Merrymac Farm Sanctuary keeps its barn door open
Charlotte’s Merrymac Farm Sanctuary is a safe haven for goats, horses, rabbits, cows, ducks, chickens, turkeys, sheep, pigs, donkeys and people.
Sick, injured, neglected, or otherwise in need of care, the animals come from all over Vermont and sometimes farther. They find what founder Era MacDonald calls a “forever home” on her 15-acre property.
“Everyone dumps their bunnies. Everyone dumps their goats. The Humane Society is calling us now,” she said.
When Era MacDonald started Merrymac Farm Sanctuary about eight years ago, she didn’t realize how much impact the farm would have on people. Now, there are about 100 regular volunteers.
MacDonald fields requests every day. A few nights ago, she heard from “a couple in Vermont that are getting divorced, and they can’t keep their pig.” In the spring, she typically receives 30 to 50 unsalable birds from feed stores.
The people are almost as numerous as the animals. With a staff of just five part-timers, Merrymac Farm Sanctuary has cultivated a community of nearly a hundred regular volunteers by MacDonald’s count. Animal lovers visit every morning.
“We didn’t really realize the impact on humans that we would have,” MacDonald said. “They’re choosing here over anywhere they could be.”
The sanctuary aims to promote “awareness and compassion.” In the afternoon, a bus unloads a group of 9- to 12-year-olds from Charlotte and Shelburne schools.
“We’re able to do some of the educational components that other sanctuaries maybe can’t do because they’re in pretty remote areas,” MacDonald explained. “We do a toddler reading program. We have a high school internship program and a college internship program.”
Assistant director Mari Lowder started as a volunteer herself. As a former human resources manager, she has a professional background “in people,” not in animals, but as she sees it, human and animal welfare can go hand in hand.
“I love how welcoming we can make people, how people can find their niche working with animals,” Lowder said. “I think having a relationship with an animal speaks for itself. We don’t have to take a really sort of strict vegan stance. We don’t have to shut people out.”
Some of the sanctuary’s animals show up as a result of interventions by animal control officers and concerned citizens, bearing tragic tales of abuse and hunger. A few continue to struggle to survive. Tizmas, a former racehorse, arrived in October with what MacDonald termed “grade-two starvation.”
“We grade starvation one through nine. Nine’s like a normal horse,” she said. “He kind of wants to bite everyone right now. His stomach’s probably really not feeling good because he’s been on a lot of drugs. He has an infection in his coffin bone which actually could kill him.”
Overall, however, the atmosphere at Merrymac Farm Sanctuary is bustling and cheerful. Roaming goats nuzzle visitors happily.
“Not all the animals really have this cruel, sad story,” Lowder said. “Sometimes it’s just a circumstance.”
In Vermont, one common circumstance is old age. Last year, the farm received “three mini-donkeys” from a retired woman “who couldn’t care for them anymore,” Lowder recounted.
MacDonald, who lives on site, has owned the farm with her husband for about eight years. She has “always been involved in rescue work,” but her sanctuary earned 501(c)(3) nonprofit status only last year in March.
“I’m way more of a grassroots person. I like to actually get dirty and do barn chores,” MacDonald said. “It’s hard to stop and research and write grants.”
Merrymac sits less than five miles from Shelburne Farms, an educational nonprofit with more than $10 million in annual revenue. MacDonald expects her own $200,000 budget, derived principally from “individual donations,” to rise to $300,000 next year.
“I think the scary part is it costs a lot of money to run this place,” she said.
Most of the budget pays for feed, hay and veterinary care. As the director, MacDonald works for free.
“There’s a million nonprofits in Vermont,” she said. “We kind of run on gas fumes compared to most places, but I think we’re making a lot of things happen.”
MacDonald invites newcomers to see the farm for themselves at Merrymac’s Winter Wonderland event this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13 and 14. Visitors will enjoy hot chocolate and holiday lights.
“Some sanctuaries are very closed off to humans because they’re just like, ‘This is for the animals,’” MacDonald said. “And it is hard when you have the community aspect. You open yourself up to having a lot more going on.”
For her, the challenges — including grant writing — are worthwhile.
“We’re on a good path,” MacDonald said. “We really believe that all animals belong here, and all people belong here.”