Home Sweet Home
On a frosty night in October, a large black sow prepared for a familiar labour. She had done this before, but this time she had a cosy, clean stall and fresh straw. Most important of all, she had a coach.
The previous year, she had given birth to a litter of eight piglets, only one of which she was allowed to keep.
This time things would be different. Her protectors, Sarah Hogg and Steven Jorens, took shifts watching over her as she grunted towards motherhood for a whole new batch of infants. They brought lamps, heaters and supplies down from the house and communicated on a baby monitor. Three babies in, there was a lull in the proceedings and they joked that they’d gotten lucky and their work was done — until they realized mom had more to deliver, if she could only get some help. Hogg gently turned one stuck piglet and then, in a rush, one after the other, in a seemingly never-ending stream of 12 piglets emerged.
Four were runts, their tiny bodies barely moving. One in particular, named Nellie, who sported one white ear and one black, was so small and so still, Hogg was sure she had been born sleeping. “I only knew she was alive because I just felt her heart beat in the palm of my hand. Otherwise, there was zero movement. We were so scared that we were going to lose her,” she says. In fact, due to the loving care they received and the maternal instincts of Mama Bear, so named for her protective demeanour, all 12 piglets survived.
Mama Bear now has a reason to sport her ever-present mouth-open, slightly toothy smile. She’ll never have to be parted from her babies again and she won’t have to worry about having any more.
They all live together now with her older piglet, Cruz, at Sweet Sanctuary Animal Rescue. Sharing this idyllic farmyard with them are two unrelated pigs, four chickens, two feral cats, two house cats, four horses, three dogs and two goats, named Peanut and Austin Powers.
An affinity with animals has been a lifelong passion for Hogg, who was given a horse, Diplomacy, by her grandfather when she was 11 years old. She spent long summers at her Aunt Judy’s house in the Eastern Townships, where the horse was boarded on Judy’s farm. Diplomacy was an older mare, supremely gentle, with a white blaze on her face and a little pink spot on her nose.
Over the years, Hogg learned how to care for horses and how to cope with loss, a farm reality that she has had to shoulder more often than those who have only companion animals as pets. Diplomacy’s arthritis eventually caused her too much pain. “In the winter time, in the cold, sometimes she couldn’t even get up, so I knew when it was her last summer and we tried to make it the absolute best and we said goodbye.”
Although Jorens, a former Olympic athlete who competed for Canada in kayaking, didn’t grow up with the same access to animals that Hogg did, his love for them is still apparent. The two met in Ottawa and made a home with their two Boston Terriers, one of which is called Grace Kelly. They rescued this adorable dog from a puppy mill and gave her the fanciest name they could imagine. They adopted their other terrier, called Loca, is an island dog and was adopted after the dog came to Canada from Antigua.
Two horses, Gabe and Chomp, followed and were boarded in Kars, Ont. At this point, they realized they would have to change their own living arrangements. The daily trip to visit and care for the horses was becoming a commute in itself. “We realized we could get more space and help more animals, if we went further away from the city. So, we sold our little townhouse downtown and we haven’t looked back," Hogg says.
After moving to the 89-acre farm in 2016, Gabe, one of their geldings, became sick and was hospitalized. Chomp was now without a companion, an unhealthy situation and they started looking for a rescue horse to be his friend. During their search, they came across the story of 29 miniature wild horses destined for the slaughterhouse. They understood that their owner had died and the horses had been allowed to roam free. When they reached out, seven had still not been rescued and Hogg and Jorens ended up bringing them back to their farm.
These horses, who had never been handled, required patience and a gentle touch. Luckily, Hogg has both and spent hours grooming and talking to them, proving she meant no harm. One of the horses, Mini Wheat, took a liking to Gabe when he returned from the hospital and they became inseparable. The pair look remarkably similar, except for Mini Wheat’s smaller proportions.
Hogg and Jorens set up an adoption program to find forever homes for the other horses. In the end, all of the original 29 were successfully rehomed.
The demands of running the sanctuary don’t allow them to take many traditional vacations, but they would rather spend time with their animals anyway. “The sanctuary is our passion. It’s how we love to spend our time, so even though we don’t have time outside of it, it’s not a problem, because that’s how we want to be spending our days,” Hogg says.
Once all the chores are completed and the animals are sleeping soundly, the couple likes to enjoy a wine and cheese evening. But as vegans, they had to modify their ritual to be cruelty-free while still remaining a special treat. Hogg prepares charcuteriestyle platters, which she calls “plant boards,” and piles them high with spiced roasted nuts, vegetables, fruit and artisanal seitan from Montreal-based Gusta, or a cashew-based camembert from local Ottawa vegan cheesemaker Happy Hearts. She pairs this plant board with a red wine from Prince Edward County’s Karlo Estates, a certified vegan winery.
It’s an ethical substitution that Hogg feels good about. “We are sort of replicating the experience, so it doesn’t taste exactly like I remember, but it’s tasty and gives me the same sort of feeling or lets me relive the same memory,” she says.
Veganism is an important part of the mission and a way of life at Sweet Sanctuary. Hogg and Jorens know their work will help many animals, but their commitment to a cruelty-free diet will save thousands of animals over the course of their lives, although she admits it took her a while to fully understand the disconnect between running a sanctuary and still consuming animal products. “It was only from my personal experience of rescuing goats from the dairy industry that I recognized it for what it truly is and that changed me forever... I will be vegan for the rest of my life,” she says.
Caring for the animals is Hogg and Jorens passion, but it’s also an expensive endeavour. Monthly running costs take their toll, as do veterinarian bills, which is why they gratefully accept sponsorship and donations for the animals.
The sanctuary holds special events for those sponsors who help them to plan and provide ongoing care. Tours for the public and volunteer opportunities are all being carefully considered and scheduled as the sanctuary expands. However, because Hogg and Jorens have full-time jobs, finding balance is always a challenge.
Jorens, since retiring as a professional athlete, works as a mechanical engineer in downtown Ottawa, making the commute every day, which can be upwards of two hours in bad winterweather. Hogg works for an educational charity as a digital communications specialist and makes the trip into Ottawa one day per week. The rest of the week, she works remotely from the farm and splits her time between the computer and her beloved animals. Like many young married couples, Hogg and Jorens had to have a chat about responsibilities and domestic labour as their farm family grew. Unlike most families, theirs has grown to 33 and counting.
Hogg’s job had more flexibility so she works from home when possible. “By cutting out the drive to work, which can add up to three hours a day, I get to spend that time with our animals now, instead. We tried to make some changes a little bit to our lifestyle and we realized that it’s really important that one of us stays home,” she says.
They generally hear about abandoned, sick or unwanted animals from the public reaching out to them by email or through social media. Other times, their veterinarians or contacts in the sanctuary world will ask them if they can help house or care for an animal in need. Their success has had what Hogg describes as a “heartbreaking” consequence. Now, they often have to turn desperate cases away. “There’s just not enough room for all of these animals,” she says.
To continue to offer adequate space for the animals, and to welcome future additions, they’re expanding the facilities. Their next major project is a barn refurbishment and extension estimated to cost upwards of $100,000. The unexpected arrival of Mama Bear’s piglets stretched their barn to capacity and has caused a few logistical issues that need to be ironed out before they can welcome more volunteers to help run the farm. Those monthly donations through sponsorship allow them to be sustainable and provide ongoing lifelong care for all the animals.
Mornings at Sweet Sanctuary start at about 5:30 a.m. There are chores to be started, stalls to be cleaned, food to be distributed and most important of all, animals to be loved.
Sweet Sanctuary Animal Rescue
sweetsanctuary.ca | @thesweetsanctuary
Sweet Sanctuary is one of many such operations in the area. Here are three more:
Big Sky Ranch Animal Sanctuary
A former hobby farm, Big Sky Ranch has been operating as a sanctuary since 2002 and is home to 150 animals, including horses, cows, sheep, goats, llamas and emus. Located in Kemptville, the farm accepts donations and welcomes volunteer help.
810 Pelton Road, Kemptville, Ont. bigskyranch.ca
Happy Tails Farm Sanctuary
Located in Harrowsmith, north of Kingston, Happy Tails regularly hosts school group visits to teach children about animal welfare. It also offers tours, wellness activities and community events when open to the public from May to October.
3225 Wilton Rd, Harrowsmith, Ont. happytailsfarmsanctuary.ca
Penny Lane Farm Sanctuary
Providing a safe-haven for at-risk, abused and neglected animals, Penny Lane Farm Sanctuary's mission is to let the animals be "free to just be." Education and community involvement are also driving forces behind its mission.
1795 Du Lac Rd., Saint-Pascal-Baylon, ,Ont. pennylanefarmsanctuary.com
