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Rooterville

A place to grow old and be loved

By Sarah Pickett
Posted 9/19/18

MELROSE – Tinsel the Cow and Holly the Cow almost met their fate at a cattle auction, but auctioneers deemed them too small and weak, due to the conditions of the transport truck, to sell for …

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Rooterville

A place to grow old and be loved


Posted

MELROSE – Tinsel the Cow and Holly the Cow almost met their fate at a cattle auction, but auctioneers deemed them too small and weak, due to the conditions of the transport truck, to sell for meat.

The cows were rescued by farm sanctuary workers, who then brought them to Rooterville Animal Sanctuary in Melrose. Today, Tinsel, the gentle giant weighing around 2,000-pounds, loves bananas and frequently feasts on peanut hay, which comes from the tops of peanut plants. Holly follows Tinsel everywhere he goes.

Rooterville Animal Sanctuary serves as a rescue home for injured, abused or abandoned animals like Tinsel and Holly. The animal residents live out the rest of lives free to roam and play around the 30 acres of land on which Rooterville sits.

Founder Elaine West started rescuing animals nearly 30 years ago.

“I started rescuing pot belly pigs when I found out that my local animal shelter was just giving them to people to eat and not even trying to find them homes,” she said.

West rescued over 100 pigs before starting Rooterville. The inspiration for Rooterville was Stella the Pig.

“Stella was a farm pig who was a gestation sow, so her job was to have babies for the pork industry,” she said.

She fell out on the road on the way to slaughter and ended up in someone’s driveway, where West rescued her.

“I was afraid that she would be big, aggressive, unpredictable and dangerous. She was the total opposite of what I was expecting. [Stella] was sweet, gentle, affectionate and just the best animal ever,” she said.

West wanted to show people that what they think about pigs is probably not right. “I knew that if I had those stereotypes [about pigs] everybody else probably did, too.

“I wanted everyone to be able to experience farm animals and, hopefully, open their hearts and their minds to see them as more than a menu option,” she said.

West achieved 501(c) nonprofit status in 2004.

Since then, Rooterville has been “building like crazy and growing like crazy,” she said.

The sanctuary is home to over 300 animals including pigs, cows, goats, miniature horses, ducks, turkeys, chickens and dogs. The 30 acres includes a boarding and recovery area for recent rescues or veterinary visits.

It also has a space for the cows and goats, a retirement community for the pigs who are 10 or older, an area for the old geriatric animals and a gift shop. There is also an active beehive. The one space on the sanctuary that does not have animals is what they call “the People Barn,” where visitors can camp and wake up to the roosters’ crows. There are also two rooms available for a bed and breakfast.

Rooterville is run entirely on foundation support and relies on donations from the public. The sanctuary offers a membership program where donors become monthly sponsors for the animals. “Our feed bill alone is around $5,500 a month,” said West. “People don’t realize how expensive it is.”

The sanctuary also offers a volunteer program and is always looking for new ones. Laney Testa, a Ridgeview High School senior who started volunteering at the sanctuary this summer, said that through volunteering, she has learned more interesting facts about the animals and what they need to survive.

“I love the animals. They are all so cute and each one has their own personality,” she said.

Rooterville is open for tours by appointment. The sanctuary does not offer tours in August due to the heat. Currently, Rooterville cannot accept any more animals due to its full capacity, but West said that they provide networking with other sanctuaries, if needed.

The sanctuary is currently looking to expand and move to Orlando. However, West has her eye on a nearby piece of property that may become available near the sanctuary. If it does, the sanctuary will remain in its current location. The sanctuary holds about four public events yearly, most recently, the July Jamboree.

The July Jamboree, held on July 14, brought in about 500 visitors and included activities for kids including face painting and feeding the animals.

“We gave out samples of vegan ice cream, vegan hot dogs, and had sno-cones,” said West.

The next event, Boo at the Roo, will be held in October.