Cheyenne's Hope Farm Sanctuary

WHAT IS
CHEYENNE’S HOPE FARM SANCTUARY

Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary was founded on November 9, 2010 and is a rescue for special needs and/or abused or neglected animals. It was founded solely because of “Cage 2".

You see, in 1999, Stacey McCord Crooks, founder of Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary, visited the local Humane Society in hopes of adopting a miniature Collie that had just arrived at the shelter.

As Stacey made her way down the long concrete hallway, she turned her head away from the cages in an attempt to avoid seeing all pain and sadness on the faces of the dogs leading up to the Collie. However, as she passed cage two, she felt an overwhelming urge to look.

There, amidst all of the barking and chaos, was a very scared and shaking six month old German Shepherd / Siberian Husky mix named Lady. Stacey, still focused on seeing the miniature Collie who was housed in cage eight, continued on past the other cages but simply could not get the dog in cage two out of her mind.

On the way out, she found herself standing in front of cage two, petting the scared dog through the fence. She was told that the dog had been surrendered because “it shed” and that sadly, it was scheduled to be euthanized the next day due to remodeling and overcrowding at the shelter. Without hesitation, Stacey spoke up and said she wanted to adopt the dog in cage two, renaming her Cheyenne.

Through Stacey’s rescues, Cheyenne greeted and happily welcomed an array of animals into their family, even rescuing one of her own; a full blooded cocker spaniel they later named Noah.

Uncertain at how Cheyenne would react to Noah, who was found wandering Stacey’s neighborhood, she decided to keep him at a neighbors house while searching for his owner. Noah barked constantly while at the neighbors so Stacey, still uncertain of how Cheyenne would feel about this stranger at her house, made a temporary home for him in her garage. He continued to bark like crazy and, by this time, Cheyenne had started digging under the fence to get to him. It was late and Stacey did not know what else to do so, she bit the bullet and placed Noah in the fenced in yard with Cheyenne. Noah immediately quit barking and Cheyenne quit digging. Stacey awoke the next morning to find the two cuddled together, sleeping and happy. It was official, Cheyenne was keeping Noah.

Just shy of eleven years old, Cheyenne began limping. At first, Stacey passed it off as a minor injury and gave her some anti-inflamatory medicine. Two weeks later, she was still limping and had began to cry out in pain when her knee was touched, so Stacey rushed her to the vet. It was discovered, through x-rays, that Cheyenne had developed bone cancer. The options were limited and she was given three months or less to live.

Cheyenne under went several rounds of chemotherapy prior to having her leg amputated. However, one of the risks of amputation was that it could spread to her lungs during surgery. Shortly after the surgery, Cheyenne began coughing with labored breathing and Stacey’s worst fears were confirmed. It had, in fact, spread to her lungs and it was not treatable.

The night before Cheyenne passed away, Stacey had told a long time friend that she was done rescuing because the heartache that she felt at that very moment was just too much to experience again. As she and Cheyenne stared at one another that night, tears streaming down her face, she felt an overwhelming feeling that Cheyenne was telling her that she simply could not stop rescuing, that she had provided Cheyenne with a great life and that there were others out there that needed her help, just as Cheyenne had.

Cheyenne had gotten worse by the minute that night. The next morning, they were at the vet’s office where it was confirmed that she was, in fact, nearing the end. There, with her best buddy Noah by her side and her family surrounding her, Cheyenne passed, tail wagging until the very end.

The day was November 9, 2010. It was decided, at that very moment in time, that Cheyenne’s spirit was to live on and with that, Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary was born.

Side note: Noah passed away eighteen months after Cheyenne. He was sixteen years old.

Today, Cheyenne’s Hope Farm Sanctuary is a 501c3 pending (non-profit) organization and home to over 40 special needs animals, including but not limited to, five Standardbred Horses, one Appaloosa / Quarter Horse mix, one Walker / Racking Horse mix, one Umbrella Cockatoo Parrot, over fifty chickens that’s eggs are now used as an income source for the sanctuary, five dogs and over twenty cats, each with their own personal story.
(Photographs, as well as each of their stories, can be found in the “Meet Our Animals” album.