Here are the two who inspired the formation of Fauna Haven Animal Sanctuary!

This is their rescue story, as told by Alex of the Fauquier County SPCA, and all that we needed in order to realize Fauna Haven should be their forever home:

“Picture it: Fauquier County, 2021. It was a partly sunny evening somewhere on Rt. 29 when Lenny and Squiggy decided to have the greatest adventure of their lives. They inhaled deeply, gave each other a pep talk and promptly fell off the truck they were on….a truck that was on it’s way to the slaughter house. 3 hours and 4 deputies later…..Lenny and Squiggy were on their way to the warm FSPCA barn complete with ample amounts of hay, thick straw and a staff of humans ready and willing to show them how life SHOULD be lived. Our brave pals were given antibiotics, fecals were run, they were dewormed and vaccinated. Now, they are ready for the next chapter of LIFE….a forever farm!!”

In May, 2021, we received a message from Dina of the White Pig Animal Sanctuary asking us if we would be able to take in three American Mini Pigs who had been dumped on the side of the road. A Good Samaritan had managed to secure them, but wasn’t able to provide a forever home. We initially hesitated as our second barn being constructed especially for “Littles” wasn’t yet complete. However, Dina was persuasive and we decided to take them in knowing we could temporarily house them at the “big” barn.

We made a trek 1  1/2 hours away to meet the initial caregiver halfway and provide transportation for them, but to our surprise upon arrival seeing she had two of the boys! She explained the third had “gotten away” and she didn’t want to make us wait. Ugh.. Of course, this was all at the same time we were headed out for our first family vacation in 4 years. Thankfully, our amazing friend and board member Kimberly, stepped in and she, along with another volunteer, safely got Alvin reunited with his brothers.  The new barn eventually was done and we got them moved over. There is nothing like seeing them run and ‘root’ to their hearts’ content in their own pasture!

In September, 2021, we received a message from Alex at the Fauquier County SPCA (Alex is who introduced us to Lenny and Squiggy for the very first time), who left a message for us to call her and provided no additional information. We returned her call with nervous anticipation, at which time she asked if we would be willing to take in a one-year-old mini-goat. Joy’s response was, “I know technically I should discuss this with Adam, but the answer is YES!” There was no doubt that Adam would agree, and of course he did. The new “Littles” barn was several weeks from being complete, but we knew we had to make it work. On September 18, 2021, we moved Lenny and Squiggy to their new home at the new barn for the very first time and then we left to go pick up Bamm-Bamm, of who we had never even seen a photo, but needless to say It was love at first sight. Although Lenny and Squiggy can be typically big brothers at times, they all became an inseparable herd grazing and playing together each day. He was such a great addition to the Fauna Haven Family!

In November, 2019, we had just wrapped up the first-year renovations to the property, which were fairly substantial. We had vowed that we would one day fill the existing 4 stall “Big” barn, but wanted to wait until the main repairs were done to the house. We were starting to feel much better about the condition of the property and knew that it wouldn’t be long until we could consider who would come to live at the barn.  As the gentleman working improving our driveway was wrapping up work, he asked Adam if we would consider taking in a small mule (Sally) and a half miniature donkey (Hershey). He and his wife had just listed them on Craigslist as the couple were retiring and caring for them was beginning to take its toll. Sadly, there was a likelihood this bonded pair would be separated if left to the fate of Craigslist, so we felt compelled and quickly agreed!  Upon first meeting, Hershey had us at his first hee-haw and Sally is just a beautiful, pony sized horse with big ears, so of course we loved her too. We got busy that weekend figuring out the logistics of everything and prepping their space. It was a little intimidating as up to this point, the largest animals we had experience with were our dogs! They have been an amazing introduction to equine. We absolutely love them and most importantly, they’re never out of each other’s sight!

In 2015, Adam had the epiphany that having pet chickens would be a great experience for our kids. Following mutual concurrence, we decided to embark on a new adventure. Acquired at only a few weeks old from a hobby farm owned by Adam’s coworker. We ended up building an elaborate chicken coop and run and realized quickly that chickens are wonderful animals, each with their own unique personalities; we have added chickens to our flock three times now. In October, 2021, our youngest child came home asking if we could rescue six hens. A classmate of hers was asking people if anyone could take them because they would be “getting rid of them” the coming weekend…one way or another.  Since evolving into a vegan animal sanctuary, we vow to never “purchase” chickens again. As with all of our feathered and furry friends, we have since committed to only rescues. They are amazing beings, full of personality, and continue to be favorite interactions when kids come to visit the property. They were our first experience with a “farm” type animal and helped us evolve into better people we love them.

On Thursday, January 13th, 2022, we received a call from someone who wanted to know if we would be able to take in a pig. Once we learned of the amazing story about this “little” survivor, there wasn’t a question!  A caring couple in Gordonsville, VA had seen her wondering around for a couple of weeks.  After putting food out for her, she continued returning to their property. In an effort to get her help, the couple called animal control who came out, but ultimately told them they neither had the manpower nor the equipment to capture a pig and had no where to take her even if they did. Animal Control officials gave the couple permission to do with the pig as they pleased. After a big snow storm hit the area, she didn’t return and was nowhere to be found! The couple looked and looked, but couldn’t find her and feared the worst considering the heavy snow that had fallen.  Five or six days later, after the snow began to melt, the couple finally located her. Low and behold, there she was in the snow!!  She had burrowed her way into the snow and managed to survive in her little snow igloo that now had melted. Although weak and dehydrated, the couple managed to secure her in a crate and brought her to a barn where she was warmed up and fed. They began looking for a forever home for her and that’s where we came in!!  They appropriately named this girl Elsa. She is a Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig. We are excited to show her the love she deserves and gain her trust! 

In February, 2022, we received a call from our good from Alex at the Fauquier SPCA. This is where we rescued Lenny and Squiggy from, as well as Bamm-Bamm, so they are special to us. We know when Alex is calling though, it’s not because she just wants to say “hi”!  This time was no exception. Animal control had dropped off a Nigerian Dwarf goat to them who had been picked up as a stray. No one had claimed him. He came in with a collar and assuredly had quite the story to tell since he was missing a horn…..if only he could tell it. On February 26th, with the help of an amazing volunteer, we went and picked him up and brought him home to Fauna Haven. After posting about our new arrival on social media, we got a private message from someone who knew part of his story! He had belonged to her neighbor who was an elderly man who kept Obi chained to a log in his backyard, rain or shine with no shelter. He would occasionally escape and come to her barn in search of food. She worried about him and was going to call authorities when he went missing. She was thrilled to see we had rescued him. He has more of a story since he somehow lost a horn between his escape and being picked up, but that part we will likely never know.  What we do know is that we will do our best to keep him safe and he will never know a life without shelter or food again!  

In May, 2022, Joy came across a social media post in which someone was desperately seeking a loving home for a couple of bull calves who had been rescued from the dairy industry. She had three calves. One was already being transported from Massachusetts to Virginia, less that 1 1/2 hours from us, and she had room to transport the other two. What were the chances of someone already bringing these babies to Virginia from Massachusetts? Joy contacted Adam, thinking he would talk her down, but instead he told her to contact her to say we can take them!  So, that’s what she did!  If you don’t already know about the dairy industry, male calves have a very grim future. They are usual taken away from the mom immediately and slaughtered, held somewhere in confinement for 4 months and then slaughtered for veal or otherwise put into the meat industry. They are basically a waste product. Luckily these two were rescued! They will have the gift often denied to cows of being able to live out their natural lives and during that time, will know nothing but love.   

On July 1, 2022, we got a call from someone asking if we had room for one lamb. We, of course, immediately asked for more information. The called on the phone let us know that he was at the slaughterhouse at the moment and really wanted to be able to save some of them. He was in the middle of his own moral dilemma. He knew if he “purchased” the lambs he was financially supporting the slaughterhouse, which is not at all what he wanted to do, but he didn’t feel he could walk away. Long story short, a couple of hours later, we found ourselves with not one, but FIVE lambs! They were all very sick. He said he picked the smallest ones that seemed the healthiest. We were shocked that such sick animals were waiting their turn to be slaughtered and served up as meat for people to eat, but they were. They had respiratory issues, worms, and orf (blisters around the mouth transmissible to humans). We kept them in quarantine for extra long and thought they were healthy. Unfortunately, their weakened immune systems were strong enough to fight off some things they would face. We ended up losing three of the five. That was an extremely difficult week for us. We are thankful they lived the last few months of their lives with names and being very loved. We are SO incredibly thankful for two survivors, Casper and Moose. They are doing great and we love them to pieces!   

In January, 2023, we received a message from our good friend Alex at the Fauquier SPCA. She asked if we would have room to take in two goats who were rescued from the middle of a river on Christmas Eve. Adam and Joy both had the same initial response: YES!!!!  People passing by had seen these two poor goats stuck in the middle of a river. Donner (originally named Ice by the SPCA) was actually standing in the water. Blitzen (originally named Rain by the SPCA) was standing on a little land just out of the water. It was deemed too dangerous to rescue them. To make matters worse, it was at a time when the temperatures were plummeting to unusual lows (where we were it was 6 degrees with a “real fee” windchill of -9!) They, unfortunately, had to spend the night in the middle of the roaring river in sub-zero temps. Some amazing men and women from the Fauquier SPCA rescued them the following morning. It is an absolute Christmas Miracle that they survived! While we were here panicking over our animals while they were in their stalls in big, fluffy beds of hay, these babies were enduring those temperatures in the middle of a river. We feel honored to have them come on join our family here at Fauna Haven Animal Sanctuary. They will never go another night without a dry, warm stall to sleep in!