Compass Rose Farm Sanctuary - Spencer, Indiana

Momma Ethel came to the farm as an older donkey who was underweight, overbred, and foundered. Only after she arrived did we learn that she was pregnant.

Our veterinarian warned us that it was very likely that she was not healthy enough to deliver a live foal, and that if she did she would almost certainly not be able to sustain it nutritionally.

Suffice to say that Ethel did not pay any attention to this report, and she brought into the world a healthy little boy named Fred. Not only that, she made plenty of milk for him to grow and to thrive.

Ethel is so calm and loving, and her personality has definitely influenced Fred, who is sweet and funny and always ready for pets and back scratches. We love watching Fred grow, and he couldn’t have a better mom!

Annie is a beautiful white mare who graces our pasture with spirit and beauty. For most of her life, she worked in the Amish community pulling a cart.

When she could no longer serve in that capacity, she was designated for slaughter, but through a series of fortuitous connections we became aware of her and offered her a home at Compass Rose.

She was very withdrawn and wary when she arrived, but over time she seemed to learn that she was safe. She relaxed and her happy, playful personality began to emerge.

Now she has a well-defined place in our herd as Boss Mare, and she spends her days roaming the pasture, munching on hay, rolling in the dirt, and generally enjoying a leisurely retirement after years of hard work.

Taz and his family (Peanut, Diz, Zelda, Ruby, and Rocket) came to the farm through our involvement in a hoarding case in a nearby county.

The pigs were being housed in filthy cages inside a dilapidated mobile home with little food and no water. A dead pig was found in a cage alongside them. But despite these horrible conditions, Taz and his family were happy and joyful from the outset!

They loaded easily onto our trailer and traveled immediately to Purdue University’s Farm Animal Hospital, where they underwent medical screenings and treatments.

Before coming home to the farm, all six pigs underwent spay/neuter procedures and after a recovery period in one of our quarantine stalls, they were moved out to their own paddock, where they enjoy sunbathing, splashing in their pools and mud holes, and interacting with visitors.

They are such characters! And they remind us over and over again of the resilience of animals and of the power of love in transforming lives.

Not long after the move to Spencer, we had agreed to take in a pig, and at the last minute we were asked if we could take a couple of goats as well.

We didn’t know a lot about goats at the time, but we learned that these girls had essentially no other options so we told the transporter to bring them along.

Since their arrival to the farm, Moomoo and Honey have taken their places as the grand dames of the goats…a little haughty, slightly manipulative, but oh so funny and beautiful. Both are showing signs of age, Honey in particular, and we don’t know how much longer they’ll be with us.

Currently they live in special quarters in our main barn, where they enjoy (relative) quiet, nap all they want to, and get special meals and nutritional supplements delivered daily. We are thankful for every day we have with these wise old girls!

There may not be an animal on the property who more beautifully embodies the principle of transformational love than Raisin.

He arrived at the farm in November 2024 as an emaciated older pig with skin thickened and ulcerated from years of neglect. But oh his eyes!

They shone with hope and trust. We didn’t intend for him to keep the name Raisin but….he looked like a raisin!

So Raisin he remained. After months of intensive nutritional support and skin care, his transformation has been nothing short of astounding (we joke that Raisin has become a Grape!).

He roams around the farm, adores snacks, sunbathes with his bestie Pearl, and reminds us every single day that love is so strong that it can even save a Raisin!