Catskill Animal Sanctuary
Meet Rambo, Charlie, Barbie, and Malachi—four adorable, lovable, rescued animals.
By Abigail Wick
Rambo the Ram, Barbie the Hen, Malachi the Goat, and Charlie the Pig have found companionship through New York State's Catskill Animal Sanctuary (CAS), an 80-acre haven for animals rescued from neglect, abuse, and abandonment. Since its inception nine years ago, CAS has served 1,500 animals by providing loving care and transitioning the rehabilitated critters to new, happy homes. VN chatted with CAS Founder and Director Kathy Stevens, author of the forthcoming Animal Camp: My Summer with a Horse, a Pig, a Cow, and Pigeon, a Dog, Two Cats, and One Very Patient Man, to share four special farm animals.
Rambo the Ram
Rambo, pictured above, arrived at CAS in 2002 after being saved—along with 14 other animals—from a locked stall on an abandoned property, where the owner would drop by a couple times a week and throw stale bagels to the animals. Rambo arrived at CAS full of violence and mistrust, even using his massive horns to pin his human caretakers against the barn wall. Now he's a natural leader among the animals, one whom Stevens calls a "teacher, sage, healer, and peacemaker." He even has a fan club comprised of two hens and a turkey.
Favorite food: Ginger snaps
Best friend: His paramour, Hannah the sheep
Favorite thing: Massages on his rear quarters
Charlie the Pig
Charlie's caretaker relocated to Europe. Over the course of her 6,000-mile trans-Atlantic flight to her new neighborhood, she must have had a change of heart—once her plane landed, she called CAS in tears, upset that she had "forgotten" to find a home for three sheep and one Charlie. He came to CAS dehydrated and depressed, a condition that didn't begin to lift until a year later, when he found a friend in Rambo the Ram. Stevens says that these days, Charlie happily spends his time stealing hay to pad his already very generous bedding and sneaking mixed grains from the horses' breakfast bowls.
Favorite food: Horse feed
Best friend: His snuggle-buddy, Ozzie the pig
Favorite thing: Stealing hay
Barbie the Hen
Barbie, pictured above with Rambo, is a broiler hen from Brooklyn, where she was found cowering under a parked car. When she arrived at CAS two years ago, Barbie quickly adapted to her new, free-range lifestyle. Stevens explains that broiler hens are bred to grow huge, suffering from the same health problems as morbidly obese humans, so the friendly folks at CAS keep a close watch on her diet. Usually, Barbie can be found snuggling with Rambo the Ram, whom she adores.
Favorite food: Bananas
Best friend: Rambo
Favorite thing: Chillin' with fowl friends
Malachi the Goat
When Malachi's horse friend passed away, his grief was so profound that his guardians brought him to CAS, where they hoped he would find solace in a new animal companion. At CAS, Malachi had his pick of two large pastures of goats, but he instead ended up befriending Passion, a timid horse, who helps remind Malachi of his lost beloved. Goats are notorious for eating anything they can get their hands—er, teeth—on, and Malachi is no exception. Because of his predisposition to graze, caretakers limit his diet to hay and small quantities of grain and vegetable.
Favorite food: Fruit treats
Best friend: Passion the horse
Favorite thing: Escorting CAS horses to pasture
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Posted: Mar 17 2010 10:26AM By Candice Lyons
These stories made me cry. I'm so glad that these animals have found a wonderful place to live and are now healthy, happy, and thriving.
Posted: Mar 17 2010 13:11PM By Beverly Feinstein
What a wonderful story. I have visited CAS and despite the suffering that the rescued animals previously endured at the hands of heartless humans, CAS is their heaven on earth. The unadoptable ones live out their days in a glorious place.
Posted: Mar 17 2010 19:15PM By JTread
I have been to Catskill Animal Sanctuary, and it is a wonderful place. Not only do they take in animals who need rescue, they nurture them and encourage them to realize their full personalities, which emerge once they have healed and are safe and happy. Thank you VegNews for introducing this amazing sanctuary to your readers!
Posted: Mar 18 2010 05:08AM By Mi-Lyn Dolan
Each animal at CAS has a wonderful story to tell. The stories are heartbreaking at the start but soon show each animal's amazing ability to heal when shown the loving compassion that the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary provide. Anyone able to make the trip to the sanctuary will not only enjoy meeting the animals and the humans, but will also be able to see this incredible process at work.
Posted: Mar 18 2010 15:46PM By Samantha
I LOVE these stories - keep them coming. It is so nice to hear of the happy ending kinds of stories!
Posted: Mar 18 2010 16:55PM By pat
it's really nice to hear about kindness and compassion.
Posted: Mar 18 2010 17:30PM By Jennifer Brown
I have the great pleasure of knowing these four wonderful critters, and many of the other beautiful residents of CAS. I've volunteered many times over the past 2 years, and this is truly a place where magic happens - where love, kindness, and patience wash away years of cruelty, neglect, and misery. If you listen with your heart, animals have so much to teach us.
Posted: Mar 18 2010 18:08PM By Christine Williams
I am so happy and honored to be one of the volunteers at CAS. I also know these four animals and they truly are success stories! What CAS does is awesome!! Thank you!! *<:-)
Posted: Mar 18 2010 18:20PM By Danny Abehssera
Kathy Stevens and her amazing team are the true inspirations for these incredible animals and for us everyday folks, looking to do something good, something important in our lives. I have been fortunate enough to go to CAS and to meet the loving people and animals in this article. My heart and soul are forever changed. I only wish that every animal in need would know and feel the love and compassion of the ones lucky enough to call CAS their home.
Posted: Mar 18 2010 19:26PM By DLenhart
CAS is indeed a haven for abused, neglected and unloved animals. I love my volunteer time there, and consider it an honor to take care of these oh-so-deserving beings.
Posted: Mar 19 2010 08:33AM By becky
This story made me cry tears of joy!! Thank you so much to the volunteers and staff at CAS-there is truly a special place in heaven for people like you!
Posted: Mar 23 2010 08:40AM By jc barone
Great to read the continuing stories of my favorite creatures! I am so amazed & impressed with the work you all are doing. I hope you are able to expand to help more animals and reach more humans with this worthy effort.
Posted: Mar 24 2010 11:35AM By Ana
Animals are just amazing. I love the qualities that they possess; it's so clear that they need love, compassion and nurturing just like humans do. Great stories!
Posted: Mar 25 2010 06:46AM By Donna Reynolds
Thank you for this, VegNews ! I'm a CAS member, and fan of Kathy, Julie, and all who get down and dirty volunteering there . hey - April 10 we can ALL go for Spring cleaning day and work for the creatures! CASanctuary.org for details. Speaking of helping animals: yesterday was Humane Lobby Day in Albany, sponsored by HSUS and NYS Humane Association, etc. A couple hundred plus people (2 buses from NYC!) gathered to push for improved legislation for NYS's animals. Farm animal legislation covers: ban bovine tail docking, ban sow gestation crates, battery cages for chickens, and ban veal crates for cow babes. Gentle words for vegetarianism were inserted when we could. Were CAS's residents' ears ringing? How bout a 'Featured CAS resident' in every issue of VegNews? These happy stories help in our work and inspire vegetarianism...
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