans on tours!
Nina was rescued from a live market in Astoria, where she (and so many others) would have been chosen, killed, and eaten for Easter. However, a kindhearted couple tearily pleaded with the shop owner to let them rescue Nina, and the shop owner agreed, though he didn’t quite understand why the couple didn’t want him to bind Nina’s feet for easier transport. When Nina arrived, she was riddled with diseases that are all too common for animals raised in poor conditions for their flesh. After she was given a clean bill of health, Nina became a part of our “Underfoot Herd,” and today she is one of the most rambunctious and sweetest members!
When a Long Island woman learned that a local gang was shooting and burning feral cats, she began desperately trying to save them and, in so doing, discovered Sebastian the rooster and some hens. With patience, she finally trapped them all and brought them to us. (Rumor has it, they’re far happier here.) What Sebastian lacks in size he makes up for in attitude.
Dickon was rescued from a backyard slaughter operation in Orange County along with over 100 other animals. He’s the “therapy goat”, our protector who provides a calming presence for the other goats. If one of them needs to be separated for a treatment, Dickon will be their buddy while they’re away from the herd.
Jess and Schmidt were rescued to be friends for Cecilia. They are from someone on Long Island who rescues animals, but the two turkey toms weren’t getting along so she wanted to find a new home for one of them and their closest hen friend. Both of them are very curious about people. Schmidt is very sweet and chill and Jess is talkative and sassy!
Cecilia Chickadee and Kate Brownie were being cared for and loved in someone's apartment. When the landlord discovered that there were two turkeys in the attic, he called animal control and demanded they be rehomed. Heartbroken, their caretaker turned to us. We were unable to take them right away, so Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen was kind enough to foster them for us until we were prepared to welcome them home. They arrived in June 2021.
