KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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Kris Taylor bought 10 acres just outside of Lawrence, Kansas, in 2018 to create a farm animal sanctuary known as Shy 38.
She wants to triple that land to give her seven cows more room to roam and graze year round. She started an all-or-nothing fundraiser to help purchase the fenced-in land on the other side of Lawrence, but an April 5 deadline is quickly approaching.
The farm animal sanctuary has rescued cows, pigs, sheep, goats, horses, and — mostly — birds like chickens, roosters and ducks. About 200 animals have found a second chance of life on the property.
“Arthur lost his home several years ago during that Linwood tornado," Taylor said of the goat.
Taylor says some of the other rescues are blind, were saved from neglectful or cruel situations, were surrendered by their previous owners or have deformities.
The farm hosts tours, works with volunteers and local classrooms.
Shy 38 founded The Hatching Kindness Project, an alternative to the traditional chick hatching lesson taught in schools, and created a curriculum for younger students. Taylor said many of the chickens on her farm are from those classroom hatching lessons.
The fundraiser would also help bring to life the story of Barney, one of the farm's beloved cows that passed away last year, through a children's book.
“When he was a calf, he had an infection that set in his joints, so he had arthritis, and he had great big knees," Taylor said.
He championed the mission of Shy 38 — teaching people that farm animals are more than just food.
“He had special needs, but he taught a lot of people that differences don’t make you less, sometimes they make you really special," Taylor said.
Taylor got the idea for Shy 38 when her husband and her were raising their three kids next door to a farmer's herd of cattle.
“I used to go out there with my speaker and play music for them, and I would go out there and dance and they would watch me," Megan Taylor, Kris' daughter, said of the cows. "I just thought it was so cool and interesting.”
Now, they're hoping to give their 10 cows an even better sanctuary — one with triple the room to roam and graze.
“It’s healthier, it’s what they’re naturally supposed to be doing," Taylor said.
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