Al

SponsorED BY
The Showalter Family,
The Baker Family

Al joined the Iowa Farm Sanctuary family on November 22, 2022 after he was rescued from a horrific neglect case in Washington County, IA.

Al’s situation was one of the most dire we had ever seen. There were over 100 starving sheep, goats, and pigs living on the property among their dead friends and family members. The property was littered with piles of deceased, half decomposed animals. There was no access to adequate food or water, and the living animals were starving.

On the first day of the WaCo rescue, we urgently triaged the individuals on site, moving the most medically fragile, including Al, to safety as quickly as possible. However, Al almost never experienced freedom. Not long after his rescue, we found him unresponsive in the barn. We rushed him to Wisconsin for emergency medical care, all but certain he wouldn’t survive the ride. Miraculously, Al pulled through. He must have known how close he was to a life of love and happiness.

Al is a tiny goat, and he has had trouble gaining weight and muscle tone since his rescue. He was so starved as a baby that he will likely always be undersized and weaker than other goats his age. Goats play rough, and Al has a hard time getting back up if other goats knock him down, so he receives a lot of extra care (and treats!) and supervision to ensure he’s safe and comfortable. While he was very distrusting of humans at first, Al has grown to prefer humans over other goats, and loves to follow them around the pasture. It’s impossible not to love this gentle little fella.