The Backyard Barnyard Sanctuary

03/29/2026

03/23/2026

Everybody enjoying their breakfast! 🐷❤️

03/23/2026

Update on Romeo, Jessica & Chantilly 🐷✨

We brought Jessica home last night, and our hearts were already feeling lighter. Then this morning, we got the call we had been hoping for. The vets at Midwestern felt confident that Romeo and Chantilly were ready to come home too.

We didn’t waste a second. We rushed there to bring these sweet souls back where they belong. 🏡

All three will be on a supportive care regimen over the next few days, and we’ll be keeping them off the fence for at least a month while they continue to recover.

While there’s still no definitive answer as to what caused this sudden episode, it’s suspected they may have eaten something that wreaked havoc on their digestive systems. We do have clear signage posted on the fence about what is safe (and not safe) to feed, but something definitely triggered this very scary episode.

What we do know is this: they are home, they are fighters, and they are surrounded by love. 💕

We are beyond grateful to the incredible vets and students at Midwestern University Animal Health Institute for their compassion, care, and dedication through this scary time. Truly angels on earth. This is something that would have been difficult to treat in the field, especially in this heat. Being hospitalized and monitored is exactly where they need to be to heal.

Please continue to hold Romeo, Jessica, and Chantilly in your thoughts as they heal. 🙏

03/22/2026

Someone is happy to be home. We were able to bring Jessica home tonight. Hopefully Romeo in the morning and Chantilly on Monday.
Thank you all so much for your prayers, positive energy and support. 🐷❤️

03/20/2026

We’re grateful to share a hopeful update on Romeo, Jessica, and Chantilly. ❤️

Much to the surprise of the vet students monitoring overnight, Romeo was feeling well enough to break out of his pen and take a little walk around the clinic. He was gently ushered back, where he drank water on his own and even had some Ensure for nutrition, which is an encouraging sign.

Jessica is also responding well to treatment. She’s been feisty, drinking water, and enjoying some Ensure along with pureed fruits and veggies.

Chantilly hasn’t responded quite as well yet. She’s still lethargic, not wanting to eat, and is receiving fluids, but we are holding onto hope and praying she turns the corner soon.

All three are receiving wonderful care at Midwestern University Animal Health Institute and will remain there through the weekend, and hoping we are able to bring them home on Monday. We are incredibly grateful to the students and veterinarians for their compassion and dedication.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, love, and support. It means more than we can say. 🐷💕

03/19/2026

We are reaching out with heavy hearts to ask for help for some of Romeo, Jessica & Chantilly. ❤️

Late yesterday, we received an update on Romeo. His condition remains guarded, and he is staying another night at Midwestern University’s Large Animal Clinic. This has already been incredibly difficult, but now were facing even more concern.

Jessica and Chantilly are now showing the same symptoms as Romeo, and we are rushing them to Midwestern as well.

As a small 501(c)(3) nonprofit sanctuary, we do everything we can to provide our animals with safe, loving homes and the medical care they deserve. This year has already brought several unexpected medical challenges, and this situation is quickly becoming overwhelming.

We are asking, from the bottom of our hearts, for your support. Donations of any amount will go directly toward their emergency veterinary care and ongoing treatment. No amount is to small.

If you’re unable to give, please consider sharing this post and keeping Romeo, Jessica, and Chantilly in your thoughts.

Thank you for standing with us and for being part of their village during this very scary time. 🐷💕

Donations are tax-deductible and can be made:

Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XRBD979XXPCWC

Zelle: (602)695-4498

03/19/2026

We could really use some prayers and positive energy for our sweet Romeo right now. ❤️

He’s been at Midwestern University’s Large Animal Clinic since yesterday and will be staying another night. We’re still not sure what’s going on. He hasn’t been wanting to eat and has been very lethargic. Right now, his condition is guarded, and we’re just taking things moment by moment.

Romeo means so much to us, and it’s hard seeing him like this. If you can, please keep him in your thoughts and send all the love, strength, and healing his way. 🐷💕

We’ll share updates as we know more. Thank you all so much.

01/01/2026

🌟 Another Scar, Another Star
A Tribute to Little Olive

Little Olive was only seven.
Blind from birth,
but she moved through the world
with trust, courage, and the sound
of a fig bar wrapper being opened.

She knew love by voice,
by scent,
The rhythm of your footsteps,
by the gentle hands that guided her.
She never saw the pasture,
but she felt the sun.

In just three weeks, three sweet souls passed—
Big Mike, Dazzle, and now Little Olive.
Some losses you brace for.
Others steal the breath from your chest.

Sometimes grief just brings you to your knees.
You whisper, "I just can't do it anymore."
But then—
you look up, and see the eyes still watching you,
the lives that still need your care.
So you rise.
You feed the others.
You sit with them, you grieve with them,
You give them a bit more love.
And you carry the weight.

Another scar on the heart.
Another star in the sky.
She was here.
She mattered.
She is missed beyond words.
💔

Thank you to all who have loved our animals and mourn the losses with us. They are a part of you as well. ❤

12/31/2025

💔Sweet Little Olive gained her wings. Some losses you are prepared for and others like this blindside you. Thank you all for your donations, love and prayers. We are in shock right now so will post more later 💔

On this final day of the year, we’re asking for prayers for our sweet Little Olive. She’s not doing well. We believe she may have had a seizure, and we’re working to get her emergency care as quickly as possible.

If you feel moved to help in any way, an end-of-year donation would be deeply appreciated. Every bit of support means the world right now.

Thank you for keeping Olive in your thoughts.

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=WGUKJRFWNUCZU&fbclid=IwY2xjawPCQU1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFHMXJGMXh3TEtONzNFZTBGc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrI0In4A8o3JidBFp5qJ9JBWn4SDfS8y_5__Jh-p0tkrywe87wffPkmjFsZD_aem_tr3dFgqetPFtZbTr9MJqMQ
Zelle: (602)695-4498
Venmo:
🐐🐓🐖
With love and gratitude,
The Backyard Barnyard Gang

12/21/2025

The AHS girls enjoying their freedom and integrating well into the flock!

12/16/2025

It is with a weary heart that we share the passing of Dazzle.
While holding him in my arms, whispering words of love into his ears and feeling the final beat of his heart, he slipped gracefully into another realm, surrounded by peace and love.

We knew his time was coming. His arthritic body had been bearing the toll of a long and well-lived life, but we hoped we would have more time. Even so, there is solace in knowing his transition was gentle, guided by love, and free from fear. It was simply his time.

Dazzle now joins his beloved herd mate, Big Mike, who crossed over less than a week before, along with the rest of his herd who passed before them. We take comfort in imagining the Magnificent Seven reunited once more, whole, free from pain, and running together in a place where age and suffering no longer exist.

Dazzle’s spirit, kindness, and quiet strength touched every life he encountered. His presence taught us patience, compassion, and the sacred bond between human and animal. All of the animals in our lives have taught us so much. They have and always will be our greatest teachers, and we will forever be grateful for the wisdom they share so freely.

Though his physical form is gone, his essence remains woven into our hearts and the pasture he freely roamed.

You were deeply loved, Dazzle, and you always will be. Your legacy lives on in the love you gave, the lives you shaped, and the eternal imprint you leave behind.

His final message to us is to live your life and run free like someone left the gate open ❤🐐

If you would like to donate in honor of Big Mike, Dazzle, and all those who have gone before, and for the care of those who are still with us, we would be grateful

PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=WGUKJRFWNUCZU&fbclid=IwY2xjawOucmxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFDMzNwMUJUcTRCT1NwT1hmc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHpY50HtAohyUDYFhi-lfxughIkagzTdy_YZFNNfIFXtzmDgHjsEjhH9jsh-F_aem_lXnwZ0nonXYjrFuP2o_52A
Zelle: (602)695-4498
Venmo: