Animal sanctuary leaving Redding
Sleepy Pig Farm moving its 17 rescues to New York grange
REDDING — It all started with one pig.
Tiffany Paltauf, 24, saved a pig a few years back from dire circumstances. Now, with a growing group of animals, the owner of Sleepy Pig Farm and Animal Sanctuary — is trading her former farmstead for a New York grange, moving all her goats, chickens and pigs.
Paltauf is taking the organization’s 17 rescue animals to a 10- acre farm in Granville, N.Y., to have more space while dodging Connecticut price tags. She and her husband
have been renting farmland for the animals but say it has become too costly.
As the sanctuary moves to a new location, Paltauf created a GoFundMe to help the donation- dependent organization make necessary repairs to the new property. They have raised nearly $ 1,000 of their $ 50,000 goal.
The money raised will add water, insulation, and stall walls in the barn, as well as additional fencing and repairs to outbuildings on the property, Paltauf said. The fencing materials will cost about $ 15,680, Paltauf said.
Paltauf said the sanctuary will be unable to rescue more animals without additional funds. Despite the laborious work behind rescuing animals, Paltauf is passionate continue saving animals from farm cruelty, something she said she witnessed firsthand and hopes others will recognize.
When Patlauf was 18 years old — exploring Vermont dairy farms for a job — she came across one farm where the animals were living in particularly dire circumstances. While scoping out the land, she found a cement pit full of pigs and piglets, many who — if not already deceased — were barely surviving.
Paltauf, horrified, brokered a deal with the farmer to rescue the surviving piglet. She cared for the piglet — later named Maybelle — and watched her grow into an adult. Today Maybelle is over 700 pounds and living at the sanctuary among 16 other animals.
Paltauf’s goal is to rescue others like Maybelle and give them a home.
“Animals deserve to be recognized and heard. There are so many animals out there that need assistance from us,” Paltauf said.