Read summer intern Kaden’s experience.
Two years ago I arrived at college a new vegetarian after having just read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. I wasn’t vegan yet as I thought it was impossible. Then a met a fellow student who showed me how easy it was and two weeks later I was vegan!
I spent a lot of time advocating for non-human animals with the Vassar Animal Rights Coalition, but I hadn’t actually met any of the farmed animals I was fighting for. That’s what brought me to Catskill. At the sanctuary I was able to see other animals experiencing freedom. Their individual personalities were able to shine and I watched them get into plenty of shenanigans. I remember how the goats from our Underfoot Gang (the animals who get to wander freely around the barnyard) would stand with their front feet on the fences to reach the tastiest branches of the willow trees. Resident pig, Miss Piggerty would root herself a ditch in the mud and then sink into it to cool off from the summer sun. They all palpably exhibited joy and loss, regardless of whether or not it was the same as our human experience of these emotions.
