Our animals each have their own personalities, habits, likes/dislikes and we’d love for you to get to know them all!
Sheep
We have 7 sheep living at Ananda and anyone who says sheep are all the same clearly haven’t met our bunch. Cookie is a stubborn bosy wee thing but still needs her head scratches and massages. She was our first rescued sheep from the farming industry. Cookie was a quadruplet and the farmer had no use for her and her sister Suk. Sadly we lost Suki to fluke last year but her sister Cookie continues to run the place and is in charge of all the sheep. Pip and Nova came together and were rescued from a farm. Pip is the smallest, quietest, sweetest wee boy but his Sister Nova is a riot and makes us laugh everyday! Fudge and Shadow came from a loving pet home but the owner could no longer give them the care they needed.
Goats
8 goats call the sanctuary their home and boy do they keep us on our toes. Ben and Jerry are Saanen goats and came from the dairy industry where they were going to be slaughtered just for being male and of no use to the farmer. They’re the smartest goats we’ve ever met and can open gates and bolts and jump a 5ft fence with ease! Huckleberry and Pumpkin are pygmy goats that were kept as pets in a garage/garden. The owners could no longer look after them properly and asked for help. Woody and Flynn are the oldest goats at the sanctuary and are Anglo Nubians. Woody can be a challenge as he likes to assert his dominance but he’s settled down a lot since arriving. Oggy and Toto are our newest goat residents and the youngest, Oggy thinks he’s in charge and jumps around the place like a spring lamb. Toto is just the most chilled out wee dude ever: very independent and sweet natured. At night Oggy and Toto can be seen snuggling up together.
Cows
We have two baby calves, Rye and Buddha, that we rescued from the dairy industry in Feb 2021. Rye has bundles of energy and confidence and loves doing his zoomies around the place. He is nicknamed Rye the Rocket! Buddha is more chilled and takes his time. He is quite happy just sitting munching straw but it’s early days and they’re still settling in.
Pigs
Ruru and Rongo are Kune Kune pigs that came to live with us in January 2021 at 6 months old. They are such friendly and intelligent little guys. They love to root around and get belly scratches. They need a lot of enrichment like puzzles and treat balls, but to date nothing beats a big pile of straw!
Turkeys
We have 3 turkeys at the sanctuary, Bruce is the only male and was rescued by someone from a meat market. How to describe Bruce……well, he’s like a grumpy old man. He hates everyone. Selena is the only one he tolerates and allows to pick him up! He has a love/hate relationship with bright colours and is obsessed with blueberries! The two ladies in his life are Tinch and Tillie. Both are shy but Tinch is probably the most confident and will eat out your hand. Sadly Tinch was from the farming industry and had her beak clipped but as often happens it’s been done badly and she is missing her whole upper beak which makes feeding very difficult. We need to give Tinch daily deep feeds so she can get her mouth into it. Tillie is great at flying and loves to fly up onto the stable roof and see what’s going on.
Ducks
Herbie and Reiny were taken in from a school hatching project that of course hatched these ducks without thinking ahead what they would do with them once they were grown up. These bonded pair of boys are very vocal and love splashing about in their pond. They love green peas and blueberries!
Cats
Ananda is home to two resident cats: Nyla, a little 3 year old black cat, and Chuffers, a very big 9 year old ginger cat. Chuffers came to us as his owner was no longer able to look after him. He had some behavioural issues from being cooped up in a flat and not bseen given the time and love to make him feel safe so he acted out. He’s now a gentle loving wee guy that gives headbutts! Nyla is a cheeky wee thing. She likes to cause trouble and play fight with Chuffers but he’s too old for it all and doesn’t want to hang out with a wee youngster. She’s the sweetest wee cat to humans though. She comes and lies on you for a belly rub and if you aren’t giving her attention she’ll tap you gently on the face to say “oi, I’d like cuddles please, like now!”
Dogs
Marlo was a street dog in Romania and was rescued by a charity and taken into their shelter. As he was an older dog at 8 years old, nobody showed him any interest and he spent a year in the Romanian shelter. He unfortunately had an infected leg that was so bad they had to amputate when they found him, but he’s built up strength since he came to us and doesn’t let being a tripod stop him enjoying life.