Mabel’s Big Moo-ve to Island Life
home sweet sanctuary home is heaven on earth for bellingham’s beloved bovine
On a warm Saturday this August, our animal control dispatcher received a call from a concerned citizen reporting a WHS truck hauling a livestock trailer down I-5 with a cow inside. The caller wanted to know if the cow was the world-famous Mabel, and if so, was she okay? Our dispatcher was more than happy to pass along that, yes indeed, it was Mabel inside that trailer, being escorted by WHS animal control to Anacortes to catch a ferry. You see, it was Mabel’s Big Moo-ving Day!
Very early that morning, a team of WHS staff and volunteers gathered at the farm to convince Whatcom County's most celebrated hooved resident, the Marvelous Miss Mabel, that she really should load up into a spacious livestock trailer that had been specially set up for her road trip. With a bit of coaxing that included apples, bananas, and a bit of good luck, Mabel loaded right up and left our farm facility for her forever home at Heaven on Earth Animal Retirement Sanctuary.
After a long few hours inside the trailer—including a ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbor, during which she was given VIP treatment at the front of the boat where she could enjoy the breeze—Mabel arrived at the sanctuary, jumped out of the trailer, and was immediately greeted by new cow friends and pasture mates Daphne & Pepper, who ran up to say hello to her and lick her face. Every human on site cried lots of happy tears!
If you’ve ever had a dream, vision, or idea of what a fairytale farm sanctuary would look like, Heaven on Earth is it! Located on San Juan Island on 20 acres of majestic forest land and surrounded by the Salish Sea, the sanctuary is home to rescued farm animals big and small. Mabel now spends her days hanging out in a spacious pasture with Daphne & Pepper, meeting visitors and sharing her miraculous story of survival. Heaven On Earth Animal Retirement Sanctuary is open to the public and offers a variety of programs for adults and kids. We are so grateful to them for opening their hearts and sanctuary to Mabel. To find out more about Mabel’s marvelous forever home, visit www.heavenonearthanimalsanctuary.org
