Troubled Youth: Sven & Grimm Find a New Home

Sven, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

When I first met Sven he had just arrived at his new home and had yet to settle into sanctuary life; he seemed out of sorts and was uninterested in interacting with me or the odd device I carried around and was pointing at the residents around him. Even my odd exhortations and noises failed to rouse him. Knowing now how he had been taken from his mother, thrust into a mix of young humans dealing with issues of their own but expected to offer succor to a frightened young calf (his full story below), and then brought to a new space with many other new species of people he had likely never encountered prior, I think one can understand why Sven would not be amenable to a photo shoot.

That was drastically different the next time I visited. Sven was galloping around the sanctuary with his buddy Grimm, inspecting my camera and me, acting like the goofy and obnoxious teenage steer calf I would expect to meet. And now my sanctuary public service announcement: teenage calves tend to be rambunctious to obnoxious to unintentionally dangerous to the smaller, frailer humans around them - they almost always just want to play, but we are not built to handle a good ol' calf tussle. Visitors to sanctuaries would do well to remember that an 800 pound teenage calf is surely cute and surely going to knock you on your butt if they get feisty, or worse, if they are feeling the stirrings of puberty, try to mount you, so watch your toes and that gleam in their eyes!

Seeing Sven and Grimm run and buck and annoy their elder herdmates Parvati and Nandi was delightful. It was magical to see Sven transformed from a shut down baby to a happy boy, and the love he showed toward sanctuary founder Faith and his adopted brother Grimm was a testament for me to the healing power of sanctuaries. 

Grimm, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Yoga Animalia: Bovine - Sven

Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Raised in a center for troubled youth, Sven was viewed as nothing more than a project to teach the youth rather than the terrified youngster missing his mother that he was. Perhaps it was this that bonded the kids at the center with Sven, but they would not let him be sent to slaughter at the completion of the program, and instead Ching was able to offer him a home. At Ching, Sven found cattle and doting human family, but soon got a best buddy in Grimm, rescued from a similar facility. Together the two boys run amok around the sanctuary.

Sven, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Sven, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Yoga Animalia: Bovine - Grimm

Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Grimm was taken from his mother as a baby and brought to a residential treatment center for troubled teens where raising him was supposed to teach responsibility, and then, after three months, taking him away to be slaughtered was supposed to teach the teens how to deal with grief. Fighting against Grimm’s fate, the teens got their parents involved and were able to get Grimm released to Ching. There Grimm befriended Sven, rescued from a similar program, and found family with the other sanctuary cattle.

Grimm, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Coupled: Celebrating Valentine's Day Sanctuary Style

Sofie and Bela, Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres, Acton, California

In the spirit of the impending day of love, and to bring a flurry of warm fuzzies amidst the flurries of snow, I offer a smattering of couples from the amorous to the bromantic (I think I may have just committed an unforgivable sin against the English language with that adjective usage).

Calvin and Hobbes, Green Acres Farm Sanctuary, Silverton, Oregon

Buffy and Lucy, Peaceful Fields Sanctuary, Winchester, Virginia

Bandit and Rose, Ching Farm Rescue and Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Charlene and Laura, Animal Place, Grass Valley, California

Blitzen and Moose, Wildwood Farm Sanctuary, Newberg, Oregon

Molly and Randy, Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres, Acton, California

Fiona and Teddy, Tamerlaine Farm Animal Sanctuary, Montague, New Jersey

Napoleon and Sadie, Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, Poolesville, Maryland

Mr. G and Jellybean, Animal Place, Grass Valley, California

Mr. Rooster and Xena, Green Acres Farm Sanctuary, Silverton, Oregon

Mario and Linus, Farm Sanctuary, Orland, California

Valentina and Valentino, Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres, Acton, California

Experiments in Compassion: Harry Bob and His Tufted Ears

Harry Bob, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Yoga Animalia: Porcine - Harry Bob

Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Ear tufts maketh the pig. Meeting Harry Bob and the other Bobs who call Ching home on my first visit introduced me to a group of distinct new pig friends of which I had previously been unaware: pigs used as laboratory subjects. Harry Bob and his cohorts had been bred for experiments; their smaller size making them easier to deal with compared to a full grown farm pig. Originally imported to zoos in the 1960's as a novelty, miniature pig breeds like the Yucatan Black to which Harry Bob belongs were also then taken into research laboratories due to the similarity between pig and human DNA. Experiments ranged from toxicology studies to the effects of aging to outright organ harvesting for transplant, but these studies did not highlight the amazing intellectual capacity of porcine kind. Luckily for this troop, Ching was able to secure their release to the sanctuary. Whenever I visit it is a joy to watch them roam the grounds, sun bathe, and create mud holes in inappropriate places, bedecking themselves in mud. Harry Bob and his other Bob cohorts inspect the grounds for treats and stick their snouts in everyone’s business, keeping tabs on the sanctuary happenings. When I visit it makes me gleeful to pick out Harry Bob's wild ear tufts amongst the group.

Harry Bob, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Sanctuary Compassion Fatigue Awareness, Part 1 of a Series

"Compassion Fatigue is a state experienced by those helping people or animals in distress; it is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped to the degree that it can create a secondary traumatic stress for the helper."

Dr. Charles Figley, Professor, Paul Henry Kurzweg Distinguished Chair, Director, Tulane Traumatology Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

I borrowed the above quote from the website of the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project. This post is the start of a personal healing project within the Yoga Animalia Project, and it has to do with my time as a caregiver, and the intensely painful period I went through where compassion fatigue was ruining my life. It will be a topic to which I’ll return at various times; it is painful to write about, so the posts may be infrequent and slow, but I know firsthand that sharing it with others helps not only my own healing process, but can help other people in similar circumstances understand that what they may be experiencing is actually a real problem, not just something in their mind like I thought for so long.

After writing Deuce’s story (if you missed it, grab a facial tissue and click here to read about this amazing boyo), it got me thinking about all the stories of heartbreak found at sanctuaries. Tragic tales are part of sanctuary life. To be honest they are one of the main sources fueling donation requests, pulling the heartstrings of donors, encouraging the spread of the story. I don’t find fault in this; these tales should be shared, the public needs to be made aware, and these rescues or veterinary procedures happen because donations can help pay for it. However, one of the less thought upon aspects of these sanctuary stories is the effect they have on the humans charged with the rescue, rehabilitation, and care of the individuals.

Farmed animal care giving is demanding work, and part of that work requires integrating prior stories of new rescues, which can include grisly accounts or firsthand exposure for on-scene rescuers; continuing to integrate the story as the individual’s personality starts to shine forth as healing happens; adapting as physical challenges present; and then ultimately coming to terms with being part of a discussion about quality of life and euthanasia. And that for each individual in many cases. That is a lot to contain on top of all the physical duties, especially when so few resources can be directed to help the human animals.

As a former caregiver, and in quite a few conversations I have had with other caregivers, I notice a tendency for these tragic tales to weigh on the humans. There is a growing field of study on this topic: it is referred to as compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress. It equates to a lessening of an individual’s compassion due to chronic stress from care giving. I’ve seen and felt this personally and in others when present for new rescues, or major medical issues, or deaths; the accumulation of emotions can be intense and challenging to address. In discussions with leaders in the sanctuary world, compassion fatigue is one, if not the, leading cause for sanctuary caregivers to quit, and many sanctuaries do not even have a name for it other than burnout – one part of compassion fatigue, but not the whole of it.

The purpose of this first post is not to be an exhaustive examination of compassion fatigue – I honestly do not yet have that in me. The purpose instead is to bring awareness – which is the first step to dealing with the challenge. If the included graphic or discussion strikes a chord for you, I seriously encourage you to check out the Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, or if you know caregivers personally, whether they work at an animal sanctuary or are care giving for an elderly human, I encourage you to support them in learning for themselves.

And to end a bit more joyously, I leave you with photos of humans loving nonhumans:

Safran & Danielle, Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres, Acton, California

Friday & Roy, Animal Rescue Corps, Operation Seasons Change Part 2

Aengus & myself, Farm Sanctuary's Animal Acres, Acton, California - a treasured capture I have of this departed friend.

Sweetheart & Ethan, Animal Rescue Corps, Operation Seasons Change Part 1

Deuce Becomes One: a Tale of Heartbreak, Healing, and the Bonds of Family

Deuce, Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Ching Farm Rescue and Sanctuary founder Faith has been helping me complete the stories of the many individuals I have photographed at the Salt Lake City sanctuary over the last two years. A few bring up sad memories of individuals who have passed, and others are joyous. Today’s story hit me in the gut when Faith shared it with me. I would like to introduce you to Deuce, a goat whose story has been similarly reflected in the literature of dog and cat shelters when they talk about humans surrendering beloved companions.

Deuce arrived about three years ago, brought to Ching by his human dad with whom he was intensely bonded. Deuce followed him around everywhere. He slept with the family’s horses at night, but all other times he could be, he followed his human dad around. Deuce’s dad gave him a banana, skin and all, every day. Theirs was a bond of companionship and family like many of you experience with dogs and cats.

I wish I could end the story there for you, but alas the family decided to move. It is a tale I have heard many times: a family is losing their home, or moving for a job, or shifting back to the city after a failed attempt to be country folk. The reasoning may be different, but oftentimes the result for nonhuman companions is not: they are not to accompany their families. For a goat family is everything. Goats bond intensely as familial units; you will see the lucky few families at sanctuaries most often together - lounging, browsing, goofing, plotting to take over the world, etc. Deuce was different only in that he did not have other goat siblings or parents, but instead had human parents.

So when Deuce and his dad arrived at Ching, Deuce followed him around with Faith as they walked the sanctuary grounds. He got his banana. But then Deuce’s dad left through the gate and got in his car, without Deuce. Faith said Deuce’s head shot up, and she swears his eyes bulged in alarm. As the car pulled away, Deuce frantically ran along the fence line with the road, trying to follow his dad. When he came to the corner edge of the property, his dad’s car disappearing down the road, Deuce stopped, and waited. Faith said Deuce waited without budging for four days, watching for the return of his family in 100 degree heat. Faith brought Deuce water and food, tried to lure him away from that corner vigil; however, it took a month of determined effort before Deuce could be brought closer to the main house. He showed no interest in any of the other sanctuary goats – what did he know of these strange, small four-legged people? Deuce knew only his human and his horse friends. Once closer, Faith was able to get Deuce to spend time with the sanctuary’s senior horses, giving him new friends more familiar from his home. And every day he got his banana.

With time (and daily bananas) Deuce started to settle into his new home. As with any severe heartbreak we might experience, it took Deuce time to heal. Part of that healing process was his gradual integration into the goat herd on his own terms. While not occurring overnight, it did happen, and now Deuce is a flirtatious member of the herd, fully part of his new goat family.

Stories like Deuce’s choke me up, partially because I cannot fathom leaving a family member behind, but also because they demonstrate so clearly the remarkable emotional lives of my nonhuman friends. When I photographed Deuce, sleeping standing up in the feed tub that snowy late December day, I had yet to hear his story, but I knew there was one waiting to be learned. All of the residents of the sanctuaries have them. Not only that, but they each have their own way of interpreting the world, just like us. It is this rich inner world into which I hope to provide glimpses with the Yoga Animalia portraits and stories, and I thank you for taking this journey with me.

May joy find you,

Cameron

Yoga Animalia: Caprine - Deuce

Ching Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, Herriman, Utah

Deuce was a beloved family companion, bonded intensely with the husband whom Deuce followed everywhere. However the family moved, and their considerations did not include taking Deuce with them. Ching was able to take him in, but when Deuce’s dad left, Deuce ran the property line trying to keep up with the departing vehicle. At the fence edge Deuce stopped and waited for the return of his human without moving for four days. Gradually the heartbroken goat was lured closer to the main house, showered with affection, and, with time and healing, he discovered the joy of being a goat amongst other goats.