It was the weekend of the 92nd Academy Awards when two cows scored the victory of a lifetime. Liberty, a three-year-old Wagyu cow, was about to face slaughter at a California beef plant. Instead, she gave birth to a baby girl: a life-affirming event that wound up saving them both.

The Sanctuary movement has a hand in transforming the way people view and treat farm animals. Since Farm Sanctuary’s inception 35 years ago, we’ve placed thousands of animals, including Lily, Opal, and Jyn cows, with families who value them as companions—not commodities.

35 Sanctuary Moments You May Have Missed

Hans was a young goat, wandering the streets on his own—likely after escaping slaughter. Like the billions of farm animals killed for food each year, Hans did not want to die. Something had lit the fire in his belly, causing him to flee from the life he knew. Maybe he found loved ones on the chopping block. Maybe something felt off and he took that as a sign to bolt. He was worlds away from the comforts of a warm, clean barn and protection from his herd. But he was alive.

After years of suffering for dairy, Shirley goat got a glimpse of sanctuary.

We’re grateful to be collaborating for the sixth year in a row with Treeline Cheese, and to share more inspiring stories of dairy survivors like Pietro.

Pietro is a Holstein calf. Holsteins are commonly raised for dairy––and in dairy, boy calves are generally sold for meat. But the farmer couldn’t sell Pietro. The newborn was sick, and he had a broken leg. He could barely stand, let alone walk. It wouldn’t be worth their time or the cost to nurse Pietro to health and then sell him.

This is as much Otis’s rescue story as it is the chance to honor the unnamed calf who helped him find Sanctuary. Otis and this calf lived on the same beef farm. And if things had gone according to plan, both calves would have been killed.

Roosters are great providers and devoted protectors.

Learn how energy from factory-farmed animal waste reinvests in Big Ag & Big Oil