A Second Life for Farm Animals: Little J Ranch
At a rescue ranch east of Cloudcroft, a family, with the help of volunteers, has built the Sacramento Mountains' only farm animal sanctuary, one rescue at a time.
When Wilbur the potbelly pig arrived at Little J Ranch, he could only walk about ten feet before he had to stop.
“When we got him, he was severely overweight. His hooves were overgrown,” Katie Agnew said. “He could barely walk. He was very angry, aggressive, bitey, just not happy.”
Wilbur was surrendered to Agnew after his family moved away and left him behind.
Agnew has since put him on a diet and tracked down someone who could trim his hooves back. The pig she describes now is a different animal.
“He’s lost a lot of weight. He walks all over the pasture. He’s happy, he’s friendly,” she said. “You go outside and he runs up to you. That’s what’s so rewarding, seeing them come from such a bad place and getting them to a better place.
Wilbur is one of more than 150 animals at Little J Ranch, the farm sanctuary Agnew directs in the mountains a few miles east of Cloudcroft.
“We’re somewhere between 150 and 200 [animals] right now,” she said.
Chickens, ducks, quail, peacocks, cows, goats, pigs, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, dogs and cats. They all share the property which Agnew runs with her husband, Dave, and her two daughters, Lorelei and Dakota.
A Viral Start
The ranch’s success started, more or less, with a calf.
“Lola is our oldest Highland cow, and one of the first animals we got. She was pregnant when we got her,” Agnew said. “Hamish [was then born], a little fluffy, adorable little bull calf. That’s when I first started a Facebook page, just to showcase him. And it really blew up. People just loved him. That’s what got us some exposure, and from there we just kept going.”
The family was filling a void. Word spread about the ranch. Animals, and the people carrying them, came from surprising distances.
“We didn’t really have anything in this area when we started. Nothing at all,” Agnew said. “We’ve had people coming from Las Cruces, El Paso, Lubbock, as far as San Antonio.”
The family filed for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and now, Little J is a formal rescue. Many animals arrive the way Wilbur did, out of distressing situations. According to Agnew’s youngest daughter Dakota, one of the first animals that the ranch took in as a nonprofit was Daisy the pig.
“She used to be a house pig, until she started eating their baseboards. Then she had to go outside,” Dakota said.
Some animals stay for life. Others are adopted out.
“We’re pretty strict on the criteria,” Agnew said. “We just don’t want to put them back into bad situations.”
Keeping this many animals fed is the part the public rarely sees.
“In the beginning, we sold calves and we sold eggs. We only had maybe 25 animals, so that was sufficient,” Agnew said. “But people would see us on Facebook. Can you take our goat? Can you take our pig? Before you knew it, we had 100 animals.”
The feed bill now runs close to $16,000 a year. Nonprofit status changed the math.
“We have monthly sponsors who sponsor a specific animal, and we get a lot of grants,” she said. “It’s really made a huge difference.”
The community covers a good deal of the rest. Volunteers clean pens and help feed. Churches and Air Force personnel turn out for the big builds. The Cloudcroft Brewing Company drops off its spent grain for feed.
“It saves us from hay big time,” Agnew said. “It makes you know you’re doing the right thing, and that people see that.”
Raised on the Ranch
Her daughters have grown up inside the operation. Lorelei, who sits on the ranch’s board, designs the stickers and shirts, paints the acrylic animal artwork, and crafts the earrings that the sanctuary sells to fund itself.
“I’m pretty partial to the pigs. They’re like little dogs,” Lorelei said. “I bring my ukulele out sometimes and play music to them.”
The work has shaped how Lorelei sees the animals.
“Growing up with the animals, you just make best friends with them. They feel like family at this point. Each has a personality, and they make friends with each other based on personalities. You can click with certain ones differently. It’s cool.”
For Agnew, the visitors who drive in from across the region are part of the point, the children most of all. They leave, she hopes, learning a lesson.
“They learn why you don’t just take in every chick you see at Tractor Supply, because then they grow up and don’t have a place to go,” she said. “It’s not just a cute bunny or a cute chick or a cute pig. They grow. They require feed, they require care, they require time. It’s something you need to think about before getting the animal, instead of after.”
What Comes Next
What she wants next is room for expansion.
“In five years, we’re hoping to acquire more property so we can take in larger animals,” she said. “There’s a really big need, especially for elderly horses. For people that can’t ride them anymore.”
And the next generation already has plans of its own. Asked what she wants to do when she grows up, Dakota doesn’t hesitate. Her own rescue, she says.
“Not a farm animal rescue. Like a rodent rescue.”
She has grown up watching what saying yes to one animal can become. The pasture behind her held more than 150 of them, including Wilbur the potbelly pig, who now happily trots his way across the meadows.
The Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by The Stove and Spa Store:
Promote Your Business
Learn about sponsorship opportunities for your business in support of the Reader. Contact us for more information at sponsorship-info@cloudcroftreader.com
Cloudcroft Reader is proud to be sponsored in part by great companies like:
Cloudcroft Art Society
Located in Old Red Brick Schoolhouse: Holiday and Saturday art showsNoisy Water Winery
Family-owned winery crafting thoughtfully made wines from New Mexico grapes, inspired by mountain living.Be in the Mountains Yoga & Massage
A cozy space for yoga and massage therapy at the Village PlazaOsha Trail Depot
Your destination for unique, hand-crafted treasuresThe Stove and Spa Store
We offer a variety of services to ensure your hearth and spa dreams are met!The Lodge at Cloudcroft
Landmark Choice Among New Mexico ResortsCloudcroft Art Workshops
Enhance your artistry while enjoying the beauty and coolness of the mountains!Sacramento Camp & Conference Center
Come to the Mountain — Let God Refresh Your SoulLaughing Leaf Dispensary
Discover a world of wellness at Laughing LeafInstant Karma
Adventure Within: Transformative Yoga, Ayurvedic Wisdom, Nourishing Organics, Fair Trade BoutiqueOff the Beaten Path
Eclectic gifts & original artworkFuture Real Estate
Raise your expectations.Ski Cloudcroft
The Southernmost ski area in New Mexico.Cloudcroft Therapeutic Massage
Maximizing Movement, Quality of Life ImprovementHigh Altitude
Your favorite little outdoor outfitter on Burro AvenueBlushing Yucca Esthetics
✨ Book your glow-up today✨The Elk Shed
Purveyors of Southwest + Mountain Provisions, Goods & FineryThe PAC
Pickleball Addicts of Cloudcroft—Pickleball in the CloudsPeñasco Valley Telephone Cooperative
For all the ways you love to connectBre Hope Media
Professional photo and video services
And, readers like you. Will you support our work?
Dear Friends,
We are on a pledge drive to add 50 Cloudcroft Stars to the roster of supporters of the Cloudcroft Reader.
For the price of a sandwich a month, you can be a Cloudcroft Star and help keep fair, first-hand reporting free and widely available for the Cloudcroft community.
Until Labor Day, all pledges are matched dollar-for-dollar. If you support our work, now is a great time to show it.
Discover Cloudcroft:
Elevate Your Visit
Thanks for reading. Subscribe for free articles and newsletters like this, delivered directly to your inbox.