08/28/2026
All summer we have been preparing to welcome Baby Oliver, a newborn Highland Calf born with no eyes, to our Little Red Barn.
The owner reached out when he was born if Oliver could come here. We asked if his Mama had rejected him-but no, she hadn’t. Oliver’s Mama didn’t reject him for his differences, she loved him. The ethical question for us was how could we separate a loving mother from her baby. It would be no different than taking a jersey calf away from their Mom like in the Dairies. He was also so frail the first few days but became stronger with his Mother’s milk instead of a replacement bottle. It seemed to be the right thing to leave him with his Mom and bring him home after summer when his time was up at the farm.
We checked in and found he seemed to be doing well on pasture with his Mom and other herd family. The search for a perfect surrogate Mama, and caregiver who could be Oliver’s eyes went on all summer.
And today, we finally found a Jersey Mama being culled from a Dairy who could love Oliver like his Mom and be his eyes.
But when we reached out to his owner, we found out that Oliver had gone missing and was presumed to have been taken by coyotes💔💔😭😭 We were too late.
To say we were devastated is an understatement and the level of guilt for not taking him sooner is all consuming. The thought of taking him from his Mom and seeing her grieve seemed cruel at the time but now with this result, it would have been kinder to take him right away. Sanctuary work is not easy and on days like this it’s hard to go to bed and make yourself get up the next morning. It’s caring for everyone to the best of your abilities and hoping your supporters believe in the work you do. It’s making difficult life and death decisions and sometimes making the wrong one and living with the consequences. We are so sorry little one. If we could turn back time and change the course of your life we would. Run free little Oliver, I hope Phoenix is showing you the way🌈❤️🩹
highland
