The Mothers of Woodstock
On Mother’s Day, we’re privileged to celebrate several wonderful moms who call Woodstock Sanctuary their home. We try very hard to keep family units together if we are contacted about rescues that involve parents and children.
When you enter Woodstock, one of the first groups you see is the Tiniest Herd. There are two amazing moms in this group, each with the two children they gave birth to in Sanctuary after their rescue. Sassy and Tovah were living in danger at an illegal backyard butcher operation in 2015, and arrived to the Sanctuary pregnant. Since having their babies, they have been able to raise and look after them in safety. Sassy’s family is a little more independent, and likes to spend time spread out, doing their own things. Tovah’s family, on the other hand, is practically always together, and when you look in their pasture you can usually see Tovah sandwiched in between her babies Raymond and Hallie.
Don’t forget—if you’d like to see Tovah, Sassy, and the other 400+ residents who call Woodstock home, tours start this Saturday with a special opportunity to bring your mom or motherly figure for free on May 7th!
We have some amazing pig moms here, too—Agnes and Mama. Agnes lived in a tiny dirt yard with no shade, starving while trying to take care of four piglets. Now you can find Agnes lounging in comfort in the pig barn while her big, grown up pig kids nudge and snuffle her all day. On the other side of the barn, Mama and her five piglets, who are all much bigger than her, enjoy freedom since being rescued from the same case as Sassy and Tovah.
Have a mom who loves pigs? We’ve got some adorable pig merch in store including these adorable pig socks! Click here to snag yours.
We are also home to mothers who never got to keep their children. The separation of mothers and babies is what fuels dairy farming, and we have mothers here who lost many children during their years being used for their milk. Maybelle was used as a milking demonstration cow and had four babies who were taken from her and sent to places like zoos and other farms. Living at Woodstock gave Maybelle the chance to take on a parenting role with calves Colin and Woody when they were rescued as babies.
One of our most poignant rescue stories is our incredible cow friend Jo. When rescuers arrived at the farm where Jo lived, they saw all the cows chained up--moms in front and newborn babies in back. They could see each other, but no one could care for the children they had just given birth to. Jo had been giving birth to babies who had been taken away from her for the majority of her seven-year life. Learn more about Jo’s life and help educate others by visiting our non-graphic campaign website and sharing with friends.
What we want to teach people is that animal farming relies on separating parents and children and would not exist without doing this. There is no magical farm where families stay together and live out their entire lives--at some point they are separated, and their lives are cut short, whether it’s a few days, weeks, months, or years. Only at sanctuaries will you find families together, if they are lucky enough to be given the chance.
This Mother’s Day, we want to celebrate the mothers here who raise their children now, and those who never got the chance to do so. To sponsor a mother resident or family, click here. To visit us and meet these wonderful residents in person, click here!