Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary always looks for good homes for the animals in its care because there are always more that need help.
“Our team is kind of always actively having a conversation about what is feasible on our 11 acres,” said Lissy Kuhn, Happy Trails director of development.
But the Ravenna Township sanctuary has a way to ease the issue by reducing the number of animals that need to be taken in.
Since 2024, Happy Trails has had its Solutions To Avoid Intake pilot program.
STAI, pronounced “stay,” was funded by a grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Right Horse initiative. STAI provides micro-grants ranging from $150 to $750 to struggling horse owners to help pay costs including veterinarian bills and feed. The goal is that fewer owners will end up having to surrender their animals because of financial concerns.
And now, in 2026, Happy Trails is ramping up STAI to provide similar financial help to owners of other farm animals.
“We understand there’s things like job loss or medical, things that might come up that make an animal bill especially tough, and we want to be there to help support and keep animals at home,” said Kuhn.
STAI not only helps pet owners, it also helps Happy Trails make room for other animals. In February, for example, the sanctuary took in about 100 hens from the Cleveland Animal Protective League. They were among about 150 chickens the APL had taken in.
To make room for the 100 hens, Happy Trails worked hard to find homes for birds it already had. Even then, the chickens from Cleveland could not be acquired in one batch. They arrived in “waves” of about 50 each, Kuhn said.
Most of the birds were gone by mid-March.
“We’ve pretty much found homes for all of the ladies,” said Kuhn.
She said hens are still available, however, as well as roosters, which are useful for keeping predators away from the hens.
“We have quite a few boys who have been with us for awhile, too,” Kuhn said. Happy Trails also has ducks.
That was not the only time Cleveland APL called for help. Kuhn said that in the past, Happy Trails has taken in horses and, she believes, a cow found running loose in the Cleveland area.
“We’re here to assist both in Portage County and outside the county,” said Kuhn. “So when we get a call from a humane officer, our priority is to help.”
Happy Trails also has welcomed pigs, including about 15 that arrived over a two-week period in February from Friendship APL in Elyria and the Columbiana County Humane Society. Two of them were pregnant potbelly pigs.
One litter since has arrived, and Happy Trails staff is “still on piglet watch” for the second.
Besides helping other organizations, Happy Trails also has a relinquish program through which owners can voluntarily give up animals if they no longer are able to care for them.
Kuhn said Happy Trails wants to place animals in good homes where they can live out their natural lives. In other words, she said, the sanctuary doesn’t want to providing animals or birds for food.
The adoption process starts with an online form.
“This is a quick application that goes right to our intake team,” said Kuhn.
That group then speaks with interested parties to answer such questions about their specific interest, cared plan, and whether they have adequate living conditions.
“There is also an adoption fee, which is definitely a reasonable amount,” said Kuhn. “It’s nothing extravagant, but it’s an amount that ensures that the animal is going home to be part of the family instead of on the dinner table.”
Go to happytrailsfarm.org for more information about the agency, including adoption, relinquishment, volunteering and donating, events, tours and STAI.
Kuhn said the program helps to limiting how many animals need new homes.
“We’d always envisioned expanding this to other types of animals, all farm animals, and this is the year we’re excited to be implementing that,” said Kuhn.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage animal sanctuary works to help animal owners keep their flocks
Reporting by Jeff Saunders, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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