Heartland Farm Sanctuary - Lost Ring and Bane the Goat

Kelly’s Lost Ring

Got a call from a woman who had lost her ring while volunteering at the Heartland Farm Sanctuary. Here’s a description of the farm from their website, it’s a pretty neat place: “Heartland is Wisconsin’s rescue resource for farm animals and serves as the state’s only shelter devoted to the care and rehabilitation of pigs, goats, chickens, and other country critters. Every year, Heartland members provide the “last chance” for dozens of abused, neglected, and abandoned farm animals who have nowhere else to go.”

The ring was Kelly’s grandmothers ring, and she was devastated over losing it. Her grandmother had just passed away 2 months earlier. My daughter Kylie, who is an animal lover, was very excited to tag along. After meeting up with Kelly, we searched the barn, looking in each pen. Kelly was fairly certain that she had lost the ring in the barn. This was a first for me on a hunt, searching with animals all around me. At one point I bent over to dig a hole, and Kylie said a goat almost jumped on my back!

After searching the barn and not finding anything, there was only one place left … the place were all the stuff in the barn goes … the muck pile. Yep, it’s about as good as it sounds. This is where all the hay and other goodies are dumped each day by volunteers who come to clean out the pens. We searched and searched, but no ring. A couple of days later, Kylie and I returned and did another search of the much pile, but still no luck. Kelly wasn’t going to give up, and had plans to search it again over a weekend with a friends metal detector. However, before she could, she got a call from the Farm that her ring was found in a dust pile by a volunteer who was sweeping up the floor!

Photo Credit: www.Channel3000.com

So, I didn’t actually find this ring, but I had a hand in it. Then to our surprise, a couple weeks later we saw Kylie’s favorite animal at the farm, Bane on TV. Check out the link below. A group of students at the UW built a mobility cart for him, as his front legs don’t work. Kylie loved visiting with him, and was excited to see him on TV. Small world, eh?

We were so happy for Kelly and were glad to have been a part of it. Kelly tried to give us a reward for helping, but I instead encouraged her to donate it to Heartland Farms to support the great work they do. Kelly, thank you also for your kind donation to Westside Christian School on our behalf.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/uw-engineering-students-build-mobility-cart-for-crippled-goat/32875536