Dogs and Zebras and Turtles, Oh My! Check Out This Sanctuary Where They All Live as Best Friends

Rocky Ridge Refuge, run by Janice Wolf, is home to animals in needs--and they're all best friends

By John Boone Feb 08, 2014 12:36 AMTags
Rocky Ridge Refuge AnimalsRocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

We want to go to there.

"There" being the Rocky Ridge Refuge, where dogs and cats and rabbits and deer and so many more live in perfect harmony. It sounds too good to be true, except that it is true and is located in Midway, Ark.

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

Janice Wolf, a counselor turned vet tech turned animal savior, started Rocky Ridge two decades ago "to improve the lives of animals by the ways and means available to me" and "to share the lessons learned with any who want to hear and share the joy with any who wish to see." 

And you really do almost need to see it to believe it: Wolf gives homes to some 50 to 60 critters at any given time, ranging from an African Sulcata Tortoise all the way to a water buffalo.

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

And all the animals are best friends. Some are even surrogate mothers to one another.

There's Crouton, the tortoise, who often becomes a plaything for the puppies. And Cheesecake the Capybara, who is like an aunt to all the animals who come and go. Because only some of the animals stay at Rocky Ridge, while others stop in on their way to forever homes.

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

Among the more exotic friends at the Refuge are a zebra named Barcode and the late Lurch, who was a massive African watusi steer and a Guinness World Record holder (for largest horn circumference).

And then there's Brad, the pig.

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

"Brad has a crate in the kitchen to sleep in and the dogs have taught him how to use the dog door, so he soon became one of the pack," Janice explained to The Daily Mail.

"When [the puppies] met Brad, they decided he would be a fun playmate," she continued. "They got him running through the house playing chase with them and the rest of us can only get out of the way because that pig has no traction on my tile floors!"

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

The nonprofit "is a place of helping and healing" and Wolf says it's "the result of a dream I have always had to be surrounded by animals and to be a person who brought hope and healing into others lives."

And Janice has done just that. She has documented some of the amazing transformations that sick or wounded animals have made under her cover over the years and you can see them on Rocky Ridge's Facebook.

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

You can also donate to Rocky Ridge via their Facebook (or purchase an adorable 2014 calendar here) and make sure you check out the photo stream on FB because there are SO MANY MORE PICTURES.

"I will continue rescuing as long as I am able," Janice says. "And hope to train someone to take my position when I can no longer operate as needed."

Rocky Ridge Refuge/Facebook

It's animal paradise. Actually, it is everyone paradise.

(H/T Laughing Squid)