Our Residents

Our ginger ninja Dora is a firm favourite here at the Sanctuary! Saved from slaughter at 4 days old, she was a bobby calf from the NZ dairy industry. Our friends at Paws Awhile Sanctuary saved her, one of our other cows Moana, and a handful of others in 2019 but when her forever home fell through they were left with too many calves and not enough land! The call for an emergency home came only weeks before we moved to this property, and of course I couldn’t say no (I mean look at her!). So Dora, along with her sister Moana, were our first official residents here, moving in only the day after we did.

Since moving in she has made her beautiful personality well known. Dora is one of the most friendly and affectionate animals you’ll ever meet. She’s first to the fence when I walk past for a sneaky ear rub, and follows me around like a shadow whenever I’m working in her paddock. Bold call, but I think Dora might do more for changing the hearts of those who meet her than anything I could ever say… she really does a wonderful job of highlighting the similarities between cows and our beloved pet dogs, and I’ve had more than a few people say they’ve ditched dairy after meeting her!

If you’d like to save your own bobby calves, and have a giant grass puppy like Dora to love for the next 20 or so years, head over to our Adopt page to register your interest. Because of the enormity of these animals I only commit to saving as many calves each year as I have homes for, so don’t wait to see them come up for adoption – register today and save a life (or two)!