The Sanctuary Residents
Not a farm, nor ranch, nor petting zoo, nor rehab—a sanctuary. Rancho Compasión is a permanent home for domesticated animals bred for the food system, like the egg, dairy, wool, and flesh industries. The 10 different species at the sanctuary share their home among each other in an interspecies model. Cows roam the hills alongside donkeys, sheep butt heads with goats, pigs root in the mud alongside ducks and geese, cats nap on a straw bale with turkeys, and the chickens, well, they mostly stick to themselves. On over 10 acres, the sanctuary residents have agency to express a range of emotions and choose how they want to live.
Our promise to the residents is to ensure their basic fundamental rights are respected, needs are met, and an elevated standard of care is provided for the duration of their natural lifespans. We do not breed or promote breeding, nor do we utilize their eggs, feathers, or wool for our personal use. They are our family, as are all beings on this Mother Earth. It is our responsibility to treat them with dignity and self-determination—not as products to be used or consumed.
Now, think about your preconceived ideas about animals used for food or breeding. Cow always give milk? Roosters are mean? Ducks are dumb? Pigs are sweaty & messy? The truth is, all of these ideas about animals are false! They are taught to us by a system that devalues their unique lives in order to make consuming them more palatable. These individuals are as deeply feeling, thinking, and expressive as a dog, cat, or yourself! Their lives matter to them. We hope that by meeting our residents and hearing their stories (by reading below, or perhaps on a tour!), you may get to see just how unique each one is.
When we expand our circle of care and compassion to include farmed animals, we make this world a little more peaceful.
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BIFFs (Best Interspecies Friends Forever)
In Memoriam: Benny & Joon
This odd couple proved that deep love can result between different species. Benny, a goat, and Joon, a sheep, were rescued by Farm Sanctuary from a hoarding situation in the desert of SoCal. They were raised separately in dog runs without room to roam or graze. Their love and commitment to each other was beautiful to witness. Benny was Joon the sheep’s protector and best friend.
Sadly, Benny passed away in September 2017. We were worried about Joon’s happiness but she adjusted well by hanging out with the rest of the goat herd. Fortunately, we came across a perfect partner for her to be close with again—Cinnamon, another barbados sheep. And now, Joon is the boss of her sheep herd, fearless and strong-headed.
Benny will live on in our logo to represent the heart and soul of what Rancho Compasión is all about: one big, happy family—no matter where you came from or what species you belong to.
Somes BIFFs butt heads!
Angel & Echo
Perhaps the oddest couple at Rancho, Echo (the goose) adopted Angel (the cow) after his partner goose died, and the two have been nearly inseparable ever since.
More Rancho BIFFs
Our Cow Friends
Angel
Angel was the last cow—in fact, she was just a 3-month old calf—at a dairy that closed down on San Antonio Road in Petaluma. The farmer retired at the age of 75, and had sold all of his milking cows to a bigger dairy. Angel was just 3 months old at the time and was in a small makeshift pen outside with the hood of a car as her only roof. A local vegan befriended him and convinced him to let Rancho Compasión adopt her. She was about the size of our large goats when she arrived, and had just been weaned from the bottle. Grazing grass was a whole new experience for her.
Angel is now the matriarch of the sanctuary. With horns like hers, she’s no doubt the boss. But she has a soft side, and is always concerned and hovers by the fence line whenever any of the animals are being visited by the vet or have to load into a trailer.
Louie
Louie is an angus steer who was raised by a local high schooler, Paige, enrolled in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) program. FFA animals are groomed, given names, and then expected to be sold for slaughter at county fairs. Paige fell in love with Louie and changed her mind at the last possible moment, deciding to pull him out of the fair. It was a difficult process and caused personal hardships, but Paige persisted and brought Louie home. When Paige started college in Fall '18, she needed a home for Louie, and we are so happy to provide that home for him at Rancho Compasión.
Our Donkey Friends
Ricky & Lucy
Ricky (3) and Lucy (4) were rescued by Slim Chance Sanctuary from a Louisiana kill shelter. The couple had a foal who died in transport due to lack of water and food. By the time they got to their resting place in Arizona, they were emaciated -- practically skin and bones -- and had to receive an IV to stay alive. After resting for a month, they made their way out West and arrived at Rancho Compasión. With plenty of hay and fresh grass, they began to put on weight quickly, and after just a few short months, they are at a healthy weight and have quickly learned that they are part of the motley pack.
Our Goat Friends
Sugar & Spice
These 2-month old Boer goats joined the Rancho family in June of 2019. Found along the railroad tracks in Sonoma County, these cuties were likely just a few months away from being someone's dinner. Boer goats are typically raised for meat, but at Rancho Compasión, they will have lots of room to roam and plenty of goat friends.
Rufus & Reggie
Rufus and Reggie are proud to claim the title of being the first farm critters to come to Rancho Compasión. Young strays found wandering the streets of Merced, they were picked up by the local animal control then rescued by Animal Place, who adopted them out to us. When they arrived in November 2015, they were just young kids around 7 to 9 months old, and they remain kids at heart as the resident clowns who can be found playing together on the see-saw, playing “peek-a-boo,” or just reaching out for caresses. As Jan of Animal Place explained it, they were born the wrong sex: male Alpine goats don’t give milk, so they are often abandoned or killed.
The Goat Family (Cookies, Cream & Nubie)
Cookies, Cream, and Nubie are the “goat family.” Adopted from a goat rescue in Sonoma County, this family of a mom, dad, and daughter stays close together, although Rufus battles with Cookies for the affection of Cream, the mom. Cookies, our biggest goat, can look fierce, but is the gentlest of souls.
Our Sheep Friends
Cinnamon, another Barbados sheep, joined our family about at 3 months old in July of 2018, and she and Joon are now inseparable best friends.
Our Pig Friends
Argon, Onyx & Oxy
The three little potbelly pigs were pets of a man in the South Bay. The man died shortly after buying the pigs, and the pigs had nowhere to go. Although they were only about 50 lbs. when they arrived in December 2015, they are now quite robust weighing in at well over 100 lbs. each. They spend their days rooting, munching on grass, wagging their tails, and getting belly rubs.
Goober & Gamber
In June 2017, a family from Sonoma reached out to us about their two Berkshire pigs, who were being raised by their daughter in the FFA program (Future Farmers of America, an organization like 4H). The plan was to raise them, take them to auction, then bring them home as bacon. “We even bought a freezer,” said the mother. Over time, the family grew to love the goofy pigs, and had a big change of heart. Goober and Gamber have grown to be over 500 lbs. each, and are full of life and joy. They love people, will come running when they see you, and are thrilled to be experiencing a full life on the ranch.
Princess
Our pretty pink piggie, Princess, lives in a pink palace all of her own. Princess came to us from another family who could no longer keep her (a common fate for pot bellies). She was just too pretty to turn away!
Our Duck Friends
Our rescued ducks spend their days grazing and rooting in the pasture, swimming and playing in the pond, and waddling around with their friends. Meet some of our ducks here!
Bella & Stella
Our sanctuary manager found these khaki campbell ducks in a chicken coop at the school where she was working at the time. They were about 4 months old, and the product of a 5th grade egg-hatching biology project. Unfortunately, most school programs don’t have sustainable, compassionate plans for hatched birds, as was the case here. The small coop was no place for waterfowl, so she arranged to bring them here where they have access to a pond and pasture.
ebony & Ivory
This black & white bonded couple were illegally dumped at Oakland’s Lake Merritt at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020. Locals fell in love with this domestic duck couple, making fan art, Reddit and Twitter threads, and naming them Oakland’s cutest couple. They also rallied for their rescue during the cold winter rains, where their nest had been flooded out, leaving them to sleep on a concrete drain pipe. Our board member and her daughter rescued them one rainy night, and they now live safe from the common harms that plague dumped domesticated ducks—malnourishment, disease, and predation (human and non-human).
Ragnar & Lagertha
We also took in a rouen duck couple from a family who lost their home in the NorCal fires in October 2017. When they returned to the site of their home weeks after the fires, they found that their ducks had survived. After they were nursed back to health from burns, they came to live at Rancho Compasión. They were an inseparable, beautiful couple. Lagertha passed away in July of 2021.
moby & Daisy
Moby and Daisy (Muscovy ducks) were both rescued from different shelters by Animal Place sanctuary. We have this amazing pond at Rancho and wanted them to be able to live out their lives here with the rest of the animals. Daisy loves to sit in your lap and be pet. Moby is a big guy who likes to let you know when he's excited with these little grunts he does.
Cozy
Cozy (pekin) is mates with Stella, and they do everything together! His human didn’t want him because he was a male—and males don’t produce eggs. So he was seen as a waste of space, and was aggressively mating with the person’s chickens in sexual frustration. He found sanctuary here in 2020. Pekins are large-breed ducks, and billions are slaughtered around the world.
Sebastian
Sebastian is half wild mallard, and half domestic Swedish. He is the offspring of someone having dumped domesticated ducks in a wild waterway, and creating a half-wild species. In June of 2020, he and his young siblings were attacked by a cat or dog in a nearby waterfront community. The duckling was taken to rehab at a wildlife center, but he couldn’t be released into the wild due to his domesticated bloodline. He is smaller than the rest of the ducks here, but cannot fly, and enjoys his time with his girlfriend Bella.
Our Goose Friends
Cammy Schinner is also responsible for finding our geese, Echo and Alley, running loose and creating a traffic jam on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles earlier this year. After trying the nearest park to see if they were possibly from the flock there (they weren’t), the geese were taken to a local bird rescue facility, and finally made their way to their new home at Rancho Compasion.
Our Chicken Friends
Our colorful colorful flock of chickens continues to grow, and currently, we have about 50.
Barry, the big benevolent roaster
Barry, the big rooster, came to us from Farm Sanctuary in September 2015. He was part of a threesome along with his two brothers, Satchmo and Bird. They had been raised in a glass aquarium on the deck of a Los Angeles apartment. Purchased as chicks at a swap meet, the owner thought he was getting chickens. Instead, he ended up with two roosters and what he thought was a hen. At the time they came to us at about 4 months of age, even Farm Sanctuary told us that they were two roosters and a hen. Barry, therefore, was named Bessie. Satchmo and Bird grew quickly and became quite large, while Barry stayed small like a hen. A couple of months later, unfortunately, we found both roosters dead. (We think now that they fought and killed each other – they were alive one minute, and 15 minutes later, dead.) About 4 months later at the age of 9 months, I noticed that Barry had grown spurs and thought it strange. His size and plumage also started to develop, and then the crowing started. Bessie had transformed into Barry, a big, beautiful, benevolent rooster. It’s a case of arrested development where Barry suppressed his masculinity in order to save his life until it was safe.
Miles was rescued from someone local who couldn’t keep him. He and Barry worked it out, and Miles is definitely under Barry in the pecking order. Miles can be mean to some people, but you just have to call Barry, who will come running and chase him away.
Our nine most colorful birds were hatched in a classroom as part of a school project. Sadly, chicks are often hatched in the classroom without forethought about what their fate will be afterwards. These 9 were living in a plastic box in the classroom when a compassionate teacher rescued them and brought them to the sanctuary. Four of them turned out to be roosters, so now the sanctuary is filled with competing crowing from early morning. Among farm animals, the number of roosters needing homes is probably the highest (followed by pot bellied pigs) because of zoning codes that do not allow for roosters in most municipalities. With the rise of the backyard chicken movement, this number continues to rise.
The many hens came to us in different ways – some as backyard birds where the owners couldn’t keep them anymore, to rescued battery cage egg hens (most of the white leghorns who are debeaked) to “free-range” hens (many of the Sexlinks and Rhode Island reds). We aim to educate people who keep chickens why they shouldn’t eat eggs anymore, and that no chickens are cruelty-free, even backyard ones.
Our Dog Friends
Kaiti
Kaiti, our sweet rescued German Shepherd, always greets visitors with something in her mouth. As soon as she sees someone, she looks around for a “gift” to pick up and deliver. Once, it was a business card. Another time, it was hardened cow poop. She is a little shy and dotes on her big brother, Koan. Kaiti was dumped in the night box of the Monterey animal shelter at the age of 8 weeks, and jumped around from foster home to foster home before finding her forever home with us at the age of 5 months.
Koan
Koan is a spirited, playful, loyal cattledog mix. When Michael and Miyoko visited the Marin Humane Society to rescue some of the famous hens from the Turlock factory farm, they happened to see a spunky 8-week-old puppy and came home with him. He has been stirring up fun and trouble since he arrived 6 years ago and wins the heart of everyone. He loves to ride in the Polaris around the ranch and run around with the other critters on the ranch. Both Koan and Kaiti are great protectors of the animals, especially the chickens. Often, he patrols the ranch for hours in the dead of night to make sure everyone is safe and sound.
Our Cat Friends
Anya
Anya was rescued from a hoarder. Her back legs are permanently bowed due to spending the first couple of years of her life in a small cage with three other cats. When she first joined the Schinner family, she could barely jump up onto a chair. Now, she is as agile as can be and can be found climbing high places when she is not purring on your lap.
Merlin
Merlin was found as a kitten in a dumpster. He is a dog-cat, who likes car rides and will stick his head out of the window. He likes to hang out with the chickens at the coop and will sometimes accompany the dogs on a walk. He is extremely communicative and lets you know exactly what he wants.