It feels good to feel good

Earlier this year, right after we started our farm animal sanctuary, a new feeling settled into my heart and I can honestly say how good I feel. Most every day allows me to witness something that makes my heart smile and often I am treated to experiencing something that makes me laugh out loud. It feels good to see these beautiful animals living a carefree life. But sometimes, this feeling of good gets very personal and very emotional. That has happened twice to me since starting the rescue and both times the feelings were overwhelming. The first time was back in February when Susie and Gerry were rescued from a kill pen. We were still very new to this and did not even realize kill pens existed. When this mother and her then 6-month-old foal stepped off the transporter onto their new forever home at our sanctuary, I was overcome with a feeling of good. We had saved these beautiful, gentle donkeys from slaughter. It truly felt good to feel good. The second time was just this past month and the feeling of good was also very moving. We rescued 1-year old Chip the donkey but because his mother, Louisa was extremely sick, he came to us with another jenny, Mrs. Potts. Chip clung to Mrs. Potts but had no spunk to him, certainly not like Gerry our other 1-year old donkey. Thankfully, Louisa recovered and became available for adoption and we brought her to Butterfly Field Farm to be reunited with Chip. To watch this reunion between mother and foal was an incredibly moving experience. Once the pair made the connection, they went off on their own and have not been apart since. Mother and baby were only separated for a little over a month but anyone who has children knows that can feel like an eternity. This is what sanctuaries should be about - these feel good stories. This is the kind of happy endings we usually see in Disney movies, but it played out right before our eyes. It felt good to witness but more importantly, it feels good to know we helped to create a sanctuary where animals can live out their natural lives in peace and harmony.