AMELIA, Ohio — Biscuit and Breken are best friends and have been since the day they met a year ago.
That’s when Breken first stepped hoof on the grounds of Foreverland Farm Sanctuary.
The white donkey, a veteran of the farm, arrived at the sanctuary with severely overgrown hooves and the blue-eyed, multi-colored goat, who was born with a crooked spine, instantly gravitated towards each other.
Breken, who was also born with terminal heart defects, was small and skittish around the other animals but Biscuit provided shelter, underneath his sturdy belly for feeding time at the trough, keeping others at bay while the tiny goat had his meal.
And even today, the taller Biscuit pulls down tree limbs for his shorter pal, Breken, to eat.
Together, they are living out their best lives side by side on the farm.
That duo with a forever bond are not unlike many of the animals living there.
They all have a name.
They all have a story.
They all have a past.
But because of Foreverland Farm Sanctuary, they also have a future.
And the farm’s own future and vision has not diminished amid the pandemic.
While COVID-19 has put a strain on the farm sanctuary’s finances, the toll of the pandemic has not veered Brittney Kane, the farm's founder and executive director, from her dream of the possibility of expanding the nonprofit in 2021.
Kane hopes to save more animals, specifically farm animals, who have been abused, abandoned or discarded.
“We take in animals, at the end of the line that really don't have another place to go, animals that have really big medical needs that regular people or farms can't really accommodate, because it takes so much time and money. We think that they deserve a quality of life. So, we're gonna provide that for them,” Kane said.
And just like the animals' sanctuary will persevere through the pandemic and upcoming wintry months, Kane’s mission is also to share their own stories of perseverance and survival that she has witnessed first-hand over the three years since they opened their barn doors.
Biscuit and Breken have been best buds since they arrived at Foreverland Farm Sanctuary. (Jessica Noll / Spectrum News)
Tucked just off the road, along Lindale Mount Holly Road in Amelia, you might miss the modest white barn on a six-acre farm if you blink.
While in the company of a handful of other small farms along the rural, yet residential route, Foreverland Farm Sanctuary is different.
Much like the famed annual T.V. claymation Christmas tale, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and its portrayal of the land of misfit toys, you might consider Foreverland Farm Sanctuary as the farm of misfit animals.
It's home to a one-eyed chicken, one-eyed horse and a three-legged goat named Champion — named after the three-legged dog on “Parks and Rec,” and more than 70 other animals need a safe space to be themselves and live a life that is free from harm, Kane said.
In fact, the farm is home to 10 special needs animals, including eight chickens who suffer from anything from splayed legs to requiring special diets.
But it isn’t a farm of misfits.
It’s a farm full of kind, resilient, forgiving animals, who greet any guest to the farm like family.
Whether it’s a sniff in your ear, a kiss on your hand or cheek, or just trying to eat your hat as you take a quick photograph of them, they just want love, attention and a place to call home — and that is what Foreverland Farm Sanctuary is for them.
"I think that the most important thing for people to know is that their lives have value,” Kane said. "And if you have an opportunity to meet the animals or hear their stories ... it opens up a whole new world of understanding for them, compassion towards them — just seeing what they've been through and how they can now have a good life. And I think that's really important, just making a connection with them. And they are so resilient and so trusting (and) just so willing to be friendly and loved on."
Foreverland Farm, which opened as a nonprofit in February 2018, gives farm animals a second chance at life, Kane said.
In fact, their slogan is: “Saving the world one animal at a time.”
Safe Space for 'Overlooked' Farm Animals
Her dream all started nearly nine years ago, when Kane adopted Booger in 2012. Now, Booger and five other horses are housed in a nearby stable up the road, where Foreverland Farm rents stables.
Brittney Kane, 34, a full-time therapist, runs the farm with her wife, Leann Kane, a 30-year-old social worker. It was their goal to help heal farm animals through rescue, compassion and education, after living a life of neglect.
"We knew that we wanted to start an animal sanctuary because we recognize the plight of farm animals. There's a lot of dog and cat rescues out there — not enough, there's never enough — but there are resources for dogs and cats. But when it comes to farm animals, there's nowhere for them to go, and they're so overlooked most of the time,” Brittney said.
"That's why we share their stories. You get to meet them and see that they have personalities to make that connection between like, ‘OK, this is a real animal with a real personality, just like my dog at home.’ So, that's one component of our rescue — our main focus is to have a safe space for the animals to be themselves, because they do have personalities,” Brittney said. "
They want to live. They want to have a good quality of life, just like a companion animal at home, like your dog and cat.
They want connection with their friend. They want connection with you, as their caretaker."
Founder Brittney Kane and Iggy greet each other at Foreverland Farm Sanctuary. (Jessica Noll / Spectrum News)
As Iggy wakes from her slumber and waddles out from inside her own smaller barn adjacent to the main barn, Brittney bends down to say, “Hello!” and pet her snout — just as she does with all of the “children” living on the farm.
Iggy, an enormous pink pig, has been part of the rescued gang since Dec. 17, 2017.
But the farm’s first pig and first rescue was Milton.
Milton was just a piglet when he was advertised for sale as a “mini pig.”
But the family who bought him quickly realized after his second birthday that “mini” wasn’t quite an appropriate description for Milton.
He grew to be a whopping 160 pounds.
According to Brittney, Milton was growing increasingly bored inside his family's house and became destructive. So, his family moved him into the garage full time.
"It wasn’t a good life for a pig being kept in a garage," Brittney said.
And while Foreverland Farm does not usually accept owner surrenders, she made an exception for the potbelly pig.
"Potbelly pigs are the No. 1 animal we get asked to take in because people buy them thinking they are like dogs. And they quickly learn they need a lot more attention, care and stimulation than dogs or cats.
They also grow a lot larger than breeders advertise.
The term 'mini-pig' refers to any pig under 300 pounds. There is no such thing as a 'mini-pig,’” she said.
These days, Milton meanders around the farm yard with the rest of the crew.
Nearly six dozen animals happily graze along the farm grounds, including three pigs, one donkey, four goats, eight cats, seven sheep, 12 ducks, two turkeys, five rabbits, and 24 chickens, who take up residence in red-and-white trimmed chicken coops.
Among them are Lala and Marvel.
Lala’s sheep breeding farm owner said that she was barren and because of that, she was going to be killed.
Brittney stepped in and rescued the sheep.
No sooner was she settled in at Foreverland, Brittney and Leann noticed something about her a few months later. She had grown larger and her udders were swollen. Yep, Lala was, in fact, pregnant.
"We had no idea and we didn't really even know what to do because we've never had an animal born here because we don't breed any of our animals,” Brittney said. “We knew we had to rescue her but we didn't know why. And then a couple months later, we knew.”
Her son, Marvel graced the farm on July 28, 2018, and has been by his mom’s side ever since. To date, he is the only animal who has been born on the farm.
"He is 2 1/2 years old and he spent every day with his mom. They don't ever have to be apart. And you know, it's just been a beautiful journey for them, watching him grow up with her, and you know, her feeling safe and having her son with her,” Brittney said.
It is a story that touches Brittney because, she said, she can relate to Lala.
"I feel like they're so resilient. And our animals have overcome so much,” she said. “Just from sharing Lala's story about her infertility and people just kind of dismissing her as not being useful — like as a woman in her 30s that doesn't have children. Like, I've identified with that. People are like, 'Well, why don't you have kids? When are you gonna have kids?’ And I'm like: ‘Never.’"
Growing Brood, Creates Growing Need Amid COVID-19’s Impact
Brittney and Leann bought their home and property with the farm sanctuary in mind. And that’s exactly what they have done for three years.
In those years, it has grown exponentially.
And while they could not be more thrilled, the farm founders realize they need to expand in order to serve a growing need. They hope grow the farm in acreage and have the room to grow their brood.
"We've gotten a lot more people involved in our mission. We’re hoping to grow as an organization and purchase a larger property here in the next coming year. So we can expand our organization even further to take in more animals,” Brittney said.
Their animals come from a variety of places and for a myriad of reasons, and unique, but sometimes-troubling origin stories.
"Animals come from all over,” Brittney said. “We have a sheep that was rescued from being loose on the highway. We take in animals from severe neglect cases, saving them from going to slaughter. We also take in animals that require special care. We are typically the last option for animals that need a safe, permanent home, when the alternative would otherwise be death.”
Foreverland resident roosters, Nic and The Captain are two of the 42 birds seized from a cockfighting ring during a FBI raid in Colorado, Brittney said.
All 42 found new homes across the country at sanctuaries like Foreverland Farm.
But as of late, COVID-19 has been the biggest factor for animals needing new forever homes.
"We took in three chickens from a huge rescue mission when a factory egg farm shut down in Iowa due to COVID. Rescue workers went in to save as many birds as they could before they were all killed when the farm shut down,” Brittney said.
Foreverland Farm has rescued 28 animals this year alone — 14 of those came in at once from what Brittney referred to as a hoarding situation.
Their owner reached out to Foreverland because she could no longer afford to care for her 12 ducks, two goats and rooster because of her own financial crisis due to COVID-19.
With an overwhelming increase of farm animals, especially this year due to COVID-19, Brittney said, they are pretty much at capacity at their current location.
While their animal occupancy has grown over 2020, their funding has not, and the cost to care for the animals has not diminished.
The farm costs approximately $82,000 annually to operate. And monthly expenses tend to increase during the winter months, Brittney said.
“Winter is tough. It costs us more money to operate in the winter because the animals stay warm by eating. So, we feed extra (and) we go through extra hay. We go through extra bedding to keep everybody warm — like all of the chicken coops have warmers, like heating panels. We run more electricity (because) we have to make sure everybody's water is not frozen. So, we go through more water. We just we just use up more resources to make sure all of the animals are comfortable,” she said.
However, the cold isn’t the farm’s biggest concern plaguing them this winter.
Due to COVID-19, Brittney has had to cancel this year’s farm visitor and volunteer days, as well as in-person benefits — in which they receive the bulk of their donations annually.
Those events, Brittney said, also bring welcomed awareness about the farm and its mission.
“We lost big time, not being able to have people come out. And just the awareness when people come to visit (and) then they're posting pictures that other people are becoming aware of our organization, our mission, and then they want to come visit,” Brittney said.
In addition, she had to alter the farm's biggest annual fundraiser at Halloween into a virtual fundraiser. But it did better than expected, she said.
And because of its surprising success, Brittney said she is planning more virtual fundraising events in the coming months.
Raising money, she said, is key to their future and their goals for the next year. And their main goal for 2021 is to potentially move onto a larger chunk of land, anywhere from 50 to 100 acres, to expand their farm, and in turn, help more animals than they currently have the capacity to rescue.
They do not have any scheduled virtual fundraising events on the calendar, however, they are asking for their annual end-of-year donations — because, according to Brittney, each year, they usually have a donor who matches donations that come in between Christmas and New Year’s, up to $3,000.
To learn more about the farm and how to donate funds for the sanctuary's end-of-year call for donations, visit the Foreverland Farm Facebook page or website.