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Volunteer Spotlights

October 15, 2025 No Comments

Meet Tessa!

We are so fortunate at Carroll’s to have the most wonderful and dedicated volunteers, like Tessa! Tessa has been volunteering with us for over a year. She comes every Monday afternoon, rain or shine, snow or sun, and offers not just a helping hand, but lots of love, kindness, belly rubs and snacks for all our animals. It’s not hard to see why visits from Tessa are much anticipated by our residents!

When asked why she chose to volunteer at Carroll’s, Tessa told us, “After living in Toronto for six years, I realized how much I missed being around larger animals, and I really wanted to learn more about pigs!” Well, she couldn’t have picked a better place. We have lots of pigs and they are all more than willing to teach Tessa whatever she wants to know…in return for a snack or two, of course! And, that’s a good thing because Tessa’s favourite activity at the sanctuary is giving our pigs their fruit and veggies.

We know how funny pigs can be because we’re around them all the time but one day Tessa found out herself when one of our pigs, Ervin, tried to flop on his side for scratchies but, because he was on a slight incline, he ended up right on his back with his little feet in the air! Tessa thought it was hilarious…Ervin may have been a bit embarrassed, but he allowed the scratchies to commence once he regained his dignity.  

June 4, 2025 No Comments

Meet Valerie!

Valerie has been volunteering at Carroll’s every Thursday for the past year, and she is a favourite with all the residents because she’s the human with the extra treats!

Rain or shine, Valerie comes out every Thursday to help us with our delivery of fruit and veggies from the grocery store – even bringing her own rain poncho when the weather looks like it’s not going to cooperate. We absolutely love when Valerie is here and so do the residents! When asked why she chose to volunteer with us, Valerie said, “I picked Carrol’s because I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in the lives of rescued animals. I love being outdoors and working hands-on with animals, and Carrol’s felt like the perfect place to do that. I also felt that the sanctuary’s morals and values matched my own, and I wanted to be part of a community that truly cares about animal welfare.”

When up at the sanctuary, Valerie enjoys handing out snacks to the pigs and seeing their smiling, happy faces, and she loves learning each of their personalities and how they react to the snacks she offers. But it’s not just about the pigs! Recently, Valerie has made some duck friends, too.

“The ducks have never shown any interest in me”, says Valerie, “but one day, one of the smaller pigs was eating too quickly, so I broke up his food into smaller pieces for him, and then after a few weeks of this, while breaking up a hot cross bun, I noticed one of the ducks was very interested.” She offered the duck a small piece and they it took it so gently, and gave the cutest little tail feather wag. Then a second duck came over, bowed its head politely, and waited for a piece to be placed in front of them. Now, like clockwork, the pigs and ducks come out together when she gets there in the morning, all lining up for their treats! How lucky are they? How lucky are we???

 

October 29, 2024 No Comments

Meet Lisa! 

I met Jen and Cynthia, the founders of Carroll’s Sanctuary and Rescue, when they were at the pet supplies store I work at for an event. This was the first time I had ever heard about their sanctuary. Coincidentally, just that day a customer had noticed a baby kitten in the parking lot of a grocery store, and I called my husband to pick it up and take it back to our farm. We quickly realized that this sweet kitten was not cut out to be a barn cat and needed a real family. That’s when I called Jen, and Jen said that they would take the kitten and find her a home. About a month later another orphan baby kitten came into my life, and I once again reached out to Jen to asked if the sanctuary would be able to help find this baby a home, too. I fostered that kitten until it was old enough to go, and then I offered to continue fostering for Carroll’s.

While I love every resident of the sanctuary, the cats have a special place in my heart. I love bottle feeding the babies, helping with the ones that aren’t feeling well, and working with ones that most people just give up on.

Once of my favourite stories about volunteering with CASR is about a very scared cat named, Snow.  Snow was so scared when she arrived at my home from the sanctuary for fostering that she would not let people touch her. She would actively climb to get away. She displayed many characteristics of a feral cat, and they can be quite challenging to work with. Snow was with me for over six months, and during those six months there were many times we were about to give up on her but then she would show me something new and I understood that I was reaching her, and she was learning to trust. Snow lived in my room so every night so I would try to pet her and encourage interaction with treats, but it took me forever to even get her to purr.

One day we took Snow to an adoption event to see how she would be in that environment.  At the event there was a family looking to adopt one of our other cats. When I told them about Snow they initially weren’t interested and it broke my heart, but by the end of the event, they did decide to adopt Snow and another cat, too. It wasn’t long before we were getting updates on how Snow was coming out of her shell, playing with toys, and coming to them looking for attention. Fostering is very hard but so worth it. I do get attached to all the cats that I take care of, and it is sad to see them go but when you have one like Snow that finds a loving home, there are no words to describe that feeling. I always tell people fostering is not for everyone. It is hard and you do get attached to your fosters, but if you can remember that there’s another one out there that needs your help it does make it easier to let them go, especially when they end up with homes like the ones that Carroll’s finds for our rescues.

July 11, 2024 No Comments

Meet Dawna!

Since the summer of 2023, Dawna has been a regular Thursday morning volunteer at the sanctuary. Carroll’s is the first sanctuary that Dawna has ever volunteered at, and we could not feel luckier that she chose us! “I was specifically looking for an organization that rescued animals and where I could volunteer at a hands-on level. Geographically, Carroll’s is the closest to my home, so I decided volunteer here,” Dawna tells us. “And now, Carroll’s is my happy place!”

Along with the physical work of cleaning the barn pens and helping out with poop patrol, one of Dawna’s favourite activities is giving the animals their treats. Of course, she always makes sure that our residents mind their manners and stay safe. For example, she makes sure that Arla sits for her snacks, and that Carlisle doesn’t push the barn door up and escape and he’s been known to do! She even keeps a close eye on Beth to ensure that she doesn’t fall off the railing during her requisite and lengthy head scratches.

Dawna takes her work at the sanctuary seriously but sometimes our pigs, like Carlisle, like to make it difficult for her to get things done. “Once, on a gorgeous, sunny day, I was outside picking up poop,” recalls Dawna, “and Carlisle was wanting a lot of attention. Of course, I gave him tons of scratches and rubs but when I tried to get back to my work, he got downright pushy! Finally, I told him to go away which, of course, he totally ignored. I had no choice but to call in reinforcements! I turned to Cedric and said, make Carlisle go away so I can get some work done and, I kid you not, no sooner had I said that when I hear squealing and there was Cedric pushing Carlisle away with his snout! From that moment on, Cedric has been my hero!”

We are so lucky to have such a dedicated and caring volunteer as Dawna!

April 18, 2024 No Comments

Volunteer Spotlight! Meet…Courtney

We are so lucky to have Courtney as a regular volunteer. She has been volunteering at Carroll’s since October 2023 and comes out 2-3 times a week. This is the first sanctuary that Courtney has volunteered at, and she loves every minute she gets to spend with the animals as they enjoy their best life, full of love.

Courtney works at a vet clinic and wanted to spend even more time with animals so she looked for a local sanctuary where she could volunteer her time. “I picked Carroll’s to volunteer at because I’ve always admired their organization of both small and large animals and aspire to have my own rescue just like theirs in the future. I’ve followed them on social media for a while now and love how all the animals are so happy, healthy, and content.” 

Her favourite activity when volunteering is…well, doing everything! Courtney loves getting the full farm/volunteering experience and helping out, but her most favourite thing to do is just spending time with all the animals and learning their individual personalities and, most importantly, learning each of their preferred snack!

While she is not quick to choose favourites, Courtney does have a special place in her heart for Penny and Giles, and all the goats at the sanctuary. Of course, like all our volunteers, Courtney finds it heartwarming when the animals run up to greet her and follow her around hoping for (and always getting) extra snuggles. There’s so much to love about volunteering at Carroll’s but watching Cedric get the zoomies and of course Elliot standing up at the table with his big smile to get extra treats always puts a smile on her face.

We are so lucky to have such a dedicated volunteer like Courtney with us! Thank you, Courtney! 

December 13, 2023 No Comments

Volunteer Spotlight! Meet…Kate

Kate has been a valued volunteer with us since 2022. And even though she’s relatively new to Carroll’s, she is no stranger to working with large, farm animals. Kate came to us with years of experience at another large animal sanctuary, so she was able to hit the ground running and we had all the confidence in the world in her from the very beginning. In fact, on the first shift when she was by herself Kate noticed out of the corner of her eye that Sasha had escaped and was happily roaming around. Being the experienced sanctuary volunteer that she is, she knew exactly what to do and Sasha was quickly, and safely, reunited with the rest of the sanctuary residents.

Kate is a once-a-week volunteer and when she’s with us she spends her time cleaning the pig stalls, refreshing the water, making dinner for the residents, and doing poop clean up. “I really find poop clean up relaxing,” says Kate. “I like it because certain residents will come right up to me and want attention. It’s a great way to connect with the more social and friendly animals at the sanctuary.”

Of course, it’s hard to pick a favourite resident but when pushed, Kate declared a special love for two of our pigs, Dennis and Cedrick. Sadly, Dennis has passed away, but Cedrick still pulls on Kate’s heartstrings. “He is a large pig who thinks like a little pot-bellied toddler,” laughs Kate. “He is mischievous but also so, so sweet. And, he has the most beautiful eyes!”

When asked what she likes best about volunteering at Carroll’s, Kate was quick to answer, “Volunteering at Carroll’s is very special to me. Everyone is made to feel appreciated and welcome here. Jen and Cynthia are so lovely and it’s truly a pleasure to help them out. Coming to Carroll’s is really the best day of my week! It’s a feel-good environment that keeps me going back with a smile on my face every time I walk through the gates!”

We are so lucky to have such a dedicated and experienced volunteer like Kate at the sanctuary! Thank you, Kate!