Welcome to the Rainbow Bridge

Here you will read about the beloved residents that we have completely fulfilled our duty for.
Although we wish we had endless time with each individual we welcome into the sanctuary, our ultimate goal is to provide love, safety, and respect to them for as long as they are able to live on earth with us. Their time here has come to an end, and we have completed our mission to grant them the life they deserved.

Each listing is a permanent memorial for that animal and the irreplaceable presence they leave behind.

Cloud

Can you imagine having been raised alongside one hundred brothers and sisters, watching each of them gradually get picked off by hungry wildlife? Cloud was a nameless goose for fifteen years of her life, and the sole survivor of the aforementioned scenario. We are so grateful that we were able to be Cloud's savior before it was too late, and grant her a peaceful end to her life in sanctuary that she deserved.

We didn't hear a single word from Cloud during her quarantine. We wondered if she could talk at all, since it had been years since she had seen another of her kind. All of that changed when she met Jelly and Boba, and her remarkable voice was heard echoing through the premises daily. When they met, it was love at first sight. Cloud was so forward with her love for Jelly that he could barely handle it. They were able to spend two months together in an adorable relationship.

Cloud sadly passed away in September 2021 from old age, but we will forever cherish her memory and the unique story she shared with us. Cloud is now flying high in the sky with all of her brothers and sisters, and grazing in the field of paradise beyond the rainbow bridge.

Maggie

Maggie was a four year old Holstein cow who unfortunately never got to see the sanctuary. We worked for four days to rescue her from a dairy in December 2021, and the severity of her condition required that she immediately go to the emergency hospital at the New Bolton Center. There she battled salmonella, severe liver disease, mastitis, and a uterine infection for a few more days until seemingly endless diagnostics made it clear that there was no hope for her.

Before she was in our custody, the dairy she came from continuously bred her despite each of her calves dying. Her original owner, who trusted the dairy to take care of her, was told that Maggie had to bring in some profit if she were to stay there. To them, she was a source of profit through her milk, though she suffered repeatedly. Instead of treating her infections and ceasing the breeding that caused her to lose each of her calves, she was treated like a replaceable object, and it cost her the ability to survive.

We wish that Maggie could have made a recovery and joined our sanctuary. Unfortunately, for highly exploited animals like dairy cows, sometimes the only respite from cruelty is beyond the rainbow bridge. Maggie will always be our first cow and part of our family.

Pippin

Pippin was a five month old lamb who arrived to the sanctuary with her sister Merry in May 2022. Together, they enjoyed two months of happiness and freedom. They loved to hop around the paddock, baaing loudly at passersby, nibbling on grasses and leaves together. Sometimes she would jump to get a bite of leaf off of a tree! The two loved to bounce when they ran and played, pounding all four hooves into the ground at once. Pippin was so cooperative with all aspects of care and she had the sweetest, most mild-mannered personality. She followed her sister around everywhere, relying on Merry's outgoing personality to guide shy little Pippin and show her the way.

One day, Pippin suddenly fell gravely ill and we rushed her to the emergency hospital at the New Bolton Center. Pippin had been hiding a severe source of inflammation for some time so that nobody would worry about her. The doctors discovered that she had enlarged lymph nodes and extreme protein loss causing fluid to build up in her abdomen. After many tests, ultrasounds, plasma transfusion, parenteral nutrition, and a biopsy, there were still no answers as to why. Up until the end, all we knew was that she wasn't responding to any of the treatments offered to her over the course of a week. She then took a sharp turn, and developed a fever and stopped eating. It was time for little Pippin to cross the rainbow bridge. Pippin's last moments were having her head held, being kissed on the face, and told that she is loved.

Rosepetal

Rosepetal was a one and a half year old Muscovy duck in October 2022, and she was a founding member of the sanctuary. She was surrendered as a very young duckling and was our first female duck that we took in. As a duckling, she was very curious and loved to nibble fingers. As a young adult, she was an independent and confident Muscovy duck. She was always the first to check out new arrivals to the sanctuary, and enjoyed bossing people around. Her desire to be a lone wolf changed when Adelaide and Violet joined the family. She was so happy to have friends just like her, and these three girls became our inseparable Muscovy trio.

Rosepetal fell gravely ill one weekend, and some x-rays found that she had a cancer-like bone disease that the vet had never seen before. We decided to take her home with vitamin shots and medication and wait for answers. The following night, as perfect as Rosepetal could have wanted, she passed on her own terms. She was warm, safe, loved, and asleep when it happened. She was in her own home, and her many friends and brother were nearby. Now she is beneath a rose bush we planted, stout and white, just like her.

Rosepetal is undoubtedly the reason why we built our aviaries. When you end up with a female, you need to give her friends. Our plans of having male-only bachelor flocks flew out the window the day she started squeaking. It's because of Petal that we chose to expand, accommodate, and save the lives of dozens of ducks. She was truly a founding member of the sanctuary and she will never be forgotten.

Hope

Hope was a very special Pekin girl. She was at a highly unsuitable home before an amazing duck advocate negotiated her surrender and brought her to the sanctuary in December 2022. At her previous home, Hope was bullied by other ducks, and was not safely separated until serious damage had been done to her body. As a result, Hope only had one eye working, and her legs were crumpled from injury. After she was finally separated away from other ducks, she was all alone without even a place to swim. She was filthy, her "good" eye had an infection, and she had wet feather syndrome from being unable to bathe. We like to think that, despite all she went through, she never lost hope.

Hope made incredible emotional and physical progress over the course of 3 months at the sanctuary. X-rays found that her legs could not be fixed, so she enjoyed spending time in her wheelchair, especially with her disabled friend Peggy who uses a similar chair for therapy on her arthritic legs. They were the best of friends, and would sleep together in the coop with their heads resting on each others' backs. One morning in March 2023, we found that she had passed away in her favorite sleeping spot overnight. The necropsy discovered that Hope had an abscess in her body, a slightly enlarged spleen, and what could be interpreted as the start of septic activity in one of her previously injured leg joints. Because her disabilities gave her a poor immune system, the start of an infection in her body took her instantly before she could show any of the signs. We are grateful that she passed peacefully in her sleep, and no doubt that her faithful friend Peggy had spent one last night with her and said goodbye. Beyond Hope's fortitude from enduring what many others could not, her sassy, ornery, and loud personality made her a truly special girl. We hope one day that no duck will ever again have to endure what Hope went through.

Peggy

Peggy's experience is a testament to the complex emotions of waterfowl. Peggy was supposed to arrive to the sanctuary with her sister Ethel, though the condition of that sister was too poor to withstand the transport. Unfortunately, euthanasia was the only compassionate option, and we were never able to meet her sister Ethel. Peggy was very distraught for months after losing her sister and being transported somewhere new, and she often called out for her, choosing to isolate herself rather than make new friends here at the sanctuary.

After a long period of mourning her sister, Peggy began to settle into the flock and socialize. Within a few months of her new life we noticed that she had trouble walking. We had two x-rays done on her legs to determine that she had degenerative arthritis, for which she was treated with anti-inflammatory medication and a therapy chair that she used periodically. This treatment helped her walk very well, and she never had to rely on a wheelchair!

When we accepted Hope into our flock, another disabled Pekin, she & Peggy became fast friends. Though their disabilities made them less active than other ducks, they still enjoyed many activities together, such as swimming, eating, resting, and even sleeping together side-by-side each night in the coop. When Hope passed away from her disability in March 2023, Peggy followed her best friend soon after. I believe that Peggy, Hope, and Ethel have all reunited beyond the rainbow bridge and are swimming and preening together happily and pain-free.

Huey "Mac" Macadamia

Huey was a 4 month old Hereford calf that we welcomed to the sanctuary in September 2023. He was a gentle, quiet little boy with contractions in his legs that prevented him from being able to walk properly. He was friendly with humans but absolutely loved our calf Hazelnut. And Hazelnut loved him, too. From the moment they met, the two calves bonded intensely and spent every moment together, often cuddling and grooming one another. They truly never left each other's side.

Huey was born on a beef farm in Vermont, where he had contracted a devastating infection called joint ill. He helplessly spent the first six weeks of his life "down", meaning that he could not walk or move much at all. After it was publicly threatened that he would be sold for veal if nobody took him, a wildlife rehab drove all the way from New Jersey to save his life. They then spent the next two months rehabilitating him. Under veterinary guidance, the rehab used multiple different types of therapy, antibiotics, and pain medication until he could finally walk! But a wildlife rehab is no place for a calf to live permanently. So they reached out to nearby farm sanctuaries in hopes that a new home would help him make even more progress.

We hoped that we could continue Huey's recovery here until he could move just as well as Hazelnut. Huey was able to spend a month on green pastures with cow companionship, which he had never had before. But unfortunately, his poor state of mobility never improved, so we took him to the hospital for radiographs. It was found that the joint ill we all believed was treated was actually treatment-resistant and had done irreparable damage to all four of his legs, hips, and shoulders. His pain could not be sufficiently managed, and knowing that he would not get better, the only compassionate option was to bring him peace. We all grieved for this monumental loss, but especially his best friend Hazelnut. We hope one day for a world where poor conditions on farms do not devastate innocent lives like Huey.

Sweet Peace Farm Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit animal sanctuary. All donations are tax-deductible.

EIN: 87-1864697 | hello@sweetpeacesanctuary.org