This is Billy Bob, the first goat we met at the farm animal refuge. He was so insistent on attention and being petted, he reminded me of Sahraa.

Billy Bob is a survivor of neglect and a high-speed crash in Pennsylvania. Two men had purchased 31 sheep and goats for slaughter and left them in a crowded livestock trailer in a residential neighborhood on a very hot day last summer. When the animals began crying loudly, residents called police, who engaged in a 34-mile high speed chase to catch the men and their live cargo, ending with the truck crashing into a tree and killing most of the animals. The survivors were taken to the Pennsylvania SPCA, where they spent three months recovering, and in September, when they were well enough to travel, were brought to the refuge for their forever home.

We decided to sponsor Billy Bob.

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The Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary is a 400-acre nonprofit refuge in Poolesville, Maryland, that offers care, rehabilitation and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife. They promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.

We had seen a segment on TV about them so decided to pay them a visit and meet their adopted family. A husband and wife team along with 100 volunteers and 8 staff care for more than 300 rescued farm animals, each with a name and a story of their rescue, and most of them quite friendly to humans. They’ve been in operation for 21 years, receive no public funding and survive only on donations.

We had a wonderful time and are thinking about sponsoring an animal. Picture taking was a challenge, mainly because of light issues, so all the more reason to go back and try again!

For more information on the refuge, go to http://www.animalsanctuary.org

A haven for birds as well as rescued farm animals, posted earlier: