December 2025

From Trauma to Sanctuary: Why I Do This Work

GFAS is starting a new series for our monthly newsletter to learn more about the founders of GFAS certified rescues/sanctuaries/rehabilitation centers.  Our first Founder’s Story is from Robine Bots from Harmony Farm Sanctuary. If you are interested in submitting your story, please email us at .

My path to running an animal sanctuary began long before I ever imagined such a life for myself. When I was twelve, I attended a horseback riding camp where the staff sent home permission slips for us to watch “farm life in action.” My mom, knowing how sensitive I was, didn’t sign mine. But curiosity pulled me toward the trees anyway. The moment I heard the screams I will never forget—sharp, terrified, and unlike anything I’d ever heard—I stepped closer and hid behind a tree. From there, I watched as a large pig named Cindy, the same breed as my Eleanor Pigby today, lost her life. I wasn’t meant to witness it, but I did. And it changed me. I gave up eating pigs on the spot. It didn’t take long for me to realize that what happened to Cindy happened to countless other animals, and the seed of compassion planted that day never stopped growing.

Years later, in college, I read “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins. That book shifted the ground under me. It gave me the language and information for what my heart had known since childhood: animals deserve better from us.

Fast-forward to when my daughter was eight—she’s twenty-one now—and begged for a pig of her own. My dad ended up buying her a so-called “micro pig,” a term I now know is nothing more than clever marketing. We named him Pig Floyd. I felt immediate buyers’ remorse and guilt. My research showed that 98% of these tiny “teacup” pigs are rehomed within their first two years. Instead of becoming part of that statistic, I chose a different path. I decided that if I was going to do right by this one pig, I needed to create a place where other animals could be safe too.

That was twelve and a half years ago. Since then, Harmony Farm Sanctuary has grown into a haven for 150+ rescued farmed animals and a place where compassion is the foundation of everything we do. What I love most about this work is witnessing animals heal—slowly, bravely, and on their own terms—and seeing how their stories transform the people who meet them. Every day here feels like a promise kept to that twelve-year-old girl behind the tree: to choose kindness, to protect the vulnerable, and to build a world where animals like Cindy are seen, loved, and safe.