Diego’s Friends Farm Sanctuary has been over a decade in the making. Diego, our loyal, kind, beloved first dog was rescued from a high kill shelter in the middle of the desert in New Mexico back in 2011. Diego traveled the country with us and been an ambassador for large dog breeds everywhere he’s gone.

In 2021, we adopted our first horse, a two year old paint-arabian mare named Misty. She opened our eyes to the emotional world of horses and we never looked back. While David and I both grew up either riding or caring for horses, we never had the bond with one like we did instantly with Misty. A few months later we were contacted by the Nebraska Humane Society about two horses in need of rescue who were in bad condition. We immediately took in Simon, our beloved first rehab story, while our friend took his brother. Simon lived 18 months with us, the first 10 at our friend’s boarding facility and then moved cross country with us to Massachusetts. Simon’s body was in bad shape when we rescued him and he didn’t have a great deal of time with us, but he was loved so hard in those 18 months and spoiled beyond a doubt. Simon showed us the intense need there is for horse and farm animal rescue, and the idea to have our own sanctuary on our farm sprung forth.

In 2024 we were contacted about two horses needing rescue from a kill pen in Pennsylvania. If we hadn’t pulled these horses they would have been sent to slaughter in Canada the next day. Our sanctuary aims to raise money to save as many farm animals as possible, save horses from slaughter, and rehabilitate animals in need so they can live out the rest of their lives in peace. We also take great pride and responsibilty in educating people about the sentience and intense emotional intelligence all animals have, especially the ones who have been historically looked down on as nothing more than food or tools. With education comes reform, and with reform comes more and more animals getting the care and love they are so deserving of.

Please note that we are not a rescue. We are not a drop off location for animals and we are using our own rescued animals to educate about the slaughter horse pipeline and common animal welfare pitfalls. We do not have events at our property. We are a 501c3 charity fully registered in Massachusetts. All donations are tax deductible and you can choose how the money you donate is used. We have restructured a bit in the last few weeks to make our mission clearer. Please email us with any questions.