We are OPEN for Walk-in FARM VISITS
Friday & Sat 10-2
Other days/times by appointment please! We just keep getting better and better every day here at Rooterville and we can't wait to meet you! We love having you spend part of your weekend with our amazing animals at their magnificent home here off a paved road (yippee!) convenient to Jacksonville, Gainesville, St Augustine, Starke and more! Our
location is excellent and easy to get to. When you visit, you will be able to interact with so many of our rescued animals! You are welcome to bring treats to hand feed the animals: Tinsel the cow loves Bananas in the peel. The piggies love anything you enjoy eating! Smallish things like baby carrots, strawberries, etc are perfect to hand feed them. NO FOOD IN STROLLERS please because the animals are sure everything you bring is for them! This includes baby bottles. ALL food will need to be left in your car, safely in a purse or backpack or we can hold it for you while you are on site so no critters help themselves to it. Vists are $15 per person, $45 for a family of four. We appreciate your generosity, it helps us keep our gates open and our animals fed. FIELD TRIPS, PRIVATE GROUPS AND VISITS ARE WELCOME! Call for pricing and to schedule your private visit. If you are interested in having a special event or photoshoot at Rooterville please email [email protected]. Thanks to the support of many generous folks like you, Rooterville Animal Sanctuary has provided a safe and compassionate refuge to hundreds of rescued farm animals for 20 years and allowed many thousands of visitors the chance to interact with these beautiful animals. We've received many, many testimonials from people whose lives have been changed after a visit and that's what we live for! Those testimonials make all of the hard work worthwhile. Do you have one to share? We'd love to hear! WHAT TO EXPECT:
Founded in 2004, Rooterville moved to the current property in 2021. It is a place where animals roam freely and enjoy their lives on 20 beautiful acres in a serene park-like setting in Melrose, Florida. We offer covered wagon "glamping" experiences, cow cuddles, goat cuddles and more! Our residents, which we kindly refer to as ambassadors, include pot-bellied pigs, farm pigs, cows, mini horses, peacocks, turkeys, goats, chickens, fish, turtles and dogs and cats too! You'll enjoy beautiful butterfly gardens and abundant nature. Take home a plant or two for your home garden. Healing and Caring for Rescued Animals:
Rooterville was inspired by farm animals in need, like Stella-Rooterville's inspiration, and founded on a singular principle: Compassion. We believe true happiness, a better world, and recognition of our religious ideals require compassion and mercy for animals, our fellow people, the world we live in, and, most importantly, ourselves! MISSION:
Encouraging Compassion, Inspiring Change: Rooterville has been dedicated to rescuing abused, neglected, and abandoned farm animals all over the US. Some we are able to save through helping spread the word about their situation. We are currently at capacity and cannot take in any more animals. It is a very tragic time to be a farm animal as ALL sanctuaries are full, there is nowhere left for them to go. Every time a sanctuary has to refuse an animal in need, that poor animal is likely abandoned, sold for dog bait or slaughter or killed in a brutally cruel way because they are seen as food, not friends like our pet dogs and cats. If we had one wish, it would be that we could save them all. VISION:
A world where animals are not exploited and made to suffer for our pleasure and organic farming is the rule not the exception. Taking care of God's Creation is the original mandate that we need to return to if we have any hope for a future that is worth being a part of. Biblical stewardship means caring for something that belongs to someone else to whom we'll give an account. It is not, as our culture has interpreted, brutal domination and exploitation of creation for our own purposes, pleasure and enrichment. Our vision is a world free of cruelty, where compassion and kindness form the foundation of how each of us treats one another. All life is to be reverenced and we care for God's creation the way He intended. God gave us His vision for the world in Genesis: a beautiful garden, a plant-based diet, no suffering and death. We chose our own way and look at what we've done! One day, God will restore His Creation and until then all creation "groans in pain". Romans 8:22
EDUCATING VISITORS:
After rescuing so many unwanted animals and experiencing the deplorable conditions found in “factory farms,” we realized that the best way to help the greatest number of animals, the planet and human health is to educate and encourage others to adopt a compassionate, healthy, plant-based diet. If you would like to learn more about the impact your diet has on the environment, your health and the animals, we encourage you to take the time to watch two excellent and non-gory documentaries: Cowspiracy and What the Health These films do a fantastic job investigating the impact our daily choices have on the things that matter most to us: our health, the environment and for some, the treatment of animals. OUR HISTORY:
Rooterville was founded by Elaine West in 2004 to care for the many unwanted, abandoned & abused pot-bellied pigs in need of help. Sadly, most animal control agencies or Humane Societies will not take in unwanted pet pigs, so many of these former pets end up meeting a gruesome fate simply because no one will help them. Since our humble beginnings, Rooterville has grown to about 20 acres and we have welcomed thousands and thousands of visitors, college groups & school children to have the experience of a lifetime with our amazing animal ambassadors who have a way to reach hearts and change lives. They are true changemakers! Elaine, our founder, is a disabled widow and is not physically able to do the things she used to. At 61 years old, she needs more help than ever to keep Rooterville going strong. We rely on our visitors, overnight guests and shoppers to help us fund the sanctuary and the care of the animals. We wish we could save all of the animals needing help, it is heartbreaking to not be able to help more of them. Your support helps us continue to share the message of compassion and care for the animals who are fortunate enough to have landed here at Rooterville. Helping people learn about and embrace a kind lifestyle is the way to have the greatest positive impact for animals, the environment and our own health. We hope you join us in making kind choices because together, we are a massive force for good! OTHER WAYS TO HELP:
SHOP! Yes, please shop at our online store at www.thepinkpigs.com ALL proceeds help us care for the animals here at Rooterville and our wish is to help other sanctuaries and rescues by offering an affiliate program which will donate 20% of sales to that charity. We want to see others succeed and be a hand-up whenever possible. Working together is so important for success. God's work should not be competitive and there is no place for egos when trying to do good! If we all do our part, we can create a world we'll all be happy to live in. AMAZON WISHLIST: We have a Wishlist on Amazonl, you can buy things directly for the animals there if you like. Please make sure any packages are shipped to the new address at 1208 N CR 315, Melrose, FL 32666. We've had some end up at the old address and that makes the new owner there angry so please check the address you ship to! VOLUNTEER & Community Service: we need awesome people to help us care for the animals, the buildings and grounds, the gift shop office work, bookkeeping and even giving tours and talking to visitors about the benefits of a plant-based diet. Whatever your talent, we have a place for you! Rooterville is a great place to get your community service hours or work off court-ordered hours. SHARE: Share Rooterville and The Pink Pigs Boutique with your friends and family so they can visit, buy great things and help spread the word. Let us know how we've helped you if you've been inspired to make a change for the better because of an experience here. Your support for what we do is tremendously appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us! We hope you get to visit and experience our amazing sanctuary, meet our awesome animals and staff members and get inspired to do more to make a difference where you live!
