Harley-June Farm & Sanctuary

Hello dear reader! We want to tell you about an incredible woman who is doing amazing work. Her name is Amy Mullins, and she single handedly runs Harley-June Farm & Sanctuary, located in Morganton, NC.

Not so small beginnings

It all started back in 2019. Amy initially wanted to have a few farm animals when she moved her 2 boys, Gunner and Rocket, herself and her mom from Florida to her parents farm in North Carolina after her step dad passed. She wanted the boys to grow up around animals like she did, so they got chickens, ducks and a couple of pigs. Amy found a pig at a shelter, and when she went to pick him up, she found that he had a couple of friends with him. So she decided to take them all! 3 pigs quickly turned into 6, and they packed up and moved everyone to the farm.

Quite the herd

Fast forward to 4 years later and Amy and her boys are now taking care of 141 pigs! (it was 140, but literally the day before our interview, she was rescuing a new one). She’s also rescued a donkey and a horse, turkeys, rabbits, goats, the afore mentioned chickens and ducks, dogs and cats. This brings her total number of farm animals to 200.

This is the thing with rescue work. Your numbers multiply quickly, because once you see a need for an animal, you start to see them more frequently. You help one, and then you must help another. You don’t have a choice when you have empathy for all living beings.

 

Seeing a need, and creating a sanctuary

Amy quickly realized there was a dire need for pig re-housing. Coincidentally, 2019, the year Harley-June began, was the Chinese Year of the Pig. So of course people thought it would be cute to buy a pet pig! Breeders were selling what they called “Micro Pigs” and “Teacup Pigs” both of which do not exist. They are actually day-old piglets. People bought them, thinking they would stay tiny and cute and were shocked when they ended up with 70 – 150 pound pets. They had no idea how to care for them, most not realizing that like a dog or cat, they have to be spayed or neutered to avoid health and behavioral issues. Unfortunately, these animals ended up abandoned or abused.

Keeping families together

Most people don’t realize how intelligent pigs are. They are also very family oriented, meaning they mate for life and form strong bonds with their offspring. One thing Amy is most proud of, is the fact that she doesn’t separate families of pigs. When she goes on a rescue mission she rescues every pig in any given situation. She has 4 families of 7-10 members just so they can all stay together. If a pig is removed from their family, they will cry. They will mourn. They will die of a broken heart.

Amy takes care of the pigs as if they were her family. Two of her hogs are brother and sister, their names Mork and Mindy. When they arrived to Harley-June, they laid together in the middle of the field and cried. They were in a new place, and unsure of their new surroundings. So what did Amy do? She heard them crying, and she went out into the field in the middle of the night, barefoot in her pajamas, and laid across them to calm them. They fell asleep knowing they were safe.

Smarter than the average bear (or dog, or horse….)

Pigs are very intelligent and can learn many things. For example, one of Amy’s rescues, Scarlett was formerly owned by an individual who spoke French. This presented a bit of a problem, since Amy speaks English and ASL (American Sign Language). She and Gunner taught themselves a little French so they could communicate with Scarlett and she understood them. Eventually, Scarlett learned English and ASL too! She also walks on a leash and harness, spins for treats and does ballerina-like plié’s. Pigs are the 5th most intelligent animal in the world. They will learn their name in as little as 2 weeks and will come when called.

Coyotes and bobcats and bears, oh my!

Living in a rural area has its benefits. Open land, fresh air, quiet nature, a slower lifestyle. But it also comes with its dangers. Predators are a real concern when owning farm animals, and Amy has dealt with her share.

There was the time that she ran out with only one boot on and pajamas to chase off a bobcat going after her piglets and tearing her rotator cuff in the process. Or the time she chased off coyotes attacking two of her pigs (they survived with little damage). Oh, and there’s a friendly neighborhood bear that lives at the end of her street. During coyote season, the threat to her animals is even greater, so she will either sleep in the field in a tent to keep watch, or in the pen with the ones she feels need extra protection.

She says “there’s a reason why I’m single, I’m certifiably crazy!” No Amy, you’re not crazy. You are truly an angel.

Buttercup & Rocket Cheddar

Amy works with several agencies to rescue these cute babies. Law enforcement, local police, animal control and the Agricultural Crimes department all come to her with requests for help. She has seen some really bad situations such as an older pig at a meth house who had been attacked by starving dogs and left for dead. This pig was between 15 – 17 years old. Animal control did nothing for her. They took all the other animals, but left Buttercup behind. Amy took her home, and with the help of her mom, flushed out all of her wounds and packed them until she healed. Amy slept next to her in her pen on her first night, to make her feel safe.

Rocket Cheddar, who was just Cheddar until Rocket adopted him and added his name, had been attacked severely by coyotes and had no ears left. When Cheddar first came to Harley-June, he interacted the most with Rocket, and they formed a bond. Since his ears are dismembered, he has 2 young female pen mates that act as his ears.

Nala & Odie

Then there’s Nala. This poor baby was also siezed from a meth house. When they found her, she had severe chemical burns all over her body and was addicted to meth. She was severely obese because her owner had been feeding her dog food. She was originally rescued and put through a detox program by a smaller rescuer near Amy in Hubert, NC, Piggies by the Sea. 2 months later, when she was fully detoxed and had lost enough weight, Amy and her family took Nala in and healed her skin and continued the proper pig diet she got put on. She has continued to loose the extra pounds and her hair is growing back!

Odie was also a victim of a dog attack, so badly that you could see inside him. His owners surrendered him to Amy at 10pm, saying they couldn’t get vet care for him. The next morning, Amy’s vet arrived and immediately took care of Odie. She and her mom flushed and packed his wounds for 6 weeks, and now 2 years later he is happy and thriving!

 

Warning: the first two photos of Odie show his wounds. They are the less graphic ones, but if you are sensitive at all, please scroll past them. (the second two are of him fully healed!)

 

 

 

Today, all of these pigs are so much better and they love their new home and family. Amy literally brings these animals back from the brink of death and transforms them into healthy, happy babies.

 

A balancing act

Doing rescue work is an all encompassing job. It is literally your life, 24/7. Amy says she has had to learn how to juggle caring for the animals and being a caregiver to Gunner and Rocket as well as homeschooling them. Rocket is Autistic, and that presents a unique set of challenges to the full plate on Amy’s table. Gunner and Rocket both help care for all of the animals, and they are both so gentle and kind with them.

Finding joy in the process

Rocket has a whole “good morning” and “good night” routine with the herd. He starts each day after snuggling in a pig pile, saying good morning to every animal by name and ends each day the same way, tucking them all in. The pigs let him sit on them and play veterinarian with them, allowing him to check their eyes and ears and give them pretend shots. It is the most pure and precious thing! This is what keeps Amy going. In rescue, it is a huge emotional strain. You see a lot of really horrible situations, and really horrible people in the process. But the way Rocket and Gunner love all the animals brings Amy a joy that is unmatched, and negates the horrible experiences.

Gunner, Rockets older brother, has taken responsibility for several of the pigs himself. One of the oldest pigs on the farm, Jet who is 17 years old was struggling to keep weight on. Gunner took it upon himself to go out every day to take of Jet. He would even stand in the pouring rain to ensure his pig ate. Now, Jet has weight on him and is doing great!

 

How you can help

Harley-June is not a 501c3, Amy and her family do all of this on their own. Donations to help are greatly appreciated, but they unfortunately can’t be a tax write off for the donor. Becoming a registered non-profit is expensive, and literally all of Amy’s money goes to the care and shelter of these animals after feeding, clothing and taking care of her family. There’s simply not enough left to pay the expenses of becoming a non-profit.

It costs about $2,000 a month to feed all the farm animals. Amy does a lot of the vetting herself, taking care of wounds and such, but she does have a veterinarian do the more complicated things that she’s not trained to do and to give the animals their yearly check ups. Then there is fencing and bedding. All of these things add up, and monetary donations go a long way.

If you are in the Morganton area or close by, she can always use volunteers! She says the biggest way people can help though, is by not getting a pet pig unless they have done their research, know what they are getting themselves into and are willing to make a full commitment for about 18 years or more to take care of them properly.

If you’d like to make non tax deductible donation to Harley-June, you can PayPal her at harleyjune13

You can learn more about Amy and Harley-June Farm and Sanctuary at Facebook and TikTok and follow along on their adventures and see how their rescue animals are making strides in their recovery.

Our closing thoughts

Thank you Amy for the amazing work you do! We know first hand how taxing rescue work is, and it seems at times, a thankless job. But to those animals you save, it makes a huge difference! You are a true angel to these beautiful souls and because of you and the work you do, they can now live out a long, happy life. You set a beautiful example of how to be kind and caring.

Some of our goals at SpiderRain are creating community and bringing awareness about rescuers and the animals they help, in addition to other things. We want to see people like this have an environment where they can thrive, and by telling you about them, and the work they do, they can get better visibility and in turn, more opportunities to help more animals in need. To learn about other people who rescue animals and the innocent lives they help, we post their stories here.

So we leave it to you, dear reader to share the links to these stories with your friends and help these amazing people make the world a more beautiful place. Wouldn’t you just love to know that you are part of positive change? If we all work together, we can make it happen!

Love, SpiderRain