Today is a special day in my life. May 17, 2019 was the day that Craig and I moved into our current house that has since been named Full Bloom Acres. Don’t worry, this isn’t a post about our house. On this day two years ago, we took on something I never thought I could take on. We opened our hearts to Lakey, the resident Saint Bernard, that was abandoned and abused by the family we bought the house from. If you want the full Lakey story, I wrote a whole blog article on it which you can find here.

I’ll try to give you the short version of a very long story….

Lakey spent the first year of his life as the family pet, gifted to the young children as a Christmas gift. After a year, he got too big (image a Saint Bernard getting “too big”. Whatever, Jeff.) so they chained him to the silo outside where he lived out in the elements. Several years later, they moved him into a small, wet, dark corner of the lower barn. He lived there, in filth, until May 17, 2019. The first thing we did after signing the paperwork at the bank was let Lakey out of the barn and hosed him down. Craig had a fence up that evening and the next weekend Craig’s brother came down and helped clean up the lower level of the barn for Lakey. Lakey saw sunlight for the first time in who knows how long.

Lakey would live out the rest of his life happy as a clam. He walked around the farm with us every night, he was taken care of and taught how to be a dog again. He was even fed twice every single day (We were told that if we don’t have a chance to feed him some days, it’s not a big deal. Again, whatever, Jeff.).

That big guy was the first experience I had with truly rescuing an animal. I learned a lot from Lakey. Before him, I thought it would be too hard to take in an elderly or abused animal or that I would not be able to handle losing them. Believe me, the day last June that Lakey passed was one of the most difficult days of my life. But he was lucky enough to pass in our arms, literally, as I am quite certain, we made his last breaths some of his best. Losing an animal is never easy and it will never become easy. If it ever does, to me, it means I have lost part of who I am. I hope it never becomes any easier.

What Lakey did for me, and how he changed me, I will be forever grateful.

For as long as Craig and I have been together, Craig has wanted to live on a farm. We always talked about rescuing animals, giving a home to those in need. But in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn’t strong enough for that. I cry every time I drive past a deer on the side of the road. I can’t watch movies where animals are harmed or die. I became vegan because I couldn’t contribute to the suffering of animals. So me, taking in abused animals? Sounds like a recipe for disaster and a mental break down or two!

But Lakey changed something in me. This gentle, 150-pound sweetheart melted my heart while at the same time, toughened me up. Lakey knew. He came into our lives for a reason.

There are so many farm animals that are abused and mistreated. If you’ve ever had the honor of looking one of these animals in her eyes, you will know all she wants is to live. She’s the same as you and me. She feels pain, humiliation, sadness, and joy. She has an undeniable desire to live. Somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to distinguish what the difference is between our dogs and every other animal. Why are my dogs treated so differently? Why do we eat some animals but say it would be “wrong” to eat others. I would never eat my dogs, and I bet you wouldn’t either. Why are other animals less deserving of compassion and respect? I don’t believe they are.

But anyways, this is not a post about the ethics of the animal food industry. Or maybe it is? Who knows!

This is a post about May 17, 2019. This is a special day on the farm because it is the day we celebrate Lakey’s birthday! How terribly sad that his former family could not even tell us his birthday? So, we decided it was May 17th. The day he came into our lives, or rather, more accurately, the day he brought us into his.

As our family has grown over the last 6 months, we have only Lakey to thank. He showed me that I am strong enough. And that I have a lot of love to give to so many animals in need. Since his passing, Craig worked day and night to completely make over the barn and our property. The dark, disgusting corner of the lower barn is now spotless and has been where our baby mini donkey’s called home for the first several months of their lives. It’s where Annie and Snow, two of our Alpacas, let us hug them and pet them for the first time. And it’s now where our momma cat, Dozer, taught her babies to mouse and play. Instead of that barn being filled with sadness and sorrow, Lakey gave us the strength to turn it into something special. A place of hope, happiness, and family. I can only imagine who else will call that barn home in the future.

As we learned with Lakey, there are many people who do not keep track of their animals’ birthdays. Which is a rather odd concept to me since I can tell you almost every one of our animals’ birthdays (And no, I could not tell you Craig’s. For some reason, that one just doesn’t stick!). We do not know some of our animals’ birthdays and once we start rescuing more, chances are, we might not know theirs.

So, every year, on May 17th, we will celebrate Lakey and every other animal that we don’t have an exact date for, and some, exact ages. They will each get special lovin’ and probably lots of cheese balls. Does it make any difference to them? Probably not. But it means the world to me and to Lakey.

Happy Birthday, Lakey!!! Thank you for all you have done for me and my family. Without you, none of this would have been possible. Lakey would have been 10 today!

That’s all for this year! Who knows what or who next year will bring us!

Tonight, have a drink for Lakey and toast to a life that was given purpose, dignity, and honor. And to all those animals who are waiting for their chance to live. I see you. My heart aches for you. Your life means something.

Cheers, Lakey! We love you, big guy!

Peace, love & kale,

Lindsay