Emus & chickens & pigs, oh my!

Sanctuary takes in rescues from ‘factory farms’ and other hopeless places

The picturesque farm is unique in many ways. It’s not in a rural area but in suburban Franklin Park. It has pastures and woods and a creek and a pond. There’s a lovely new barn, chicken coops and multiple sheds to shelter 125 animals. But it’s a scaled-down miniaturized farm on just 7 acres.

A rather unusual herd of animals grazes in the front pasture — six sheep, three goats, a miniature horse, a llama and two alpacas. The back pasture has four pigs.

Emus named Rigby and Ruckus, peacocks Pied and Sheldon, three black swans, and dozens of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys roam freely outside the fenced pastures.

The most unique thing about this farm is that none of its residents will ever be killed and eaten. This is Hope Haven Farm Sanctuary, founded and operated by veterinarian Karen Phillips.

Some of the animals were rescued from “factory farms,” where they had been bred to be slaughtered. Others were confiscated by humane agents from places where they had been neglected and starved. Most will live out the rest of their days at the sanctuary, although animals that are medically and behaviorally sound are available for adoption.

A Vermont native and 1998 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Phillips works six days a week as what she calls “a relief vet,” doing spay and neuter operations at a number of local shelters, including Humane Animal Rescue in Pittsburgh.

“At the shelters I saw so many farm animals coming in, and it broke my heart,” she said.

There were pot-bellied pigs that got too big to be pets and Easter peeps and ducklings that outgrew their welcome as house pets.

At first she took some of them to her home to nurse them back to good health. Then she spent four years looking for property where she could operate a sanctuary for farm animals.

She bought the land in 2011 and spent two years putting up fences, getting a new barn built, repairing old outbuildings, converting half of the garage to a chicken coop, and rehabilitating a long-vacant and mold-infested house as her residence. In 2013 the animals started moving in.

The nearly 6-foot-tall male emus may be the heart and soul of the operation, Dr. Phillips said. “They are such cool animals. They are incredibly inquisitive, affectionate and silly. They follow me around like dogs.”

They quickly warm up to visitors, following them around and bending their long necks to check out the contents of purses