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'The Open Barn' provides sanctuary for rescued farm animals in Ramona

Animal shelter founded in 2020 recruiting volunteers to care for growing number of rescued animals.

RAMONA, Calif. — There are numerous animal shelters in the city to help dogs and cats, but farm animals need a sanctuary out in the country, too. 

In this Zevely Zone, I visited The Open Barn in Ramona. 

One reason the Ramona Ranchita is called The Open Barn is the owners hope you will open your heart and mind to a new way of thinking about animals. 

"This total is snack time," said Emily Mitchell while feeding carrots to the rescued goats. Emily is the co-founder of The Open Barn. 

After careful research and education, she decided to change her life. 

"It was like I woke up and realized there was this huge secret the world needed to know," said Emily. 

She grew up loving animals and took that relationship to the next level. 

"I decided that I wanted to give up using animals completely in my life, and I decided I wanted to do that no matter how hard it was going to be, and I was so surprised to learn how easy it was," said Emily.

Credit: The Open Barn

"These are the goats," she said while taking me on a tour of the 8-acre property. 

It's a sanctuary for farm animals raised for meat, neglected or abused. 

I met a goat named Peggy, rescued from a college fraternity. The fraternity members were parading the animal around campus wearing a basketball jersey. A Good Samaritan stepped in and said it wasn't right and brought Peggy to The Open Barn. 

Every animal has their own comeback story. 

Since 2020, The Open Barn has grown to include 31 animals. "We see them as people," said co-founder Robert Gatlin. Each one has its own little quirk, and you just have to spend your time with them, and you get to view them as more than just the next thing on the plate."

Credit: The Open Barn

The Open Barn just welcomed a new resident. 

"That's right, Maddie has been keeping us busy lately," said Emily about their three-month-old daughter. 

Next, I met the pot-bellied pigs and the Mayor of The Open Barn, a turkey named Uno. 

"Hi Uno, can we come say hi to you," said Emily. 

I asked if Uno was getting nervous with Thanksgiving approaching. 

"This is going to be his fourth. We like to call it Thanks-Living," said Emily. 

Every animal is safe here. "

They each have their personalities, and they feel all of the same emotions that we do; they feel joy, sadness, pain, fear, and happiness," said Emily, who manages the sanctuary while working full-time in engineering management. 

"I do. I have to work a full-time job to be able to pay the mortgage for this eight-acre property, and obviously, we need to feed ourselves and care for ourselves, too," said Emily.

Credit: The Open Barn

She and Robert need some help. 

"We do," she said. "It takes a village to run this place." 

The Open Barn has five regular volunteers, but they could use more to feed Charlie, Otis and Bogart watermelon. They are pigs rescued from a testing lab. You could feed the animals as a volunteer, clean the stalls, or provide much-needed belly rubs. 

"How long could this belly rub go on for?" I asked while scratching an adorable pig. 

Emily laughed, saying, "I think for as long as you are willing to rub the belly."

If you want to volunteer at The Open Barn or become a donor, click here.

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