In Loving Memory

Having come to Sunrise in 2006 Spot spent her younger years as the leader of our giant herd that would leap through the air while running around the Sanctuary at full speed during events and Open Barn Days. As the herd aged into their upper teens they moved on from this life, and Spot was the last remaining of the sheep from that time. Spot lived to be 18 years old, she spent her days with another member of the 'original' Sunrise residents, Millie the goat. She was wise and soulful and you could feel her loving nature every time you were around her.

If you’ve been to the sanctuary in the past year, you likely met Zeus and were requested by him to give head scratches. Small in stature with buggy eyes and a little beard, he had a unique and precious beauty and a friendliness to match - a special favorite to so many. Like Sandy says, “he was a people goat”, always by your side wanting head rubs and constant attention. He was just a special little man.

​

Zeus arrived at Sunrise on June 05, 2022, accompanied by his family of Hera, Athena, and baby Juno. Though he was only with us for a short time, he made an immediate and huge impression and it seems like he had been a friend and companion for many years. He is already and always will be greatly missed. Our sweet and special little man forever - rest in peace, sweet Zeus. We love you.

It was an extremely hard day when the Sunrise family made the decision to let him move on from this world. What was even harder, telling the volunteers and all of our guests, donors, and supporters who loved him dearly. It was pain that was shared amongst so many and felt so deeply and so harshly. Our hearts broke as one. Not a day goes by that we don't think of him, or look out at his favorite spot in the field or think about his Moo kisses, silly tongue and those great big eyelashes and deep soulful eyes. Baby Moo was an incredibly special soul. He and his brother Wesley had the most gentle hearts that people gravitated towards. He was always a favorite amongst volunteers and guests.

We lost our sweet Baby in 2021. Baby was an owner surrender. He was only 9 months old when he came to Sunrise. Baby was a friendly pig, but could be a bit of a nipper. He wasn't particularly fast, but would grab your shoes or ankles if given the chance. I always say, he was just a grouchy old man. Baby ruled "his" barn, but allowed turkeys, ducks and chickens to live with him. We miss Baby so much.

We lost our beloved Wesley in 2020. He spent a wonderful and happy 11 years with us and touched many hearts along the way. Wesley was rescued as an 8 week old calf. His life had been spent tied to a 10 foot rope, his home was a doghouse, and he was starving... on purpose. He was so weak that his legs shook terribly trying to hold up hi body. He was intended to be veal. Veal calves are purposely starved and restrained from any movement. Mindy, the owner of Snrise, talked the farmer into selling Wesley. 

Wooly Bully came to Sunrise in 2019 after his human guardians passed away. They rescued Wooly after they discovered a local farmer was planning on ending his life. When they passed, within 14 months of each other, their son became Wooly's guardian. Not living locally he would come visit Wooly every week and he even hired someone to check on him and keep him well fed. When the farm eventually sold, Wooly needed a new place to live. His guardian wanted Wooly to have the best life possible and other animal companions. His situation was brought to Sunrise's attention and Sunrise became his loving home. How could we turn this sweet boy away? When he first came to Sunrise, he lived with our resident pigs, but later moved to our new pasture where he had his own herd. He was around 14 years old and spent his days affectionately referred to as Papa Wooly with Lily Moo and Jackson. He had loved these sweet calves since they first came to Sunrise and was able to enjoy the adorable family they made his final years.

Gracie and George came to Sunrise in the early 2000's as an owner surrender. They came as adults, so Gracie was in her mid-twenties. They were together over 20 years before George passed, so Gracie stayed close to Millie and Spot in her final months with us. She lived such a great life with her friends at Sunrise. Though we'll miss her tremendously, we take comfort that she's not without her best friend anymore. We are so thankful to have spent so many years with this beautiful girl.

Roscoe was such a sweet, funny boy! He always hung around with all new arrivals to make sure they feel welcome and find their way around. He also was notorious for paying very close attention to new people too! So, when you came to Sunrise and thought you were being followed, you were! We miss his loving spirit and sweet personality. The farm is not the same without sweet Roscoe, he is gone from this earth, but will forever be in our hearts.

We're thinking Woody must have been part cat, surely he had 9 lives. He was an owner surrender many years ago and survived a bad accident that left him with only one horn. To this day, we are not sure what happened to him, we suspect he was roughhousing with our ram and their horns locked. OSU came out to perform emergency surgery on Woody, saving his life.

On February 21, 2019, we lost our beloved Danny. He was 39 years old, which was ancient for a Belgian Draft horse. Danny started out as a working horse with the Amish. Fortunately for Danny, and us, when his working days were over, his owners thought enough of him to let him come to live at Sunrise rather than sending him to auction, where he most certainly would have gone to slaughter. He spent the last 11 years of his life at Sunrise.