farmhouse garden animal home

You can request a personalized animal video from this sanctuary near Toronto

Sending a loved one a personalized video from their favourite celebrity has become a fairly popular way to wish someone a happy birthday, but why not give the money to a good cause and send them a custom clip of an adorable cow or donkey instead?

Farmhouse Garden Animal Home, an animal sanctuary located in Uxbridge roughly an hour east of Toronto, is hosting its first fundraiser of the year and allowing people to order custom videos that feature the farm animals engaging in silly antics, "singing" birthday songs or simply hanging around the farm.

A custom video costs $40, and all proceeds from the the fundraiser, which is titled "Greetings from the Farm," will go towards supporting the rescued animals by covering costs related to feed, bedding and veterinary services.

"Greetings from the Farm was created to bring people together during these difficult and isolating times, especially as the second lockdown continues," said Edith Barabash, co-founder and executive director at Farmhouse Garden.

"Even though we cannot open our doors to in-person visitors, we hope these videos will bring many smiles to the faces of animal lovers."

Individuals can request personalized videos for any occasion, including Valentine's Day, a birthday or an anniversary, and the clips will feature many of the sanctuary's animals. 

If the recipient of the video is particulaly fond of a certain animal, however, the person sending it can also request that they make an appearance.

This new offering follows the sanctuary's similar fundraiser, hosted in 2020, when thousands of people donated money to have Buckwheat the donkey crash their Zoom calls

Farmhouse Garden Animal Home was once a cattle ranch but became an animal sanctuary in 2016 when farmer Mike Lanigan decided he no longer wanted to send his animals to slaughter. 

Since then, the farm has served as a place of refuge and compassion for one herd of cows, a flock of chickens and ducks, a horse and a donkey. 

Lead photo by

Farmhouse Garden Animal Home


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Toronto has one of the highest unemployment rates among major cities in Canada

The average hourly wage for Canadian employees is now almost $35

This Ontario city is trying to lure residents from Toronto with its cheap cost of living

This ultra-poisonous Ontario plant looks delicious but can easily kill you

Here's why there's an abandoned space-age bunker below a Toronto highway

People in Toronto wondering about mysterious black boxes spotted around the city

Video shows arsonist casually pouring gas on car and torching it in Richmond Hill

Toronto water taxi options for when you want to get to the Island and back