As I mentioned in last week’s post, while on Vacation down in NY state, we visited the Catskills Animal Sanctuary. I thought this place deserved more than a sentence and 2-3 pictures lost in a sea of vacation photos. We had added the farm animal sanctuary on our list of things to do while on our mini vacation around Woodstock but I didn’t actually expect to go, much less enjoy it as much as I did. I had pictured a tour with some guy talking about what cows eat, a petting-zoo of sorts. Instead we came down the driveway to a 110 acre property with barns, beautiful fields and even a pond. We were quickly greeted by a curious and hungry goat while we waited for the tour to begin. Animals were just coming and going, checking out who the new people were, and if they were packing snacks.
The tour lasted about an hour and a half, our tour guide told us about the animals we met and why they were rescued. We found out about their personality traits and their personal stories. Many animals are saved from animal hoarders who neglect them. A lot of the information we received concerned the abuse and bad living situations that farm animals go through and they definitely encourage a vegan lifestyle. They even offer vegan cooking classes. Man if this place were around Montreal, I would be volunteering all my free time to help.
If you are ever in the area, I definitely suggest checking this place out for an afternoon activity. We saw a 45 year old donkey (stubborn as a mule of course), some chickens that were saved from a meth lab who had chickens outside – cuz no one assumes chicken farmers to be meth producers…? My favourite animal we got to meet was one of the blind horses who needed to have both eyes removed because they caused him so much pain. But he still managed to live a pretty normal life and was happy to come to the fence to see us and get some affection. Seeing a horse with holes where his eyes should be was both beautiful and shocking at the same time.
continue reading for more pictures…
[more from our trip HERE and HERE]
