Florida farm in Manatee is a sanctuary for rescued livestock

DUETTE, Fla. — There is a new goat in Duette. 

“This is Henry,” said Kelly McCormick as she fed the rescued pygmy goat.

McCormick, the owner of Florida Rescue Farm, started this free-range rescue nine years ago.

At first, she’d planned to homestead the 5-acre piece of land in Manatee County. But that all changed when McCormick’s partner and fellow owner Glenn Maresca rescued an orphaned newborn calf named Moobee.

Moobee was lost in a nearby swamp for two days after his mom delivered him and died.

A grateful rancher offered Moobee as a gift for Maresca to grow and eat.

See, Moobee is a “Brangus,” a Brahman and Angus breed. Basically, a meat cow.

But then Moobee did something Maresca did not expect. He nudged and protected Maresca from approaching coyotes.

“Moobee had seen the coyotes, seen that I did not see the coyotes, and actually circled me to protect me against that threat,” Maresca said. “He was playing with me and the dogs, feeding him, and I was like, ‘There’s no way I’ma be able to kill this animal and eat it’.”

The farm now has 107 animals.

“All of these guys have a story. And they all have a name,” said McCormick, throwing out food to the rescue waterfowl.

And those rescue waterfowl also have wild friends. McCormick points out the three mallard ducks that have been living in the pond crew for some time.

It’s all part of keeping space for as many wild friends as possible.

To that end, half of the rescue property is left wild — a “no human zone.”

Animals graze in it, and it’s a natural habitat.

“It shows that you can co-exist with wildlife and livestock,” Maresca said.

Livestock guardian dog “Ripper-do” ensures the balance.

And the final piece of the pie is volunteers like Lori Desmarais.

She calls this her happy place.

“I started coming out to the farm a couple years ago. I thought it was going to be a one-time visit, and I just fell totally in love,” Desmarais said.

Together, they offer a safe place for their rescues.

But others can visit the farm, too, for private tours on Saturdays and Sundays from October until May. Those interested can email [email protected] or call the farm at 941-209-9558 to discuss the sanctuary and arrange a time to visit.

“Our job is to take care of them, and our job is to give them a good quality of life. So, I mean, that’s what we do,” McCormick said.