N.S. farm sanctuary giving animals a second chance at life

An animal sanctuary in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley is devoted to giving farm animals a second chance at life, and even nurses some of them back to health.

Lailo Farm Sanctuary in Lower Canard, N.S., was established in 2018 by Jen Lussing and her husband Will Cooper after they returned home from living abroad in New Zealand.

Pigs are pictured at Lailo Farm Sanctuary in Canaan, N.S. (Source: Facebook/Lailo Farm Sanctuary)

“(There are) lots of people helping cats and dogs and domestic animals, but not very many places helping farm animals,” Lussing says, adding they’re often taking in animals people can no longer care for.

“Maybe they thought it was a good idea to have a pet cow, or a pet sheep or something, and then things don’t go so well and they need to find a home for them.”

Currently, Lussing and Cooper have around 30 animals in their care.

“It’s so much work. It’s a full-time job, basically,” Lussing says. “It takes us about three hours every morning to do the chores, so we get lots of volunteers in to help with that.”

The sanctuary also takes in animals from cruelty cases.

In September, they welcomed Millie and Olive, two sheep that had been neglected. Lussing says they were not being cared for properly and were filled with parasites.

Millie and Olive are pictured at Lailo Farm Sanctuary in Canaan, N.S. (Source: Facebook/Lailo Farm Sanctuary)

“Mille, the adult sheep, she wasn’t even moving. We had our vet out right away. We thought she was basically out here to die and our vet really didn’t have much hope for her, but she pulled through,” Lussing says. “She was skin and bones, you could feel right through her, and she’s made a full recovery and same with her daughter, Olive.”

Another lamb that came with Millie and Olive didn’t survive.

“It was a very sad story,” said an emotional Lussing.

Aside from providing refuge to animals in need, Lailo Farm also hopes to encourage others to “extend their circle of compassion” to include all animals.

Gertie the turkey is pictured at Lailo Farm Sanctuary in Canaan, N.S. (Source: Facebook/Lailo Farm Sanctuary)

“If people could spend time with a sheep or a cow or a turkey and get to know them in the same way that you get to know a cat or a dog you’d really feel differently about the way we treat them and the way we see them,” Lussing says. “I just want people to see them the way I see them, which is just animals deserving of love and respect.”

With files from CTV's Paul DeWitt.

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