{"id":410026,"date":"2022-02-26T16:00:16","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/escape-from-a-violent-marriage-inspired-this-animal-rescue-farm\/"},"modified":"2022-02-26T16:00:16","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T13:00:16","slug":"escape-from-a-violent-marriage-inspired-this-animal-rescue-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/escape-from-a-violent-marriage-inspired-this-animal-rescue-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"#Escape from a violent marriage inspired this animal rescue farm"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Escape from a violent marriage inspired this animal rescue farm<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Some honor their loved ones by planting a tree. Laurie Zaleski went a lot further: She founded an entire animal sanctuary, just as she\u2019d once promised her mother.<\/p>\n<p>Her mom, Annie McNulty, was a spirited beauty with \u201cimpeccably bad taste in men,\u201d she writes in \u201cFunny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals\u201d (St. Martin\u2019s Press), out now. That led her straight to Richard Zaleski, a blue-eyed charmer who <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>d the stock market and brutalized his wife. Laurie recalls the many times she and her brother and sister cringed, terrified, as he beat her. Then, just before Christmas in 1973, he threatened all of them with a carving knife. The next day, Annie, 26, bundled the kids into a borrowed car and headed to a rundown farm in the South Jersey woods.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With few marketable skills, Annie started cleaning cages at the local animal control, taking home the hard-luck cases no one else wanted: neglected dogs, discarded kittens, orphaned goats. When her car broke down, she rode a horse to the supermarket. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-petunia-pig.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Laurie\u2019s mother Annie snuggles on the couch with Petunia, the house pig.\" class=\"wp-image-21325779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-petunia-pig.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-petunia-pig.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-petunia-pig.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Laurie\u2019s mother Annie snuggles on the couch with Petunia, the house pig.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Laurie Zaleski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nevertheless, as much as she loved animals, she felt no compunction sending the occasional chicken or goat to the butcher. \u201cWe gave that animal a h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>y life,\u201d she told her distraught daughter, a vegetarian who opted for mayonnaise sandwiches whenever<br \/>meat was on the menu. \u201cNow that animal is giving us food. Fair exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her children may have been impoverished, but they weren\u2019t poor: They had acres to roam through, and plenty of pets to play with. Young Laurie dreamed of becoming an artist, if only to make her mother\u2019s dream come true. Someday, she promised, she\u2019d buy her mom a bigger and better farm.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/laurie-horse.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682\" alt=\"Young Laurie riding her first pony.\" class=\"wp-image-21325794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/laurie-horse.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/laurie-horse.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/laurie-horse.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/laurie-horse.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Young Laurie riding her first pony.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Laurie Zaleski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Even after her siblings moved away and Laurie started a graphic-design firm, she stayed behind, helping her mother care for whatever animals came their way. At one point, they teamed to rescue a pair of neglected potbellied pigs. Only after they wrestled them into a crate, hoisted it onto a truck and hit the highway did they realize they\u2019d picked up a male and female, \u201cand they were very excited about being rescued!\u201d Zaleski writes. \u201cAt the sound of squealing, I turned around to see them humping like crazy, in full view of other motorists.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Some four months later, the farm welcomed six baby piglets.<\/p>\n<p>As Laurie\u2019s graphics business flourished, her dream of a bigger farm was in reach. But Annie, diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1995, wouldn\u2019t live to see that dream become reality: In 2000, just two weeks before Laurie bought the 15-acre farmstead that would become their new home, her mother died.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/lorenzo-llama.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Lorenzo the llama and his best buddy, Jethro, the 50-year-old mini donkey.\" class=\"wp-image-21325801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/lorenzo-llama.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/lorenzo-llama.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/lorenzo-llama.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Lorenzo the llama and his best buddy, Jethro, the 50-year-old mini donkey.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Laurie Zaleski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-laurie-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Annie and Laurie look at the current Funny Farm property before the purchase. Sadly, Annie did not live to see the farm come to fruition.\" class=\"wp-image-21325809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-laurie-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-laurie-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-laurie-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Annie and Laurie look at the current Funny Farm property before the purchase. Sadly, Annie did not live to see the farm come to fruition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ever the optimist, Annie had bought a set of dinnerware for her new home. \u201cI wasn\u2019t born in a barn,\u201d the embossed plates read, \u201cBut I got here as fast as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And so, Laurie vowed to build the farm in memory of her mother. It\u2019s there that she assembles a memorable cast of characters, including the mysterious figure she calls the Chicken Man. Now and then, he would arrive at the farm, in shabby clothes and saying nothing, with a chicken under each arm. Only later does she realize he works in a poultry-processing plant, and is smuggling whatever fowls he can to the safety of her sanctuary.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"The Funny Farm is not just a place, it\u2019s a feeling, writes Laurie in her new book.\" class=\"wp-image-21325824\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The Funny Farm is not just a place, it\u2019s a feeling, writes Laurie in her new book.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matt Reeves<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-nypost-small-post\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"231\" height=\"357\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231\" alt=\"The cover of &quot;Funny Farm.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-21325764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=462 462w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=346 346w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=231 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=115 115w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/funny-farm.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\"\/><figcaption>Her mother inspired Zaleski to purchase the farm. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Some of Laurie\u2019s rescues develop touching, interspecies relationships, like the blind kitten befriended by a duckling who serves as its seeing-eye companion. Laurie, struck by how animals grieve for their lost companions, struggles to find a new friend for a 50-year-old donkey named Jethro. \u201cOlder donkeys get fat pockets on their butts that look like Kardashian ass implants,\u201d she observes. After several misses, she lucks out when she introduces Jethro to Lorenzo, a llama.<\/p>\n<p>With word of mouth comes more animals and, to Laurie\u2019s relief, help. Now, 22 years later, what started as a one-woman operation in New Jersey\u2019s Pinelands boasts 100 volunteers, who open the farm to the public twice a week \u2014 admission free, donations welcome. <\/p>\n<p>Even so, Laurie sometimes hesitates to take on yet another wild goat. That\u2019s when she remembers the woman who started it all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, Mom, here we go again,\u201d she thinks. \u201cWhat do you think I should do?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs if I had to ask.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/26\/escape-from-a-violent-marriage-inspired-this-animal-rescue-farm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Escape from a violent marriage inspired this animal rescue farm&#8221; Some honor their loved ones by planting a tree. Laurie Zaleski went a lot further: She founded an entire animal sanctuary, just as she\u2019d once promised her mother. Her mom, Annie McNulty, was a spirited beauty with \u201cimpeccably bad taste in men,\u201d she writes in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":410027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/annie-nutley-horse-riding.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[126180,71638,75342,71595,71510],"class_list":["post-410026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-2-26-22","tag-animal-rescue","tag-animal-shelters","tag-animals","tag-farms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}