Members of the public can visit Heartland Cottage and see lots of different animals, such as these donkeys.
Members of the public can visit Heartland Cottage and see lots of different animals, such as these donkeys.
Mandie Blair’s decision to start an animal rescue centre and farm started on a whim.
She was sitting around a fire watching her son Riley play with a sheep when she saw how much joy the animal was bringing him.
Blair decided then that she wanted to travel with their animals – Pollyanna the pig, Charlotte the goat, Lulubelle the sheep, and dogs Malu and Layla-Rose.
That was in December 2022 – but Blair quickly realised travelling with five animals and six people in one vehicle was not going to work.
“We decided the time had come – we desperately needed a base for everyone to come to us. We searched and searched and finally, the perfect Heartland Cottage location was found in Foxton Beach."
Heartland Cottage has grown since then, and while it is still a petting zoo, it also rescues and rehomes animals, with more than 100 animals in its care at one time.
Heartland Cottage's highland cow.
The resident animals, which are mainly rescues or emergency rehomes, at Heartland Cottage range from farm animals like miniature ponies, donkeys, sheep, pigs and alpacas to pets like rabbits and guinea pigs.
The farm is designed to provide a hands-on experience of sustainable farming, from seed to harvest, and everything in between, she said.
In the beginning, Blair and her husband were working three full-time jobs to fund the project, and now they have hundreds of volunteers helping, with their youngest volunteer being 2 years old, and other volunteers coming from all over the world, including France, Japan, Poland, Belgium and more.
Stella was one of the rescue centre’s recently rehomed animals.
Blair said she was an extremely energetic dog whose owner died of cancer.
“We had Stella’s heath cleared, urine samples and blood tests done, and all were clear, so we worked with a family to rehome her. She’s very happy now with ample land to run on.”
People can contact Blair if they know of an animal that needs rescuing, and then a volunteer will collect the animal.
Blair said they aim to treat all their animals in-house, but if required they can have a vet come and help them with treatment plans.
Once the animal is in full health, it can be rehomed.
A big part of Heartland Cottage is having people come and see the animals, which include Valais blacknose sheep, Scottish Highland cows, Kune Kune pigs and Silkie chickens.
While it’s open to all by appointment, a focus is on providing a safe and nurturing environment for members of the disability community to learn about agriculture, farming and animal care, she said.
“Heartland Cottage is a very unique space where the disabled community and the general public can come to learn about sustainable farming practices, training and interact with our special animals.”
