Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary

**** Update on Lester- bloodwork initially showed some elevated kidney values, but he is back to normal now with IV fluids. He is still not eating, and the vets haven’t found a cause yet. Abdominal ultrasounds are being done today. Thanks so much for all your well wishes and good thoughts for Lester! Praying he will feel better soon!🙏 Please keep our sweet sheep Lester in your thoughts. He is on his way to the vet hospital because he is not eating and seems to be in pain. This video was just from Saturday so it came on very suddenly. Lester only has 3 1/2 legs but he normally doesn’t let anything, even snow, slow him down - he loves to run around in his AWD wheel chair. We are hoping and praying he will feel better and come home soon!❤️🙏

Everyone is getting very tired and cranky about this never ending cold and snow, including Griffin and Spencer the alpacas. And yes they do make very weird noises when they fight!😂

Transporting the rooster boys Enzo, Jacque and Hector from one barn to another in the truck, because they did NOT want to put their feet in the snow. I think they enjoyed the ride!😂

The animals were very excited to get their special treats today! We hope everyone has a peaceful and happy holiday! A big thanks to all the wonderful staff and volunteers who came out to help today, and to all the amazing friends and supporters who make this all possible. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate! 🎄❤️🐐🐑

The sheepies are relaxing and enjoying a sunny spot by the barn on this very cold Winter day!🥶🐑❤️

Thanks to the wonderful volunteers from @physicianscommittee who came out yesterday and worked really hard to help us get ready for our Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys event! They set up all the tables and chairs along with the pumpkin decorations, with the help of a few very excited turkeys and Pierre the goose who followed us everywhere. The pigs enjoyed the leftover pumpkins- a big thanks to @butlersorchard for all the amazing pumpkins which they donated for the animals! The event is tomorrow, Saturday November 23 from 12-4 and tickets can still be purchased on Eventbrite or at the door. Come on out and help us celebrate a vegan potluck where the rescued turkeys are the guests of honor- we look forward to seeing everyone for a really fun day!

Natasha the deer and Big Mama the raccoon don’t mind sharing their treats - they love eating their fresh fruits and veggies on the porch together every night!💕💕🦝🦌🎥: Carole Fein Sutton

Luna is a sweet little five month old Nubian goat who we agreed to take in, after her caretaker contacted us with her very sad story. She and her brother were purchased from a local goat dairy farm when they were just a few weeks old. The little boy goat was neutered using a band ( a very painful and barbaric method, but one that’s very common in the industry because it is inexpensive). The area became infected and opened up a large hole, allowing some of his intestines to fall out! This was obviously a very serious situation, and although he was taken to a vet who pushed the intestines back in and sutured the area closed, he sadly died a short time later. Luna was grieving terribly for her brother, who had been her constant companion since she was born. She became inconsolable and was crying non stop, as she was now by herself and extremely lonely. We happily welcomed Luna to Poplar Spring yesterday, and she is just a joy, and seems so much happier already. She adores people and just wants to be loved and petted. She is enjoying grazing in the yard and meeting the goat herd through the fence. She loves leaves and is so excited to be able to browse in the woods and graze on the lush green grass in the yard. Now Luna will never be lonely again- she will have a wonderful life here, with lots of goatie friends. We love her so much already. Welcome home, Luna! ❤️ 🐐💕💕🥰

These late afternoon windy thunderstorms make the goaties very happy!🐐💕📷showflightfilms

With this very hot weather and severe drought we’ve been having the wildlife need a little extra help! We’ve been putting out lots of extra water buckets and bowls and tossing out our melon rinds - the deer, squirrels, groundhogs and raccoons seem to really appreciate it! ❤️🦌🐿️🦝

Happy 4th of July! Nicola the groundhog was celebrating early when she nabbed a delicious leftover French fry from PLNT Burger this past weekend. We hope everyone enjoys their holiday as much as Nicola enjoyed her special treat!🙂🎆

Yesterday we sadly had to say goodbye to our sweet, wonderful turkey Wren.😢When Wren was just a few months old he was left behind on a commercial farm where they had rounded up all the other turkeys for slaughter. A kind person who worked there allowed him to come to Poplar Spring, and he had many months of running and playing at the sanctuary until his body began to fail him. White domestic turkeys are genetically bred to get very large very quickly, and this causes many problems for their skeletal system and hearts, even if they are rescued and given the best feed and care. Wren’s legs gave out when he was less than a year old and he has lived in a sling and wheelchair ever since. He still had a great quality of life, though, as evidenced by this lovely video by his main caregiver Abbie. Abbie would take him on “Joy Rides” where he could see the flowers blooming, interact with the other animals and people on the farm, and get a scenic tour when the weather was nice. Wren had so much personality, and he received a lot of love and special attention and treats from his many caregivers and friends. He was always so curious and interested in everything that was going on, even though he couldn’t walk. He loved blueberries and sunflower seeds, and sharing his lunch with Robin and Rae, the new rescued baby turkeys. Last week he had an especially great week where he went home with Abbie every night and hung out with her rescued animals @minnowandblossomsplace. He had such a fun time but then heartbreakingly this week he began to show symptoms of heart failure, which is very common in Broad Breasted turkeys, which is Wren’s breed. Despite all the special care and heart medications, Wren passed peacefully in his sleep on Monday morning. We were all so devastated to lose our special boy, who was so brave and strong, and never let his disabilities get him down. We love you so much, Wren, and we will never forget you. We hope you are flying free and going on etern