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A Safe Place to Roam
Barnyard animals find caring companionship at Ching Farm sanctuary
Frances Johnson Close-Up Staff
Born and raised in New Jersey, Faith Ching was long a city girl. When she married her husband, Mike, eight years ago, their only pets were a cat and some goldfish. When the couple moved into a log house on a large property west of Riverton, Ching was thrilled to finally have enough space for the pot-bellied pig she had always wanted. "One pot-bellied pig," she said. "One."
But that was just the beginning.
Her 5-acre property is now the Ching Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, home to more than 100 animals: horses, goats, chickens, roosters, pigs, geese, cows, emus, turkeys, rabbits, sheep and llamas.
And Ching knows them all by name.
After adopting her long-desired pot-bellied pig from an owner who could no longer keep her, Ching discovered farm animals are often abandoned, neglected and even abused by owners who can't - or won't - keep them anymore.
"I realized animals in our society are disposable," Ching said. "It's really sad."
Most of the horses at Ching Farm were rescued from the feed lot, the last stop before slaughter. The farm pays by the pound for the horses, just like someone buying them for meat would. Most of the pot-bellied pigs come from owners who can't keep them because of space or zoning restrictions. Some animals, like a now-1,000-pound pig named Molly, were found on the side of the road. Ching Farm also works with shelters and rescue groups all over the state.
"We're the only farm rescue in Utah, so we get all the calls," Ching said. "We need about a million acres, because we have to turn animals down left and right."
The address is not listed because people would abandon their unwanted animals at the farm's gate, but Ching accepts as many animals as she can, and most of them are there to stay. Though four horses have already been adopted out this year, other animals, like goats, are harder to place. And humans have to prove they are going to love and care for the animals the way Ching and her staff of volunteers would.
"A lot of them stay here forever," Ching said. "The rule is they're adopted out as companion animals, and we look for a lifetime commitment."
The animals who do stay at Ching Farm rule the roost. Several goats lounge on Ching's car, while pigs sleep on the porch. One, named Nibbles, can even open the sliding glass door with his nose, so Ching is always on the look-out to make sure the pig doesn't get in the house. The animals have pens, barns, coops and houses, but they are free to wander the property.
"Very few animals are aggressive," said Toni Reed, a farm volunteer. "That's why they're loose, because they don't really do anything." The farm has become as much home for her as for the animals. Reed stays there nonstop from Friday to Tuesday every week. And she never gets tired of it.
"Not even when we're out here and an animal has a problem," she said. "We'll stay out here all night to make sure the animal is OK. I never get sick of animals."
It costs the Chings $4,500 a month to maintain the farm and take care of the animals. They are fed twice a day and provided with all the necessary veterinary care. Every animal on the farm has also been spayed or neutered. With no paid staff, Ching relies entirely on volunteer service and donations to keep things running smoothly.
Twelve-year-old Breanna Gould, a sixth-grader at Highland Park Elementary School in Salt Lake City, rides 35 minutes each way with her mom every Friday to volunteer at the farm. Her chores include filling water bowls, finding eggs, grooming horses and laying down new beds for pigs. She is "definitely not" afraid of getting dirty, she said, and she enjoys the different personalities of the animals . . . "how caring they are.
"And they're not like people," Breanna said. "They don't judge and stuff like that."
Farm animals become just as attached to their owners as traditional domestic pets like cats and dogs, Ching said. And they are just as loyal. Pan, a goat given up by his owners after six years, is a perfect example.
"He sat in that garage looking out and didn't eat for three days," Ching said. "He was mourning his person."
If people are going to own any kind of animal, Ching said, they should return any affection. Autumn Wagner, volunteer coordinator at the farm, said volunteers should have respect for the animals, as well. She is looking for "people who want to help out a good cause and feel really good afterwards, how rewarding that can be, that immediate gratification."
And, though it takes a special kind of person to let animals run their life, a love and respect of animals is something that can be learned.
"I stepped here and I didn't know the difference between straw and hay," Wagner said. "I learn as I go. I'm learning every day."
One thing everyone at the farm hopes people learn is that animals are something to be valued, not casually discarded.
"I've got some horses that will knock your socks off," Ching said. "You just can't believe they were going to slaughter. We're against horse slaughter. I would think of it the same as sending your dog to slaughter. They're companion animals."
And Ching, who worked as a secretary, a veterinary technician and a belly dancer before devoting all her time to the farm, loves each of the animals in her care individually.
"I don't do kids," she said. "They're my children."
Would you like to help?
Tours of the Ching Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary are available by appointment. The farm is also always looking for volunteers. To schedule a tour or get more information about volunteering, contact Autumn Wagner at 801-347-8924.
The Ching Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization. The farm is always looking for cash donations, as well as blankets for the pot-bellied pigs. All donations are tax-deductible. Please send all donations, monetary or otherwise, to: P.O. Box 935, Riverton, UT 84065.
The Ching Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary also sponsors vegan cooking classes. For class schedules and locations, as well as a list of other activities, please visit http://www.chingsanctuary.org.
(c) 2006 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved.
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