MISTY MOORE HOLDING BABY POPPY, A BOW-LEGGED PIG THE MOORES TOOK IN AT THEIR FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY IN CRESWELL. Erin Tierney/The Creswell Chronicle
For runts on meat farms, for alpacas with bum legs, for little pet pigs that got bigger than their owners’ expected, Creswell’s Misty and Robert Moore are their liberators, their protectors and their ”forever home.”
It was always a dream of Misty’s to operate a sanctuary for farm animals, and about two years ago the couple moved from Cottage Grove to Creswell, bought property and promptly made it all happen.
Now, in addition to being a librarian at Harrison Elementary, she runs the 10-acre Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary on Hurlburt Lane.
It is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization offering refuge to abused, unwanted, injured or abandoned animals, namely ”the animals that are exploited by the meat and dairy industry and whose abuse and neglect often goes unnoticed,” she said. The sanctuary is a place where farm animals have ”a safe home, are provided with everything, are respected as beings and are loved forever.”
Misty didn’t grow up with farm animals, but the older she got, the more and more she became involved in advocating to save animals from the dairy and meat industry. When their kids all flew the coop two years ago, she said starting up an animal sanctuary wasn’t even a question.
The couple learns as they go, with Robert dedicating much time and work to support his wife’s dream, Misty said. They are the only two who man the farm, fueled solely by donations.
They’ve got a whole crew. At the time of this interview, they had nearly 60 rescues: five cows, 27 chickens, 11 pigs, two alpacas, two goats, three dogs and seven cats.
She said all of them come with their own stories.
Poppy is a five-day old bow-legged pig, tiny as could be. She’s got little splints on her legs, and Misty spends an hour a day massaging her legs to help straighten them out. The future is uncertain for Poppy, but, ”We’ll never give up on her,” Misty said.
They travel all around the west coast and to other states to rescue animals. Some of the chickens were rescued from a factory battery cage chicken farm in California, and many of the animals were saved from being slaughtered, including Russell, the lone alpaca in a herd of cows who was to be sent to the slaughterhouse.
Oliver is a two-week old dairy calf that was taken away from his mother too early. He came to the Moore’s from the Dairy Calf Underground Railroad. He is severely frail and malnourished, not nearly as big as his pal, Charlie, a five-day-old calf the couple picked up in Seattle.
Each animal has their own unique personality, Misty said.
The Moores have three adult steers: Romeo the sweetheart, Pongo the troublemaker and Milo, ”the big baby.” Wilbur is a pig that uses the cat litter box and lives inside with one of his pig companions, Bella.
Misty said she’ll get a call at least once a week for someone who wants them to take in another pig. Some of her pigs were purchased as pets, but the owners abandoned or did not care properly for them.
Research states that there is no such breed as a ”teacup,” ”micro” or ”miniature” pig, which has been a major pet-buying trend for years. Breeders may use terms like these to describe the size of a pig, but adopting a ”teacup” pig doesn’t guarantee your pet will remain small. Many factors determine a pig’s adult size, and two pigs who are the same size at birth may attain very different sizes as they grow.
Because the breed of the pig itself doesn’t necessarily tell you the size of the pig, one would need to investigate the animal’s breeding.
But many don’t, like the previous owners of pigs Addie and Murphy who were originally bought as pets. Some end up abandoned in a barn, like Olivia, whose young owner didn’t take care of her after the pig plumped up.
Misty said she wants her farm to serve as a point of education and care for animals. She hopes to open up the farm to the public tours at some point, so that the community can experience their personalities for themselves.
The Moores welcome visits from community members, and are grateful for donations to help with the purchasing of hay, food and vet care.
Welcome Home Animal Sanctuary is located at 82940 Hurlburt Lane. Fore more information, or if you have concerns of an animal’s welfare, email [email protected] or call 541-870-9952. To donate, click on the donate form on their Facebook page, @welcomehomeanimalsanctuary and visit them online at welcomehomeanimalsanctuary.com. Their tax ID is 47-5657327.
