Johnny Boy
In 2015, a hobby farmer purchased Johnny Boy at an auction and planned on slaughtering him for meat at just 20 months old. But in the meantime, Johnny would escape his small pen on a daily basis. Neighbors would often see the baby calf out on the road—lonely, bored, and looking for someone to connect with.
Neighbor, actor, and animal lover John Scurti would stop to feed Johnny snacks. It wasn’t long before he bonded with the calf and realized what Johnny’s horrible fate would be just a few months later.
Johnny relaxing in the barn
Johnny Boy in late summer 2020.
John decided to take a bold step and talk to the farmer about sparing the life of his new friend. His acting skills came in handy because whatever John said worked. Not only did he convince the farmer to let the calf come to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, John also persuaded him to quit the animal-slaughter business entirely!
In honor of his rescuer, we named the calf Johnny Boy. He now lives happily at the Sanctuary and quickly made friends with Maribeth and Fawn, who he became especially close with. Fawn passed away in 2020, and Maribeth passed away after struggling with her mobility for a number of years. Because Johnny Boy didn’t have any other companions in his space, we introduced him to the main cow herd after a couple of weeks. He now lives happily with a new herd of friends and will often be found snuggled closely with Juniper or grazing with everyone in the pasture.
Johnny Boy enjoying a winter in sanctuary.
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