“We went in and we seized what eventually ended up being 131 animals, who were living in just absolutely horrible conditions.”
It took the team about six hours to identify, tag and load all the animals for transport. Some of the sheep had to be carried to waiting trailers because they were too weak to walk, and one of the two pigs was badly injured and not expected to survive the night. Barwick rescued 114 animals and her farm had already been prepped to feed and shelter them as soon as they arrived home on that Nov. 6 evening.
Barwick and her husband founded Feel Better Farm Equine and Farm Animal Rescue in 2018. A self-proclaimed “horse girl,” Barwick said she’d always wanted to form an animal rescue. Learning about horse slaughtering in 2016 was the push she needed. She rescued her first horse from slaughter that year and never looked back.
Feel Better Farm is located on 20 acres of mostly pasture in Esmont. It has five stall barns, two additional outbuildings and a 600-square-foot chicken coop.