Immediately following the accident, SASHA Farm  offered to capture the surviving cows and let them live out their natural lives in retirement at the sanctuary. In the weeks that followed, we were able to mobilize local volunteers to help in their efforts to save the cows, including newly-formed animal advocacy group Veg West Michigan’s President Chad Richmond and board member Annie Smolinski.

The former dairy cow, named Bella Brown Beauty, will join a herd of eighteen others rescued from circumstances similar to her own. Bella is in excellent shape considering the events of the past month, and our vet believes there is a chance that she might be carrying an extra little passenger in her wide tummy. She’s still too nervous for the type of exam she’d need to confirm it, but it certainly wouldn’t be the first time someone arrived in a family way!

There has been a sighting of the last cow from the accident, and we  hope to rescue her as well. After all they’ve been through, these cows deserve a long, happy retirement.

Pet Fest runs from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and is hosted by The Pet Emporium in Copper Leaf Crossing at the corner of Ann Arbor-Saline and Pleasant Lake Roads.

Aside from the six you’ll meet there, remember that we have many adoptable cats in a wide variety of personalities, coat colors and lengths, and energy levels, and all of them would love a home of their very own!

To the best of our knowledge, there are still two cows alive and at large.  Local volunteers are distributing flyers to area residents, and we still hope to bring these girls safely back to SASHA Farm, where they can spend their much-deserved retirement years in comfort and safety.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/veggieawards2010

Join us for our annual Fall Festival and Vegan Chili Cook Off! We have a lot of fun things planned, including a secret that I can’t tell you about yet, and we’re adding more all the time, so put this on your calendar!

Maybe you make a mean pot of vegan chili? Last year was our inaugural chili cook off, and we had so much fun that we’re doing it again. You should enter!

Facebook? We’re there, too.

Hi,

Some very good friends of mine found a domestic rabbit last year. They were unable to find the owner, and chose not to take the bunny to a shelter, concerned that she would be killed. Unaware that the bunny was pregnant, they got a hutch and all the supplies necessary to take care of the bunny. The one, stray bunny has now multiplied to 16 bunnies. They’ve tried to find homes to no avail. Even the rabbit rescues won’t help.

My friends can’t care for these bunnies anymore. The husband is in the hospital, and is in chemotherapy. This is his second round of chemo, and he’s terminal with less than a year to live. His wife cannot devote the time necessary to taking care of the rabbits, and doesn’t want them killed or abused. In addition to the health issues, they’re also losing their home. These rabbits need to be rehomed, fostered, anything, and it needs to happen quickly. I can transport the bunnies if necessary. They have outdoor hutches that can be picked up and taken with them, also.

I’m doing my best to help them with the rabbits, but I can’t keep any of them. My cat would kill them, and I don’t have the time necessary to take care of any more pets right now. I’m helping my friends with their store, setting up a web site for them, and have a family to take care of as well.

Please help us. I don’t know who else to turn to. I had hoped the rabbit rescue would take them, but they refused and I don’t know who else to turn to. Most other places around here are kill shelters, and I don’t want to try giving them away on Craig’s list for fear of them being abused or neglected.

Thank you,
Vicki

734-709-0405

We’ve received word on the fate of two of the four missing cows, and I wish so much that the news was better.

Saturday, we heard that one poor girl was shot and believed to have been butchered by a local farmer when she wandered onto his farm.

Today, we were informed that a second cow was found badly injured at the scene of the accident. We don’t know if she was overlooked the first day, or if she was hurt and attempted to flee but made her way back. Either way, her injuries were so severe that she was immediately euthanized by authorities.

We’re still holding out hope that the other two are alive and well, just waiting to reveal themselves to the right people. We are truly touched that so many people in the area have offered their assistance. Please, continue to look for these girls. In this heat, in addition to grass to eat, they will search out water and shade and may be at the edge of wooded areas or anywhere you’d expect to see deer. If you sent us your contact information, we will call when they’ve been located. We might need help corralling them into the trailer, or possible just someone(s) to follow them quietly at a distance with a cell phone until we can get there so we don’t lose track of them again.

Please continue to keep these girls on your mind as you travel through the area the where the accident occurred!

Photo from Detroit Free Press

http://detnews.com/article/20100722/METRO/7220463/Cows-escape-after-slaughterhouse-truck-overturns

A livestock transport truck carrying former dairy cows was bound for a rendering plant when it overturned in Grand Rapids early Wednesday morning.  Tragically, several didn’t survive the crash and those who could be captured finished their journey to the rendering plant. Four of the cows are still wandering the Grand Rapids area, probably enjoying their first taste of freedom. News reports noted that they would be captured and euthanized.

Phone calls have poured into our office alerting us to this situation, and after contacting authorities in Grand Rapids, we have been assured that when the cows are located, assuming they are not causing an immediate threat to human safety, we will be contacted to transport them back the SASHA Farm.

If you are in the Grand Rapids area and might be able to assist in the rescue if necessary, please email your contact information to us at info@sashafarm.org. Depending on where they are eventually located, we may need many people to help corral them into a trailer.

Our phones are very busy right now, so unless you have solid information on the whereabouts of these cows, please direct your inquiries about this situation to our info@sashafarm.org.

http://www.hslf.org/pdfs/111_2009_HumaneScorecard.pdf