“I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.”
This well-known quote from Lily Tomlin hits home for many people. How often have you heard about something terrible that happened and you wondered, “Why doesn’t somebody do something about that?”
Allow me to introduce to you an incredible organization that is indeed “doing something about that”.
Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary, located in Northeast Ohio, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that assists law enforcement of any state with the rescue of abused, abandoned and neglected farm animals. Animals like Vernon. Most of their animal abuse cases are closely tied to other violent crimes. Vernon was the victim of domestic violence, and repeatedly stabbed and beaten with a tire iron. He was not expected to live.
Happy Trails deals with animal hoarding (one man kept 50 ducks inside his house); cockfighting and
dog fighting (in dog fighting farm animals are often used as bait to train the dogs to attack); intentional abuse (one pig had acid burns over 80 percent of her body); severe neglect (Mac, a starving draft horse, was 450 lbs. underweight); abandoned animals (Natasha, a baby goat was dumped on the side of a road); animals in food production (Odessa, a beautiful white goat, was sickly and had been thrown on a dead pile and left to die) and the transport system (chickens and other farm animals fall off meat trucks and onto the highway and are left injured in the road).
Often animal abuse is a red flag that warns us of what that person is capable of doing to other human beings as well as to animals. In addition to domestic violence cases, such as the one involving Vernon the pot belly pig, other crimes attached to Happy Trails animal abuse cases included child abuse and elder abuse, statutory rape, forgery and theft. The cockfighting raids result in charges filed for illegal drugs, illegal firearms, illegal gambling and underage drinking.
Since its inception in 2000, over 5,000 animals have been rescued thanks to the people involved with Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary who are determined to do something about that—determined to make the world a safer, kinder, more compassionate place.
Understand that Vernon not only survived, but thrived and prospered after arriving at Happy Trails. His recent adoption was cause for celebration, and he now lives with a caring, loving family.
While it’s crucial that perpetrators are held responsible for the suffering they inflict, it’s also equally important to help people connect with animals so they understand the importance of compassion and caring.
So yes, Happy Trails is known for their farm animal rescue services. They assist humane officers and sheriff’s departments with the removal and rehab of horses, goats, sheep, farm pigs, pot belly pigs, and feathered friends such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese. They provide medical and veterinary care, testify in court, and, once the court case is completed and the animals are signed over, the animals are adopted into loving, caring homes across the United States.
However, Happy Trails is also becoming widely known for helping people connect with farm animals
in a variety of ways. Happy Trails Farm Animal Visitation Program takes farm animals into nursing homes and schools for special visits and educational programs; the Farm Animal Group Program provides peace and healing for clients of Coleman Services, a mental health facility; seasonal tours attract people from all over the United States to meet the rescued farm animals in person and hear their stories while giving pigs belly rubs, hugging the horses and playing with the goats; Boys Scouts earn their Eagle Scout badges through special projects; and college students learn how to care for rescued farm animals through internship programs.
So while Happy Trails is indeed a farm animal rescue organization, they are so very much more. You can get involved and show your support through donating, volunteering, fostering, adopting, or taking a tour.
It’s always important to know which organizations are out there making a huge impact. To learn more about Happy Trails, go to happytrailsfarm.org.