Expanding Circles of Compassion and Nurturing Love and Life at Hogs and Kisses Farm Sanctuary with Anne Molina

I constantly look from that lens. When I’m on my deathbed looking back, will I be proud of the life that I created?      - Anne Molina

*VIEW FULL SHOWNOTES ON OUR WEBSITE HERE.

>> Donate to Hogs & Kisses Here! <<

Imagine the joy of opening your heart to animals and experiencing the profound love they return. That's the inspiring reality for my dear friend and special guest, Anne Molina, the compassionate soul behind Hogs and Kisses Farm Sanctuary.

Our heart-to-heart conversation takes you through Anne's journey of adopting a plant-based lifestyle and embarking on the incredibly rewarding endeavor of creating a safe haven for farm animals.

Anne's captivating stories about the sanctuary and the animals she cares for will touch your heart while shedding light on the importance of extending our compassion beyond our pets to farmed animals. Our candid chat reveals the surprises, challenges, and immense joys of nurturing these creatures, many of whom come from deeply traumatic pasts.

An essential part of our discussion also centers around the importance of balance and taking care of oneself amidst these beautiful yet demanding commitments.

We share the details of our intriguing side project, "Beet Around the Barn," designed to raise awareness about animal welfare and instigate change. As we delve into our conversation, you'll be privy to a major announcement about the future of the sanctuary and our plans to welcome a new species - turkeys.

The final part of our chat shares our excitement about expanding the sanctuary, our fundraising plans, and how we envision the new enclosure for our feathered friends. So, tune in and be ready to fall in love with the world of sanctuaries, just like we did.

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Check out our
with the pigs.
We go, yeah, we come on.
And it tends to be althoughCoco started to as well the
other day the pigs will startchasing me in the gator because
they just want to play and havefun.
So normally it's Pachanga.
He's our most energetic pig,which, by the way, his name,

(00:21):
pachanga, means crazy rave partyin Spanish.

Ella Magers (00:25):
So he lives up to that name, hey there and welcome
to Rise and Thrive with me,ella Majors.
I created this high vibepodcast from a place of profound
curiosity, fierce compassionand the deep desire to connect
you with the wisdom ofinspirational wellness, health,
fitness and conscious leadersand change makers.

(00:46):
Here's to discovering our blindspots and embracing life as the
adventure.
It is the time, the time, thetime, the time, the time.
The time is now.
Let's do this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,yeah, yeah, yeah, hey, hey,
everyone Ella here, and this isa very special episode for so

(01:10):
many reasons.
First of all, it is GivingTuesday and I am on the founding
board of Hogs and Kisses FarmSanctuary.
If you follow me on Instagramor on YouTube, you have seen
countless posts and videos andpictures of me up there with the

(01:30):
animals.
It's one of my favorite placesto be and I'm up there many
times a year caring for andloving on the precious souls
that have found their foreverhome.
With today's guest, anne Molina,she is one of my best friends
in the world and has been formany, many years, and so to have
her on and be able to share herstory of how she got started I

(01:57):
talk about in this episode, youknow, 20 years ago.
If somebody had told her shewould be running a farm
sanctuary at this point in herlife, she would have never
believed them.
So she's got a fascinatingstory to tell and we talk about
what our next steps are and wehave a big announcement to make.
And I will bite my song tongueright now and not give it away,

(02:19):
because I want you to listen tothe end when we make our big
announcement.
And, yeah, I really really hopeyou enjoy this episode.
Anne's energy is phenomenal.
She brings so much love to theworld, to the animals, that she
cares for the people in her lifeand it's an honor to know her
and to be such an intimate partof what she's built at Hogs and

(02:42):
Kisses.
So I think the episode speaksfor itself.
I'm not going to go too muchinto it other than to say that
lots of links in the show notes.
I've interviewed her before onthe Vegan Life Coach podcast so
you can get a really even deeperunderstanding of her journey if
you go back and listen to someof those episodes, and I want to

(03:03):
thank you in advance If whatyou hear today inspires you to
be a part of our Hogs and Kissescommunity to be able to donate
to help us fundraise for whatwe're building next.
I want to thank you in advancefor that, because your support
goes a long way, and I mean along way, and we've got a great

(03:25):
matching situation.
So any donations are going toget matched triple triple.
So, yeah, all right, withoutfurther ado, let's do this.
Hey, ann, hi, before we dive in,it was last episode that I

(03:49):
shared the news about shy, so Ijust want to take a moment
before we even dive in and tothank you for the support and
the love.
I mean I want to thank everyonelistening because the support
and love that I have receivedsince this happened has been
tremendous.
I mean it was interestingbecause so for you all listening

(04:11):
and gifted me a session with ananimal communicator, a medium
who specializes in grief andcommunicating with animals who
have passed, and you know thatwas so powerful.
And one interesting thing aboutsome of the resources that
Teresa had sent was that therewas a lot of information helping

(04:36):
people through who had peoplearound them who would diminish
and belittle the experiencebecause it is an animal Right.
So there was a lot ofinformation about what to do
when the people around you say,oh, kind of get over it.
It was just a dog and for me tohave, I mean, you and so many

(04:58):
people in my life and they'renot one person like that was so
far.
You know from what I'msurrounded by, because we're in
such a compassionate kind oflittle bubble here with our
sanctuary sanctuary people,animal people, people listening
to this podcast, who arestriving to open their hearts

(05:20):
and be more compassionate,whether they're already vegan or
they're on their way or they'recurious, you know, just people
that are wanting to move throughthe world with an open heart,
knowing that that invites in alot of pain from loss, and
that's kind of the price we pay,and it's a price that I am
willing to pay over and over andover again, and I know you are

(05:40):
too.
So I just want to thank you andjust want to put that out there
for all your love and supportand forgetting it and being
there for me.

Anne Molina (05:49):
Well, of course, yeah, I mean.
I remember when you brought herhome from the shelter you know
kind of things.
So, yeah, and you know, she wasso much a part of every facet of
your life, Right?
I think for many people whomaybe care for animals as a
companion animal, as a pet, theykind of like live in their

(06:09):
house, right, like.
So, for instance, me and mycats, right, I sometimes post
things about them, but when I goto the grocery store, they're
not with me.
You know, you go to yoga, shywas with you.
You're on your scooter, shy iswith you.
You come up here, shy is withyou, right, like she knew
everybody on Miami BH right Likeand even up here.

(06:30):
I mean you know how many peoplewere caught like messaging me
like, oh my God, ella, you know,because they all got to meet
her, they got to know theinfluence that she was, you know
, in your life, you know, itstill is Right, so, yeah, so I
would imagine that people couldhave seen that and been
impressioned by that.
So that's also a reason why Ithink that they had that kind of

(06:50):
compassion.
There are probably other peoplewho don't necessarily have that
.
Maybe they care for a bird, andit's just something that you
never know, because that bondcould be so strong between a
human and the animal that, yeah,shaming about that and yes, we
hear it all the time oh, it'sjust a cat, it's just a dog.
Yeah, you know, I understandeverybody has different beliefs,

(07:11):
you know.
But if somebody is goingthrough pain then you know,
really it's just so encouragingthat so many people rally around
you, with you and for you andcontinue, yeah, to do so.
But, yeah, I mean, ella, youare like my sister girl.
So there was no way.
I mean I was like, oh God, do Igo down there?

(07:32):
I don't know.
You know, I would have loved tocome to Miami, but, as you know
, we have lots of animals herethat we're caring for, so I
couldn't just jump on a plane.
But yeah, but I wanted to.

Ella Magers (07:41):
Yeah, I know you did.
Yeah, she's famous a little shyshe was really.

Anne Molina (07:48):
I'm going to have a memorial and all over your
social media with everything,right, yeah, so yeah, memorial.

Ella Magers (07:54):
Good, yeah, we're going to work on that.
And speaking of just, you know,belittle, I mean now we're
talking about companion animals,which so many people can relate
to.
You know that suffering when welose them or just when they're
sick or anything happy to dowith those.
And now we take us and kind ofthe vegan community and the

(08:15):
sanctuary community and extendthat to farmed animals.
And you know, one of the thingsthat talk about compassion and
opening your heart and howpainful that can be, and I was
thinking about this the otherday.
I was like here we are askingpeople to connect with this
compassion for farmed animalsand there are billions, there

(08:38):
are trillions of animals thatare suffering and dying each
year, and to open our hearts tothat is it's not an easy thing
to do, no, and yet Right.
So just in opening here, youknow how do you kind of explain
to people why it's worth it?
Why is it worth it to open ourheart to farmed animals, right,

(08:59):
knowing that there's a lot ofsuffering there.
You know why is that worth it.
What are your thoughts on that?

Anne Molina (09:05):
Yeah, so I'll definitely share my opinion
about the worth of this.
I would like to also add that aside project that hugs and
kisses has done over the pastcouple of years is called beat
around the barn, and it kind ofstarted out of COVID when people
were not visiting sanctuary andthings like that.
But we wanted to do educationand outreach so we made these
like interview videos.
Anyway, there is an episodethere about how you deal with

(09:28):
animals across over the rainbowbridge and we do talk about that
as vegans or plant based folksand people who have strong
relationships with animals.
When you're looking at thebillions of animals that are
killed for the plate all thetime every year, that too, for
some of us, we grieve about it,because that's where kind of the

(09:48):
coined angry vegan comes from.
Is you're so thirsty to teachpeople and have them see what
you see, because it hurts sodeeply, you know, and you want
them to see it right.
So it comes across maybeabrasive or aggressive or what
have you, but really it's comingfrom the fact that we feel pain
, that all of these animals aregoing through needless pain and

(10:11):
want to open people's eyes,right.
So, anyway, check out thatepisode if you all want, or if
you're going through it and justwant to hear some amazing
perspectives.
We had a great panel on that.

Ella Magers (10:21):
Yes, it was, and I'll put the link to that.
I just made it.
I'll put the link to thatspecific episode in the show
notes.

Anne Molina (10:27):
Perfect, yeah.
So for me, why is it worth it?
You know, for me the purpose oflife is love, and I'm not
trying to sound too floweryabout that, but like I've
decided that that is the meaningof life for me, and I think
that is the case for all humans,whether they arrive at
something different themselves.

(10:48):
But what else are we doing here, right, you know, kind of thing
is where I'm at with it, and soany opportunity to love, even
though it will be challenging,you yourself have to learn and
change and grow and beresponsible about others and
helping them to really have likethe full gamut of what comes

(11:09):
With love.
It's a lot of work.
It's a lot Whether it's humansor whether it's animals, or on
our planet or our home or ourthings or whatever it is.
There's work, you know, and allI can say is that every moment
I mean just being with theanimals, I swear to you it fills

(11:29):
my fulfillment cup.
Every day I could be dog tired,I could be sick, I could be
whatever, and I still get somuch fulfillment Just by being
with them, sometimes laughingwith them.
They do funny things and it'samazing it has adds so much to
my life.
So if I now fast forward,because now we have the 12

(11:51):
animals in our care, plus I havetwo companion animals who, by
the way, I think are like mybabies.
I always joke that I birthedthem right.
And if I think about, I know Ihave an inkling of what I think
you may be going through withshy passing.
And now I'm going to have that.
14 animals Like I'm like, ooh,like it is scary.
It's a little bit scary, but Ithink, ultimately, knowing that,

(12:14):
a the purpose of life is loveand, b what I would want to do
with my life.
So if I look forward and I'm onmy deathbed looking back and
I'm looking over my life, kindof going what did I do with my
life, I will be damn proud thatI provided a great life to
animals who are in need Reallyanyone, right, I mean people in

(12:36):
my life.
I constantly look from thatlens.
Would I be proud of the lifethat I created on my deathbed?
If so, I want to go do that.
So for me, yes, it is a nobrainer, even if the pain comes,
even attempting, even trying,giving it all to do what you

(12:57):
want, which is create love.
Ultimately, then, I think it'swell, well worth it, because I
just believe that in the effortsof even doing and trying you
get back a hundred fold, even ifyou know no regrets.

Ella Magers (13:10):
Oh, that's a beautiful answer, really
beautiful answer.
Ok, yes.
So before we get into it, Iwant to briefly talk about your
journey, because we did reallycover that in our interview on
the Vegan Life Coach podcast,which I will link to.
So I encourage everyone tocheck that one out.
I mean, we met many times, butI think it was our first, your
first episode that we reallytalked about your journey.

(13:32):
So we'll cover that briefly,but first I've got the thing
that you probably dislike themost, which is a lightning round
, but this one, I think, isgoing to be.
I think you're going toappreciate this one, ok there's
a few questions I want to justpop in there at the very
beginning here as we dive in Allright.
Number one if you were beinginterviewed 20 years ago and
were asked where you thoughtyou'd be in your mid 40s and

(13:56):
what you'd be doing, what wouldyou have said Twenty years ago?

Anne Molina (14:00):
you said yeah, 20 years ago I would have said that
I was working with kids, right,Husband?
I likely would have answeredthe whole white picket fence,
2.2 kids, right?
The thing that we are fed as aculture to aspire to.
I likely would have said that.

Ella Magers (14:15):
And follow question .
If you had been told 20 yearsago that you would be in
Virginia on a plot of land inoveralls, in muddy boots picking
up pig poop, what would youhave said oh, I'd have been like
no way, no way, no way, no way,no way, no way.

(14:37):
Isn't life interesting.

Anne Molina (14:40):
OK, it's still fun.

Ella Magers (14:41):
What has surprised you the most about building and
running a sanctuary?

Anne Molina (14:46):
Yeah, yeah.
Initially, what surprised methe most was actually how much
work it is right, because Ithink we all joke about it.
Like at first we had these likeromantic notions about you know
, oh, we're going to save theseanimals, the animals are going
to reach out and like frolic inthe field, like it was all of

(15:06):
that in our head, you know.
And then it was like, no,you're out there rain, snow,
sunshine, sleep and if you'resick and there's nobody else
they don't need if you're notout there, like it is demanding,
right, like.
So that was probably the mostsurprising to me, even though in
my head I may have thought, oh,it'll be work, I didn't know
the level at which thededication is needed.

(15:27):
Now, what surprises me?
I think, maybe how much I stilllearn, like from the animals.
I learn a lot just throughobservation.
They're so cool and interestingIf you just kind of tune into
each of their personalities.
Obviously we observe that justfor health and make sure they're

(15:49):
okay, but then there aredifferent things.
They can tell you just out ofthat, really kind of cool things
and I'm like, oh, my God,they're actually communicating
with me right now.
You know, kind of a lot ofthose things still surprise me,
just because of how cool theyare.

Ella Magers (16:02):
Learning their language?
Yes, kind of thing too.
Yeah, I got it.
Okay, what's the mostchallenging part for you
personally as a human being,running this sanctuary?

Anne Molina (16:13):
This is going to sound kind of horrible, but I
don't know, maybe somebody willrelate.
So I guess I'd be considered alittle bit more of like a
mainstream vegan.
Right, I'm not your tree hugger, birkenstock kind of vegan, and
so what I mean by that is Ihappen to really like luxury
things and I like nice things.

(16:35):
I love fashion, I love travel,I love a lot of these things.
So in deciding to start thesanctuary, I had thought like,
oh, those are not importantthings, I can put them to the
waist diet, I will just focus onthe sanctuary.
Well then I started noticing mystress level and the quality of
happiness in my life wasstarting to really take a toll,

(16:57):
and the relationships in my life, because having the sanctuary
was my dreaming goal notnecessarily everybody in my life
, you know, in my householdsdreaming goal, even though
they're supportive.
But so I had to reevaluate and Ihad to go oh, wow, actually
having a fun day of shopping,like it also to, fills my cup.
And so I had to really take ahard look at the things that I

(17:20):
feel make me happy or that Ienjoy, or just take me out of
the headspace of sadness orstress or whatever and put me
into a happy space and thingslike doing my nails I mean, oh
my God, having all of the mud inmy nail Like I thought, oh,
it's unimportant, you know kindof thing but then like coming to

(17:40):
grasp with superficial thingsthat are actually important to
me.
That has been my biggest.
Most challenging is, I thinkultimately the word is called
balance trying to find thebalance of doing that, running
it and doing really well, doingright by these animals, right
educating, but then doing rightby me and honoring the things

(18:02):
that I like and make me happyand not feeling ashamed about
that.

Ella Magers (18:07):
And for those listening.
If I need some vegan fashionadvice, I have my woman right
here to go to.
It's awesome that you know youmade that transition so many
years ago to a compassionatelifestyle.
Now you get to Use that todiscover new things.
It's like discovering new foodsnow to discover new fashion

(18:29):
that's ethical and cruelty free.
So it's great.
Yes, all right.
What's the most rewarding partfor you personally as a human
being in running the sanctuary?
The sanctuary.

Anne Molina (18:39):
Yeah, is literally knowing that these animals trust
me, that it is for me anabsolute honor To have them in
my care, or that they give theirtrust to me, is Something
that's like goals, you know, tome.
I value that so, so, so much,and it moves and touches me all

(19:04):
the time, so that is by far thething their trust.

Ella Magers (19:10):
And I think that's just heightened by the fact of
their circumstances right thatto trust humans coming from some
of their circumstances is HugeFor them to just kind of forgive
humans as a species, enough tolet you into their hearts and

(19:32):
Let you be that trusted personin their life.

Anne Molina (19:35):
Yeah, actually, can I say something about that?
Of course, yeah, I know.

Ella Magers (19:40):
Yeah, we'll call it something different.

Anne Molina (19:47):
So, yeah, a couple of things right.
Yeah, so I believe it's thefarm sanctuary.
Duh has even some people onstaff that are studying and
reading some papers, I believe,on actually trauma amongst
animals who are being rescuedand put into these sanctuary
settings.
Absolutely fascinating, becauseyou know, it occurred to me

(20:08):
with our most recent hog rescues, tito and Coco.
So their story we rescued themat they were three months old at
the time and they wereabandoned with a couple of goats
and they were literally just insomebody's like backyard and
they kept getting out becausethey had been abandoned and they
were starving.
They were looking for food.
Psychists, the neighbors andeverything were calling the

(20:28):
animal control.
Animal control came and gotthem right and all this kind of
thing that we were Alerted byother rescue groups that were
going and getting animals fromother cases going on there.
So as soon as we brought Cocoand Tito, if you remember, coco
was scheduled for a spay and Istarted to notice that when Coco
would go outside they were herein our quarantine area and she

(20:51):
would go outside and he didn'tknow where she was.
I mean the panic on his faceand all she was was just outside
and he went running out thereand I was like whoa.
It hit me because we had nowthe other five animals, so I had
been observing their behaviorsand how they interact with each
other and all those kinds ofthings.
I had never seen that kind ofdesperation and panic on any of

(21:12):
the other hogs before, and sonow fast forward.
So in February, right, we tookthem and merged them with the
herd.
They're all bonded together.
So now it's coming up on theirone-year Rescuversary right in
December, because we rescuedthem right before Christmas.
He is so much more confident now, right, like he's out in the
field.
They're much further apart now.
He still is with her a lot, buta couple of times because we

(21:37):
have multiple areas where theycan sleep in their beds.
A couple of times he went andchose to sleep somewhere a
little bit separate.
I mean, obviously they're allkind of in the same ish area the
barns but somewhere separate,in a whole other bed than her,
you know, which is likegroundbreaking for him because
he always had her in his sightalways and he trusts enough.

(21:59):
You know that now it's a safeplace and he'll be fine and
everything is good and we havevolunteers who come in and there
are sometimes, where I take off, right, you come and watch the
sanctuary and we're in.
So now they trust the routineso much that it doesn't matter
which human right, as long asthey're trained, right, yeah,
taking care of everything anddoing things.

(22:19):
They're also amenable, right,they come up, they want to sniff
you, they're curious about you,like they don't mind the
interaction so much, you know.
So it's big when you thinkabout what this animal went
through, which was seeing Kidoand Coco, saw their family and
their friends, everybody takingaway to be eaten, then they were
left and then transported andthen now here, you know.
So it is, it's remarkable tohave their trust.

(22:44):
And again, yeah, I just knowyou and I.

Ella Magers (22:48):
Yes, yes, oh, you don't, coco, I want to be
hugging them right now.
All right, last one.
What's the latest thing that'shappened at the sanctuary that
made you laugh out loud?

Anne Molina (23:01):
Oh, goodness Racious, that made me laugh out.
Well, so just the other day, wehave water stations throughout
the pasture, as you know, and wehave one water spigot at the
moment at some point, hopefully,we'll put in more so we drive
around a utility vehicle calleda gator I.
It's kind of for those of youwho are not familiar, it's not a

(23:23):
tractor, but it's like asmaller kind of thing.
It has a couple seats and likea little back bed, right.
Anyway, we use this totransport water buckets so we
can clean and fill out the waterbowls in the pasture.
So, anyway, sometimes when I'mdriving the gator, I'll just
start screaming, right with thepigs yeah, we come on.
And it tends to be although Cocostarted too as well the other

(23:44):
day that the pigs will startchasing me in the gator because
they just want to play and havefun.
So normally it's Pachanga.
He's our most energetic pig,which, by the way, his name,
pachanga means crazy rave partyin Spanish, so he lives up to
that name.
Anyway, he just startsgalloping, you know, and the way
he's galloping is like kind ofside to side, you know, his ears

(24:07):
are like flapping and then he'slike oh, almost like he's
laughing too, you know, and itmakes me laugh every time.
He's so funny and bigpersonality like that, so I
would say I mean, that was justlike a couple of days ago.
Yeah, that was one of the timesI literally bust out laughing.

(24:28):
It's just so funny.

Ella Magers (24:30):
So funny, they are so funny.
Is Fern still throwing his bowl?

Anne Molina (24:35):
Oh, no, but it's like every once in a while.
Today I saw him like he kind ofgrabbed it with his snout or
whatever and then spun it, butthe door, the chute door, was
kind of there, so it didn't goflinging out, but he like spun
it and then he started kind oflick around some more.
So I am starting to wonder ifhe's doing a spin motion to get

(24:56):
all the lip crumbs and morsels.
Yeah, maybe like something likemanipulating the bowl.
He's so funny.

Ella Magers (25:04):
So funny, all right , great, I love these stories.
They're so great, all right.
So let's just take just a fewminutes, just a recap, like okay
, we just talked about how thisis never where you expect it to
be in your life right now.
You were in Miami.

Anne Molina (25:18):
We've known each other for God, I don't know
exactly how many years, but Ithink it's going on about 20
years.

Ella Magers (25:25):
Yeah, so if you could just briefly I know it's
crazy to be brief about thislong of a period of time but
kind of just the journey thatgot you to be here now, you know
, from connecting with animalsto making this trip.

Anne Molina (25:39):
Sure, sure.
Well, I certainly grew up withcompanion animals in my house.
My mom was a very big dog loverand we had cats as well.
So companion animals right, wehad them in the house and loved
them.
I went after college, was veryindependent, did not have any
companion animals likewhatsoever, and then I ended up
in Miami and I thought I wasthere to stay.

(26:00):
All right, I love Miami, anyway.
Then you know, I met you andthrough some friends, and around
the same time maybe, like a fewyears prior, I had started kind
of losing the taste for meat isthe best way I can describe it
is like, you know, I'd have mychicken and I would start to see
the veins and the arteries,like hanging out.

(26:21):
You know, like, like.
In other words, I reallystarted getting present to what
it was like that was there on myplate and I was like, oh, like,
that was how I was eating atthat point, was like, let me cut
the vein out and then I'll justeat this part and that'll be
fine and you know, whatever,right, and so then I ended up
having a shredded plate and Ididn't really eat, you know.
And so it's like God, there'sall these world vegetarians out

(26:45):
there.
What are they, you know?
And so I started to make thattransition and I was at first
more like a lacto ovo kind ofthing.
I was still doing some cheeseand things like that.
And then there was like a goodyear.
So I was vegetarian about sixyears and about a good year in
there I was eating fish, soabout pescatarian ish, something
like that.
And then I had met you and Iknow we had some interests and

(27:07):
you and I were exercisingtogether and like doing all this
stuff.
And as I started getting morecurious about it, I remember I
had asked you like, hey, can yousit down with me and kind of
scope out Like what do you eatin a day or what do you
recommend?
And considering, I'm exercisingmore, and you know, and so that
was a lot of.
It was like you know, and blah,blah, blah, and you started to
educate me and we had some otherfriends too who were, you know,

(27:28):
vegans around, and so I waslike, oh, wow, and so I then
said to myself, well, okay, youknow, let's give this a try.
I'm kind of already there, youknow.
And then I did, and I was alsoat that time, I think,
incorporating more raw foods aswell.
I was even dabbling around withlike kind of like raw food
uncooking, as you know too, andall this kind of thing.

(27:50):
So I was just getting a littlemore into it when prior to that,
I had no interest in any ofthat kind of stuff and I just
started feeling so good that Iwas like, oh okay, I can make
this transition.
This is good, and that wasprobably I think it's coming up
on 13 years ago that I made thatdecision, never looked back,

(28:11):
couldn't have cared less toreverse it at all.
But getting there, like I said,I was vegetarian for about six
years, so that part did nothappen overnight Anyhow.
So, trucking along right, mostof that beginning part was more
plant based.
However, of course, I wouldlearn about what was in my dish
soaps and my shampoos and myface creams and the you know, my

(28:32):
makeup and all that.
So then, slowly, over the Iwould say probably next four to
five years, I started to reallytransition out all my products
and just all those things.
And then finally I had to go oh, my God, my favorite leather
jacket or, you know whatever, myfavorite leather stilettos and
you know all these things that Ihad that, I was like it's so

(28:53):
not even worth it, like I don'teven want to sport it because I
know what it is, you know, evenif the art of it, right, was
nice, I didn't care, you know.
So I put all of those things,yeah, aside and finally kind of
like cleansed, you knoweverything.
So at that point lifetransitionings were happening
for me.
My husband had a promotion.
We moved to a different stateout of Florida.

(29:15):
I cried buckets and tears aboutit, but I knew that you know
what we were building, a certainkind of a life, so fine.
Anyway, at that point it wascoming very close to COVID and
my husband's career supportedhim to be able to live where he
wanted.
And my stepson already livedhere in Virginia and so we were
like, oh, let's go be with thebig guy he's getting of age,

(29:37):
where you know.
My husband was really like Iwant to be there every day and I
was like, absolutely, let's dothis.
And it just happens to beVirginia has lots of lovely land
here, right, and all thesethings.
So we started putting two andtwo together and I said, oh man,
you know that someday, one day,dream, as a vegan, about saving
farm animals.
I said, well, geez gosh, maybewe can really make this a

(29:59):
reality.
And prior to that, in Miami, Ihad rescued two cats who come
you know Santiago and Sophia,who I call my babies, and you
know the profound love that Ihave for them.
I was like, man, what wouldthat be like to have with a pig,
a cow, you know, a horse, achicken, you know, whatever that

(30:21):
we normally don't think abouthaving that kind of relationship
with?
So that would be really cool.
You know, what would that belike?
What could we create that to be?
So then I was like, all right,I think I'm going to do this.
And he and I talked about it andsaid, well, how can I raise
money?
And I said, well, what if webuild our house and we put a BNB
and we have the BNB help payfor things?
And you know, we just startedbrainstorming, right, it was

(30:42):
like a long period ofbrainstorming and then, when it
became more real, I had to thinkabout putting together a board.
I was like, well, I know, on afirst phone call, I'm going to
make you know.
And so I did.
I said, okay, let me ask Hello.

Ella Magers (30:57):
And now we were like, yes oh, my God, yeah, I
will never forget the moment Iwas on my balcony when you
called and you told me what youwere planning and asked me, and
I was like, are you kidding me?
Like, oh, full circle moment.
And what a dream for me.
I mean, that's something I'vebeen working my whole life, you

(31:17):
know, saving animals, and for meto be able to have the
opportunity to have intimaterelationships with some
individuals was like oh, a dreamcome true.

Anne Molina (31:27):
Yeah, yeah, like it's really cool, you know, we
just never know what seeds thatwe plant that can grow from
there and yeah, right, so anyway, so that kind of like, and that
was like finding land and then,mind you, you know I never grew
up with farm animals and likeit was a lot of learning.
You know this.
We had to figure out, like Ihad to read materials, but then

(31:50):
so many materials are in thevegan world, sanctuary world, to
call them non compassionateresources, meaning.
So farming or factory farming,right, anything where the animal
is being used as a product orexploited.
Obviously there's lots ofresearch about fattening up an
animal or how you can make themost money off of a certain kind
of animal, all of these things.
So there's plenty of resourceson that, but very few about

(32:14):
actually creating a healthy,long life for the animal and
what kind of environment, what'snatural to them, because they
had been so domesticated forfarm settings that you know what
are the ancestors, what wasnatural in their species.
So now there's all thatlearning to do and, mind you, I
just gave up my stilettos, youknow.
They're saying like, oh, goodLord, like you know.

(32:37):
So, yeah, and it became mudboots very, very quickly, and we
made a few decisions that werea little overzealous, without
thinking them through.
But you know, I would say thatI think overall we've been
pretty planful about what we do.
I'm not overpanicking.
We try to make sure we put itto the board, all of our
decisions, of things right, andwe hired a consultant as well.

(33:00):
Big shout out, by the way.
Anybody who wants to start asanctuary, healthy herd,
consulting with Jill.
She's fantastic.
So it was just helpful to beable to learn about these things
, things that other people againin a farm setting might go.
You don't need to do that.
You could just throw a coupleof pallets together to create
them a barn, and that'ssomething you need you know.

(33:20):
And it's like what?
And now, when I think about thefull education, making a
decision based upon having allthe information about what truly
is good for animals, I'm sohappy with the choices right
that we've made with our hogsand our rabbits.
So, anyhow, that's now fullcircle.
Coming to where we are, we arein our third year as a sanctuary

(33:43):
, so we're about to head intoour fourth year.
We are what's considered amicro sanctuary and likely will
stay like that.
There are a lot of benefits,pros and cons.
Right, obviously, largesanctuaries gets to save many,
many lives.
But with a micro sanctuary, asyou had mentioned, ella, you get
such a personal relationshipwith the animals, so much so

(34:04):
that they become like yourcompanion animals.
Right, obviously, they liveoutside, but you know Anyway.
So yeah, right now we'rerocking and rolling and I would
like to announce that we just,as a board, decided so.
We had, you know, seven hogsand five rabbits in our care,
but we've just decided to expand, we are ready to grow and we

(34:25):
are going to move on to a thirdspecies.
So, drumroll, we just announcedthat we will be rescuing Turkey
.

Ella Magers (34:35):
Yes, so excited about this announcement.
I know you just put it out onsocial media today.
We've been talking about it, sowhat I'd like to do because I
know people can go back to theother podcast and hear the
stories of the other animalswhat I'd love to do for the rest
of our time here today isreally talk about what's next

(34:56):
and what goes into that decision, what went into that decision
for deciding on turkeys, andwhat needs to happen now and
what we'll be fundraising for,and what the next few months
will look like in preparationfor saving these lives and
welcoming them onto the hogs andkisses land for the rest of

(35:16):
their lives.

Anne Molina (35:18):
Yeah.

Ella Magers (35:18):
So first do you want to talk a little bit about?
You know, knowing we were readyto bring another species in or
get more animals we weren't sureyet if it was going to be
another species.
You want to talk a little bitabout what went into that
decision.

Anne Molina (35:32):
Sure, yeah.
So, as I mentioned, our lastrescues were almost one year ago
, right.
So maybe I don't know if somepeople have the impression that
rescues are constantly rescuinganimals and there might be Some
do what's called like a rescueand they temporary foster and
then they adopt out.
There's plenty of them that dothat.

(35:52):
We are just 100% sanctuary, sowe are the forever home that
somebody would try to find foran animal, so we don't the other
kinds of rescue work.
So we had to, you know, give ita little bit of time because,
after bringing on Tito and Coco,it was a lot of load and, as I
mentioned to you, I had to do alot of thinking about, realistic

(36:14):
thinking about what my time andmy energy and my health and all
of these things in terms ofrunning a sanctuary would be.
So we kind of said let's letthe piggies settle in.
We're going to bond them, letthe be, let's let them be, you
know, and really just cultivatethem to have their time together
.
It was very important.
Plus, it now had us move up tonow, feeding times and care for

(36:36):
the animals Was all seven hogsat one time.
Rabbits could be done at aseparate time.
But having enough volunteersvolunteers come to help was also
going to be an issue.
We were not able to do allseven hogs with just one person,
so we had to have at least two.
So having the staffing and thesupport to be able to run the

(36:56):
sanctuary as well, we had to geta lot of those systems going
and into a place that we feltreally, really good about.
So that was like now, right,months and months and months.
And finally, over the summer, Iknow that you and I and James
were kind of like, ok, we shouldbe toying around now with what
do we think is next for us.
So we kind of threw it out, hada few discussions right, let it

(37:19):
marinate a little bit, and thengot back together and said, ok,
well, what are we thinking?
And I know that all of us hadcertain ideas about certain
species that we really like andwanted.
I know I for sure had hoped torescue some cattle, some cow.
The thing about it is that youhave to take into consideration
their lifespan, along withthings like is there proper

(37:43):
veterinary care?
Where's the closest thathospital If something goes wrong
?
Do we have all the properequipment for everything that
they need Proper barns, properright, everything.
And we have land that we buildeverything from the ground up so
we don't have existing fencingor barns or anything that.
Everything, the electricity,this big, it's what all have to
be new.
So the actual funding forcattle was going to be extremely

(38:07):
large.
And then I know also, you andJames talked a lot about wanting
turkey.
I know James is huge on theturkey as well and I've had a
couple of interactions with somevery loving turkeys.
But we wanted to explore allspecies.
So we had a conversation tokind of brainstorm again with
our consultant Jill around whatare some pros and cons for all

(38:30):
of them.
So, with the cattle being maybea little longer lifespan than
we wanted, and also to theamount of financials, we kind of
said maybe not that direction.
So then we were like, well, whatabout goats?
What about sheep?
Well, what about chicken?
Turkey, right.
Well, what if we did more pigs?
What if we did more rabbits?

(38:50):
We even talked about juststaying with two species but
maybe increasing.
So all kinds of things gotconsidered with sheep and with
goats it was well, what aboutsicknesses and diseases?
And what about our current landwith our predators here?
That is a big thing for us hereSpace, we have land, we have the

(39:12):
infrastructure we don't to keepthem safe or have their own
area where that's theirs, butthen also to respecting the
wildlife that's here, but yetkeeping then the animals in our
direct care 100% safe.
So all of these things here Icame into into play and
ultimately we decided that wethought that then maybe turkey,

(39:36):
I think, could be a good fit.
They're more like an eight to10 year lifespan, more like the
bunnies, the rabbits, and, quitefrankly, when running a micro
sanctuary, you really just don'tknow.
Myself, with my life as welland our sanctuary being here on
the land, we don't know how longwe're going to be here on this

(39:57):
land, and so I had to reallythink about that too.
If you have old animals and youwould need to move them or take
them to another sanctuary, isit fair to them?
There's just so manyconsiderations to think about,
so we just had to think ofsomething that was a little bit
more within our purview offitting our life but then being

(40:18):
fair to the animals to fit ourlife and so forth.
So ultimately we then said, ok,you know what, let's go for
turkey.

Ella Magers (40:26):
I'm thrilled with our decision.
I too was really hoping towelcome some cow, some cattle,
and yeah, it didn't make sensefor us, right?
So turkeys do, and yeah,turkeys.
I've had many a turkey hug inmy day.
And we don't know, you know,some turkeys are up for hugs,

(40:47):
others aren't.
So we don't know what kind ofpersonalities we will end up
with.
So we're not.
You know, it's not.
Our love is not going to dependon if they are willing to give
turkey hugs or not, though in myheart of hearts I'm hoping
there's some turkey hugs in ourfuture.
They were just, oh my gosh, Ijust yeah.
We'll never forget my first tug, turkey hug and ragdwar.

(41:07):
And he just came over and hejust climbed right in my lap and
wrapped his beautiful littleneck and head around mine and
and it really was like beingembraced- yeah.
Yeah, so special.

Anne Molina (41:20):
Yeah, so special it is.
Yeah, I'm really excited tolearn about now, right Another
yeah, everything they need andyou know, and, yeah, and their
personalities as well, causethat is something I think
ultimately has been my biggestlearning about animals in the
sanctuary setting is you know,you learn a baseline.
You know, you learn, kind oflike what their habitat should

(41:41):
be, how to enrich it, what theyeat, what kind of vet care they
need, what's the maintenance,like you know, you learn the
baseline, but then after thatit's 100% the individual you are
catering.
Every decision we've made aboutthose hogs is around their
patterns and what you know, likethey are, yeah, their behaviors
and their personalities, andthe rabbits too.

(42:02):
You know who gets along, whodoesn't live together, who
doesn't.
I mean everything.
So with Turkey it will be thesame We'll have a baseline and
then we will cater to theindividuals in our care.

Ella Magers (42:13):
And what great I mean timing just happened to be
that this is the time we'redeciding and it is Thanksgiving.
That is just when this comesout.
It'll be.
Yeah, this is giving Tuesdayright here, right now today.
Awesome, great timing.
And, yeah, let's talk aboutsome of what's next what needs

(42:35):
to happen, what the funding ifyou're open to donating, we
would be so honored to have youdonate.
I want to talk about whatthat's going to go to that, what
the money is going to go to.
Also, I want to talk about theplaques.
Oh yeah, yeah, because I justput up a plaque.
We have plaques that actuallyI'll let you tell them, but we

(42:57):
just put up my plaque for Bob,for my cat who passed last year,
and we will be doing one forshy coming up as well.
But, yeah, let me let you tellabout those.

Anne Molina (43:07):
Okay, sure, so do you want me to do the what's
next?
Do you want me to talk aboutthe plaques?
Let's do the what's next andthen the plaques.
Yeah, sure, okay, yes.
So, as you mentioned, so today,as the podcasters released is
giving Tuesday, and so, becauseof our decision about expanding
to Turkey, we are having 100%focus on, you know, all kinds of

(43:28):
contributions and everythinggoing towards the Turkey.
So what that means is that,literally, you would be able to
help us build the actual Turkeyenvironment, which ultimately
will be.
They'll have their own Turkeycoop with a little porch and
then also to a pretty largeaviary.
So we are going to build all ofthat, and so we have two

(43:53):
amazing donors that step forwardto match our goal.
So that now means that byreaching our goal, that money
would be doubled.
So if per se, you wanted togift $5 immediately, know your
$5 is $15.
There were a hundred would be$300.
So our goal this year is 3000,knowing that we have the two

(44:15):
donors who step forward.
So that means 9000 can beraised going towards the Turkey
enclosure and their coop andaviary, which is huge, yeah,
which is absolutely huge, yeah.

Ella Magers (44:28):
Really big for us.
Oh, yes, I know right.
So three times, three timesyour donation, three times, yeah
, that is correct.

Anne Molina (44:35):
Yeah, it's a real, real blessing.
It's amazing and I think that alot of times people say,
because I try to have a fulltransparency, you know Ella's
usually like we're videoingthings and showing us.
I want people to see what goesinto this, you know, and
sometimes I like to hear theiropinions and you know whatever
right and just include them inon stuff.
So we will be making sure thatwe inform everybody about every

(44:57):
step of the way design, building, what our intentions are, what
everything means right, why thisparticular woven wire over that
kind of netting and you knowall that stuff that we'll put
forward.
So it's just a greatopportunity to be involved in a
way that you can feel like, ohmy gosh, I helped them build

(45:18):
that, helped them create a homefor animals who normally don't
get to have that right.
Turkeys, who are really theirsole existence, is to be sent to
a plate for one day.
Right is most turkeys.
So now you'll be able to givethem a home and a good life.

Ella Magers (45:35):
So yeah, very exciting.
Thank you in advance.
Everyone, that's who?

Anne Molina (45:41):
So, having said that, that is where we're headed
and our timeline then is that.
So we are right now in thedesign phase, because when
you're designing something likethis, it's not just like you can
be like let's throw a coop andsome netting around it and just
put that up and it's done right.
Not really.
So you have to think about whattype of materials, who's going

(46:03):
to build it, how, where the dooris, where the window is going
to be, is it going to haveelectricity, is it going to have
water?
If so, how, and who will dothat.
And placement where you placeit.
Is there drainage?
Is there potential for floodingin that area?
Once they walk around there, isit enough?
Do they have to have rock, dothey not?
I mean, it's incredible.
It's like designing a home.
You know what I mean.
Like for humans, I mean, butnow for turkey, right?

(46:25):
Yeah?
So all of that design stuffwill come place, and also to
where on the land.
Placement right as well.
Then we will find a place thatwill either help build, or can
we do materials and have peoplecome help us build it, right?
There's that.
Or would it be a mixture?
In the past, with the pigsbarns, we actually had

(46:45):
contractors come in and help usto build it because of how
strong we really needed thingsto be, in this case with the
turkey.
Yes, strength is important andwhat's really important is
predator proofing from the bigguys.
So your coyotes, your fox thatwill come and try and get the
turkey, but also to thinkingabout rodent control as well.

(47:07):
That is huge.
So, like all of theseconsiderations, and then finding
people to build, getting thematerials, building it and
considering we're just nowcoming into winter season, so I
think ultimately all of thesepieces will come into place.
Building will likely happen comeMarch after, say, we're clear
of any potential snow here inVirginia.

(47:28):
And then our hope is to selector find or be connected to some
needy turkey we really don'tknow who and maybe transport
them here at the beginning ofApril is our hopeful timeline.
Yeah, you know, and, Ella,hopefully you'll join me on that
transport to bring them here.

(47:48):
I would not miss it, yeah, andthen we can welcome our turkey
friends.
Oh, and I think that we'relikely going to start with maybe
a trio, so that way everybodyhas friends and is bonded and
such together.
We don't have any existingturkey, so we don't need
quarantine space right, theirhome would be theirs to start
off with, and such like that.
So that's going to be theprogression over the next few

(48:10):
months Wonderful wonderful, andthen talk about the plaques for
a moment.
Yes.
So, being that we're goingthrough the holidays, some great
, great ways to honor your lovedones or just to give even
animal lovers in your life is away that you can put your
heartfelt message onto a plaqueand have it live here forever at

(48:32):
our sanctuary.
So what we do is we have theseplaques that you can put on the
fence, and we do also havedifferent sizes If you were to
go with one of the larger ones.
We have a very dear friend,ella and I, who, in honor of his
mother who passed, he did abeautiful passage from
Charlotte's web and we have itready to go onto the pig barn.
So the one that we'll do forshy with Ella will definitely as

(48:55):
well have nice and put thatonto the pig barn as well.
So there are some options ofways that you can just be a part
of the sanctuary with us, butalso to potentially honor loved
ones.
Or even if you just wanted tosay something like, we have ones
out there.
My aunt had gifted one and mygrandmother had passed X amount

(49:15):
of years ago, and so sheliterally just wanted to have it
be love, right.
And another visitor who came,just one that just said love and
happiness forever, right?
You know, they were just movedby what we're doing and wanted
that message to live here.
So, whatever moves you, touchesyou.
If you want to honor past ones,you could do that too.
For sure, I have one forSantiago and Sophia hanging also

(49:38):
, because everything I do rightis my love for them.
So, yeah, it's just anopportunity.
You can head over tohogsandkissesorg and literally
say plaques for piggies up there.
You can scroll and you pickwhichever one that you want.
You'll see it there, put yourmessage in and then it'll be a
few weeks to make it and then,once it comes, if you're local,
you can come and hang it.

(49:59):
We'll literally pull out thedrill.
You can drill it in yourself.
If not, then we're happy tozoom with you when we go to put
it up.
We're happy to do that as well,so that you can at least be a
part of the experience too.

Ella Magers (50:11):
And if you're not local and want to go visit,
there is the BNB.
Yes, there is.

Anne Molina (50:16):
We're on Airbnb, so please do look that up.
And yeah, so far we've had suchamazing guests and I will just
say this little anecdote of allthe guests that have come, I
think only one had a daughterwho was vegan.
Everybody else has not, butthey've been coming because here

(50:38):
in Central Virginia we actuallyhave a lot of nice wineries,
plus also we have a university.
So it just brought in parentsand or people locally in
Virginia who were coming for akind of like a staycation.
Anyhow, when they're here, theycome to meet the animals and
they're just like wow, they'rejust so moved, they learn a lot
about the animals, and so muchso that we even had one couple

(50:59):
who came that she messaged meafter and she was like, oh my
God, like I will eat pork everagain after giving belly rubs
and seeing them interact and allof that.
So it's a wonderful experience.
If you can be here, believe me,I'd be so happy to host you.

Ella Magers (51:14):
So please look us up, yes, and make sure you're
following Hogs and Kisses onInstagram.
It's at Hogs Kisses, and Annejust does such a wonderful job
you do so so well, anne of justhelping people feel like they're
a part of the sanctuary thatthey're part of.
You know understanding thebehind the scenes and the

(51:35):
decision making and the animalsand the funny things they're
doing and how you're celebratingtheir lives every day and how
you're taking care of them andyou know all the volunteers that
are a part of it and justmaking everybody feel so
included and so a part of acommunity.
So I want to give you a shoutout for that and make sure
everyone follows on Instagram atHogs Kisses.

(51:56):
We'll put all those links inthe show notes, anne.
Is there any last words?
You want to say yeah?

Anne Molina (52:04):
actually real quick .
One thing is that we weretalking about coming to stay.
Yeah, I might be toying aroundwith the idea.
If there is anyone who is, youknow, interested in sanctuary
work or just animals or whatever, or you're traveling around or
something during the wintermonths here the BNB is quite
available and so if somebodywanted to do a come and stay

(52:26):
work trade situation, we wouldbe very happy for that.
You could stay for a few weeks,we could train you on how to do
things and you'd have a warm,comfy bed and beautiful view of
the Blue Ridge Mountains to comeand stay.
So, yeah, we are flirtingaround with that idea about kind
of like a work trade forstaying in our BNB.

Ella Magers (52:45):
All right, well, can we put the email, your email
in the show notes?
So reach out directly to Anneif that's something that you're
interested in exploring.
That's great.
Oh, I can't wait to continue toshare everything that we're
doing at Hogs and Kisses andthis exciting adventure of
building this home and welcomingthese turkeys in the spring,

(53:11):
and thank you so much foreverything that you do, from the
bottom of my heart and so manyanimals out there.
Thank you.

Anne Molina (53:19):
Of course, and you know I love you so much, thank
you, and how much you havesupported as not only just a
friend but then, you know, awarrior for animals, and also to
then being a board member rightFor Hogs and Kisses.
Really, you have gone above andbeyond and I love you for it.
You are my passion partner inlife, really, thank you, thank

(53:41):
you.

Ella Magers (53:46):
Thanks for listening to this week's episode
of Rise and Thrive with me,ella Majors.
I truly hope you found itinspiring and, if you did,
please help me spread the wordby leaving a rating and review
on your favorite podcast playerand by sharing the show with
your friends.
As you probably know by now, mylife's purpose is to use my
voice to make this world a moreconscious and compassionate

(54:07):
place, and your reviews andshares make a huge impact.
And last, I'm getting a ton ofinsanely positive feedback about
my short and sweet monthlynewsletter called the Way Short
for the Way Out Is Through.
I give my top five latest badass discoveries, insights and
explorations, like veganproducts and recipes.

(54:29):
I'm obsessed with books andshows I'm loving and workouts
that have me fired up.
Head on over to my website,ellamajorscom, to sign up and
check out all the other awesomeresources I have for you and
projects I'm involved with,including Hogs and Kisses Farm
Sanctuary, where our mission isto create the best life for farm

(54:50):
animals while inspiringcompassion for all living beings
.
Thanks a lot and I'll see youon the next one.