Sanctuary Stories
The Tiny Calf Who Changed a Cattle Rancher’s Mind
How a third-generation cattle rancher became the founder of a sanctuary where cows like little Hope can live a full, long life
As a third generation cattle farmer, Mike Lanigan never imagined he’d be running an animal sanctuary. But according to Edith Bar, the one-time farm intern turned sanctuary founder and executive director: Over time, farmer Mike had a change of heart. And then he met Hope. The ailing calf is now considered a big reason for the creation of Farmhouse Garden Animal Home, in Ontario, Canada, where Lanigan’s last herd of cattle now call their forever home.
“She was born really prematurely,” says Bar, of Hope nearly four year ago. “She was very, very weak, and [Lanigan] had to work with her constantly,” to get her to feed. “It was while working with this calf that it really clicked for him, that he’s putting so much love and effort into it, and then two years later she’s going to be butchered.” Bar says Lanigan speaks often of this time nursing Hope to health, “and how he would also think of the other good farmers…
