(goat bleating)
(Dan bleating) (goat bleating)
I am Dan. I'm the founder of Barn Sanctuary
out here in Chelsea, Michigan.
I started Barn Sanctuary back in 2016 on my family's farm.
It's a place where we rescue farm animals
from cases of neglect, natural disasters, or abandonment.
This is my family's farm.
It's been in the family for about 140 years.
It wasn't being used for probably a couple of decades.
And at the time I was working out in Austin, Texas,
working in technology, startup world.
And my dad reached out to me asking,
"What should we do with this farm
instead of selling it to a very large corporation?"
I thought at the time, "Hey, I love animals."
I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was a kid
and I was getting burned out in technology.
And this was a great opportunity
to do something very special with that land
and create a sanctuary.
I started fundraising, I packed my bags, quit my job,
and moved up to Michigan to run this animal sanctuary.
You got it. Come on.
Yeah, good boy.
I had no idea what I was doing starting an animal sanctuary.
So what I did was educate myself.
Started going to conferences,
talking to veterinarians on the right thing to do,
what to feed the animals
to live out the rest of their natural life
but not send them to the market,
which is a unique situation.
We have over 110 animals.
We have everything from donkeys, cows, goats, sheep,
chickens, turkeys, 30 full-size pigs,
and barn cats that have now turned into office cats.
Ever since we got our first rescue here at the sanctuary,
I treated them like a companion animal.
Our two cows, Cora and Henry were our first rescues.
And that really gave me my first experience
being around these farm animals.
I had no idea a cow could rest their head on your shoulder
and just kick it with you in the pasture.
And I got that exact experience with Cora
and I was able to share that story with the world.
Back in the day when I first started,
it was just my dad and I
and we were literally doing all the chores on the farm.
Also trying to put in fencing
so we could rescue even more animals.
Flash forward, four or five years,
I now have 13 full-time staff members
that help me run this organization.
But when I first started the sanctuary
I just wanted to disconnect from my own computer
and do something I thought was small and special with my dad
and just the general community and some farm animals.
But it blew up into something I never thought it would.
It has really grown into
a community of animal lovers on the internet.
Joey, we're going home.
Barn Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
We run off donations.
And one of the ways people can donate
is by sponsoring an animal.
Like Lolo the goat, who has two prosthetics on,
And she goes to therapy every single week.
You did it.
What I hope everyone can learn from Barn Sanctuary
is that farm animals are unique.
Whether they are a chicken or a Turkey or a goat.
They feel emotions just like people do.
By respecting farm animals every day,
you can help protect the earth
and really make a difference in this world.
So we want to support the tremendous efforts
of Barn Sanctuary, our friends at Arrowhead Mills.
I've known Arrowhead Mills forever.
I was a food buyer for many years,
for people, not just animals.
Now I make food for animals.
But Arrowhead Mills they're giving the sanctuary $10,000
No way. Wow. (audience clapping)
I wasn't expecting that.
Isn't that great?
Yes thank you.
(audience continues clapping)
Thank you so much.
(Rachael speaking indistinctly)
(audience applauding)