Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecilia Fernandez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cecilia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It was my lifelong dream to have a farm where I could provide a sanctuary for rescued animals and in turn, the animals would offer therapy for children with special needs. I am truly living my dream and I am grateful for that every single day.
Given my deep love and passion for ALL creatures, great and small, I assumed the logical career path that I would take would be to become a veterinarian. However, while working as a technician at an animal hospital through college, I realized that there were aspects of veterinary practice, such as putting animals to sleep, that my heart could not take. I would cry inconsolably whenever I had to witness an animal suffering.
Along with my passion for animals, I always felt a parallel devotion for children, in general, but particularly those with special needs. The decision was easy: I changed my major from pre-veterinary medicine to special education. I then promised myself that I would someday combine both of my callings by having a farm with rescued animals and provide animal-assisted therapy for children with special needs.
After working with children and adults in the special education field for many years in New Jersey, where I grew up (I am originally from Argentina; my family moved to New Jersey in 1980), I moved to Georgia in 1995 and worked as a teacher while I volunteered at Chastain Park with their therapeutic riding/hippotherapy program.
In the year 2000, I completed the training to become a Montessori teacher, and I have been teaching in Montessori schools since then.
I met my husband, Roberto Botello in 1996 and we married in the year 2000. We have a 16-year-old daughter, Sophie, and an 11-year old son, Daniel, who are both integral to the work that we do.
My husband knew from the time he met me that my goal was to someday make my dream a reality. He has always been my rock, my support, and a believer in my dream. My husband and son are vegetarian, and my daughter and I are vegan.
When it was time to search for a home after moving back to Georgia from a brief relocation to Houston, Texas, we decided it was time to look for a farm.
We found the perfect home in Oxford, Georgia in September of 2015. When we shared our plans with the selling couple, their eyes welled up with tears-their son who had recently passed away had cerebral palsy. We felt an immediate connection and were excited and even more inspired to begin carrying out our dream.
Our first rescued farm animal was a rooster, then came our first rescued horse, Bella. The rest, as they say, is history. We have met so many wonderful people through the animals, and we help each other as we help as many animals as we can. When I was a child, I wanted to “save ALL the animals”, but today I can say that even though I know I cannot save them all, my dream has come true thanks to the love and support of my family and friends.
Even though the majority of the financial responsibility for the farm is handled on our own, we became a non-profit organization in 2017, which has helped in offering animal sponsorship opportunities as well as a few fundraising campaigns. Every little bit helps, as we are committed to providing the best care for each of our animals, and that is not easy nor cheap.
Our current residents, who are all rescued and each have their own story to tell are: 3 horses, 1 (miniature) pony, 1 donkey, 5 goats, 3 potbellied pigs, 4 rabbits, 48 chickens, 6 ducks, 3 turkeys, 4 dogs, 10 cats and we are always growing!
Every member of the family helps with the care of the animals-we firmly believe that caring for and living with animals is an invaluable benefit for all children, including ours.
We recently became a community partner with Oxford College of Emory University. Beginning in September, we will proudly host weekly volunteers who will contribute to the hard work of taking care of the animals.
During summers and other school holidays, we offer a summer camp as well as therapeutic horseback riding lessons. All of the proceeds from these as well as any other activity at the farm goes directly to the care of the animals.
We firmly believe that every living being deserves to live happily and with dignity. It is our honor and distinct pleasure to have been given the opportunity to provide this for our animals.
Our website is: http://bestfriendsfarmoxf.wixsite.com/website
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Despite the support and love of our friends and family, it has not been a smooth road, as one can expect.
The cost of caring for any animal is great-this is even greater for farm animals, as their care is specific and unique.
We are constantly struggling to maintain the utmost excellent care for our animals and sometimes that means disregarding our own needs; the animals come first.
It is also difficult to have to turn animals away, but it is important to maintain a realistic goal and to recognize our limitations.
Hopefully, we will continue to have the support and be able to grow so that we can help more and more animals.
I would say the two most difficult aspects of running a rescue/sanctuary are the financial responsibility and losing them when they die.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Best Friends Farm – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
As a non-profit organization, we are a farm animal rescue/sanctuary. We take in animals that have either been rescued by other organizations or by ourselves, and provide a sanctuary where they can live out their lives in peace and dignity.
We also offer therapeutic horseback riding for children with special needs and summer camps, both of which help with the financial responsibility of caring for the animals.
We are most proud of our mission: to provide a dignified life for all living beings and to promote empathy, love, reverence, and respect for nature.
We are also proud to share the amazing benefits of the human-animal bond with all children and adults.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are continuously growing and we hope to be able to expand our farm space, perhaps by purchasing a bit of land from neighbors, so that we can provide more animals with a happy life.
We are always in need of sponsors and financial support. If we can have sponsors for each of the animals we can do so much more!
If we can increase donations to a steady pace, we can help more animals.
Contact Info:
- Address: 866 Boogers Hill Road
Oxford, GA 30054 - Website: http://bestfriendsfarmoxf.wixsite.com/website
- Phone: 7709061941
- Email: bestfriendsfarmoxford@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Sophie Botello, Lisette Lopez
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