The Dogs
Ella and Enzo found Judith in late March 2021 as she was driving through Alabama in her motorhome. They are proof that they find us when they need us most as they secretly carried 7 puppies which were born just 4 weeks later. In summer 2023 we rescued 2 dogs from Louisiana; Cora was rehomed within a week of her arrival; Lola has been recovering from abuse and is ready for her new home.
After becoming a shelter partner with NYC Animal Control we've taken in little hospice dog Poppy who crossed over the rainbow Bridge two weeks later; Stevie who came with severe dermatitis; Felipe who arrived with a pneumonia and needed to spend two days in the hospital, was struggling with severe distrust towards humans, was deaf and suddenly passed 4 weeks later presumably from a ruptured undetected tumor; Theo, a special needs dog with a genetic, neurodegenerative disease called Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis; Scrappy, a senior Chi with horrible teeth and a heart murmur; Max, another senior Terrier with bad teeth and an even worse heart murmur; Molly, a one year old super mutt with lots of energy; Carmelo, a senior Pitbull who's the sweetest and most adorable guy who also needed dental surgery and lifelong arthritis meds; Chinook, a very energetic one year old Shepherd-Husky mix who loves humans and who came here from Bethlehem, Palestine via Canada; Coco and Ozzy, two 4 and 7 year old Yorky mixes whose owner went into long-term medical care; and 3 adult dogs plus 9 puppies from a cruelty/neglect situation in the area.
The Horses
Most of the resident horses were saved from slaughter, others needed a place to retire when their parents sold their farm or a barn buddy passed. As of spring 2024 there are 7 horses and 2 hinnies (pony mules) residing at the Rescue on over 40 ac. They get plenty of exercise as they get to free roam their space and love to travel the full length often several times a day. They live outside 24/7 just like their wild ancestors, but do have several shelters in their pasture area which they can access at their liking.
The two hinnies (pony mules) Harry & Sally live on a so-called track to limit their grass intake which has too much sugar and causes severe inflammation in their legs which can lead to laminitis and founder, an extremely painful condition where the coffin bone separates from the hoof wall.
The Farm Animals
In the first three years we took in many goats, 2 sheep, too many chickens to count, roosters, Guinea fowl and even transferred a bunny.
Benny, the goat, was born in early summer 2021 and came to us as a bottle baby. He is incredibly affectionate and loves getting head scratches. In late summer 2022 he contracted deer worm (Meningual worm) which almost left him paralyzed but luckily we caught it in time and so only a little wobbly is left. Then an animal attack sent him to a 4 day stay at Cornell and left him without teeth so that now he can only eat soft food.
Bambolino the sheep, or Babo as we call him short, was found as a stray and came to us in early 2024. Babo would much rather be a pet sheep and so he follows us around while we do chores or go on dog walks. He got attacked the same night as Benny and suffered deep wounds which also earned him a multi-day stay at Cornell.
We have many chickens and roosters who were found as strays in NYC and who get to live the best life they could ever have. In fall of 2023 we helped rehome close to 140 chickens from an extreme hoarding & cruelty case in Brooklyn, were almost 300 chickens were seized. Unfortunately many died before even getting out of the city and many more passed despite the best care our adopters provided.
3 Peking Ducks came to us in 2022 who immediately took liking to the pond and made it their own. One duck was sent to a specialty sanctuary after a foot injury, then we took in a Muscovy duck from NYC in spring of 2024 which was quickly rehomed locally.
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The Cats
The first kitties that joined the Ranch as rescues came from Herkimer and were feral cats in need of a barn.
Soon more cats followed, kittens were found and transferred and at some point there were 15 cats calling the Rescue their temporary home. Neither dogs nor cats are kenneled or crated but live inside the home so it almost got a little crowded there for a minute.
The need for cat rescue resources is huge in the area. Throughout the year we get dozens of calls or emails for help with cat placement. Low cost spay and neuter appointment are few and hard to come by and often (not only) farmers don't bother to spay or neuter their cats contributing to the explosion of the feral cat population.
In Spring of 2023 we held a low cost MASH style Spay & Neuter clinic here at the rescue and were able to offer the lowest cost in the state offering all but the vet's services for free. In one day we got 27 cats fixed!
My hope is that someday people will realize that adult cats are so much more fun to adopt as one can already see what temperament and character they are getting and all the mischief and naughtiness of being a kitten can be avoided.
Our Rescue Ranch is such a beautiful place!
And yet: due to the lack of support and volunteer help the rescue is looking to relocate to a smaller location in an area closer to a city. As much as Central New York needs our help - I receive several surrender requests every week - there is only so much one person can do. It takes a village. Despite great effort I've been unable to find regular, local volunteers or even remote volunteers for fundraising, social media or the website, but the occasional Workaway-Volunteer. Especially winters are hard with the workload that the winter season brings along, with feeding hay and mucking stalls and paddocks, to name just a few, one-on-one time with the animals suffers greatly and there is no time for projects, maintenance and improvements. Although all donations go towards the animals, feed and vet care and I donate 100% of my time plus the farm, utilities, equipment etc. the rescue doesn't have money to hire help. So starting spring 2024 we will transition to an all foster based rescue until a new, smaller and more sustainable location is found.
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Our 2021 Rescue Success
Intakes
9 dogs
15 cats
14 horses
2 goats
15 chickens/roosters
Adoptions
7 dogs
2 cats
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Our 2023 Rescue Success
Intakes
12 dogs
5 cats
3 horses
1 sheep
10 ducks
too many chickens to count
4 Guinea fowl
1 bunny
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Adoptions
3 mini donkeys
6 cats
10 duck
1 dog
1 bunny
too many chickens to count
Our 2022 Rescue Success
Intakes
3 ducks
9 kittens
2 cats
1 rooster
Adoptions
2 horses
6 kittens
3 cats
2 chickens & 2 roosters
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Our 2024 Rescue Success
Intakes
7 dogs
1 sheep
1 duck
3 chickens/roosters
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Adoptions
2 cats
1 duck
5 dogs
The Sweet Life Animal Rescue Inc. is an accredited 501(c)(3) with the Department of Treasury,
a registered Non-Profit with the NYS Charities Bureau and
a registered Animal Rescue with the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Shelter Number 485