By Darrell Laurant

Gimundo Correspondent

The danger in visiting Star Gazing Farm in Boyds, Md., is that you might return as a vegetarian.

"I hear that a lot from people," said Anne Shroeder, who started the farm animal rescue center five years ago. "They tell me, 'I just don't feel the same about eating meat as I did.'"

That isn't necessarily Shroeder's goal, but she does hope to raise the visibility of animals most people only think of as prey.

"Pigs and goats and other farm animals have just as much individual personality as dogs and cats," she said. “I’ve got a goat, Mr. Newman, who’s learned how to open the door to my truck, for instance, and he loves doing it.”

Shroeder’s path to Star Gazing Farm started when she adopted a couple of ducks, which she kept in her rented house in Virginia. Her landlord was not happy.

“He said, basically, that it was either the ducks or me,” she said. “So I left and wound up buying this farm. And I decided to use it as a place for unwanted farm animals.”

The four-acre farm pays for its operation with the sale of wool products from its sheep and from donations.  Shroeder runs it alone with the help of a few part-time volunteers.

“Right now, besides sheep, we have ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs, goats, rabbits and a couple of steers,” she said. “Some were taken out of abusive situations, some are strays.”

But none will ever be dinner.

To learn how you can help, and to meet the animals, visit stargazingfarm.org.