Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary began with a one-day-old calf and a bucket list. 

It all started on a March day in 2017. Susan Klingenberg, a lifelong animal lover, steeled herself in the parking lot outside of a livestock auction. She reminded herself why she was there in the first place: to save an animal’s life. The top item on her newly written bucket list. 

The first animals to be paraded out onto the auction block were the calves. It was when Klingenberg laid her eyes on the final baby cow, a wobbly caramel-brown calf and the tiniest of the bunch, that she knew she found her Bucket. 

As a male calf, Bucket was deemed useless by the dairy industry and ripped away from his mother right after birth. The newborn Jersey calf was the last of the calves to be sold that day. 

The price Klingenberg paid for his life? 

$10. 

Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary's Willow modeling with our Trupo Treats vegan milk chocolate crunch bar

It was soon after rescuing baby Bucket that Klingenberg embarked on even more animal rescues.

It was five horses, two pigs, eight goats, two dogs, and a second cow later that Klingenberg realized there simply wasn’t enough space for her and her big rescue dreams in her native Maryland. 

One year later, she took the plunge and moved to Brodnax, Virginia, where she could buy enough acreage to create her farm sanctuary. 

It was there on May 8th, 2018, that Klingenberg founded Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary. Today, over 50 residents currently call the Virginia sanctuary home. 

Little Buckets is guided by a mission “to give animals a safe and loving home they all deserve.” 

Especially those discarded by the dairy industry like Bucket. 

Susan Klingenberg and now grown-up Bucket!

As a vegan milk chocolate company that stands against the cruelty of the dairy industry, we quickly partnered with Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary. 

To date, we’ve partnered with the sanctuary three times.

“To run a sanctuary, you have to make many sacrifices to your own life,” says Klingenberg. “Your life becomes the animals’ lives but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”  

Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary has grown tremendously since its early days where it began as an effect of a “bucket list that I made which included saving a life from a livestock auction.” 

One of the rescues closest to Klingenberg’s heart took place in April 2019.

“I was able to save two more baby calves from the dairy industry in Vermont with the help from Jason Bolalek from Destination Liberation,” says Klingenberg. 

The ginger-colored Jersey, Journey, and black and white speckled Holstein, Miles, were one-week-old and one-day-old, respectively, when they were surrendered from dairy farmers who considered them worthless. 

Bolalek, a renowned animal activist, “drove the calves to us in Virginia in the back seat of his sedan. The boys had just been ripped from their mother and instantly befriended each other for comfort.”

Klingenberg says Bolalek had the honor of naming the boys.

“Because of their long trip, [Jason] named them Miles and Journey.” 

Journey and Miles are thriving at Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary.

 

The bovine duo is “part of a small group of lucky ones that end up at a sanctuary,” says Klingenberg. “Since males are discarded in the dairy industry [had they not been rescued], Miles and Journey would have lost their life soon after being born.”

Now, the best friends get to “live their life out here at Little Buckets, happy, safe, loved, and with full tummies. That’s how all animals should get to live their life,” says Klingenberg warmly. 

Just as we love all of Little Buckets’ life saving and heart-changing work and mission, they also like what we’re doing! 

“I absolutely love the [Trupo Treats] vegan crunch bars. They fulfill that chocolate craving without [causing] any harm to animals,” says Klingenberg. 

“Trupo Treats gives everyone that awesome option for milk chocolate that is dairy-free while helping support the sanctuaries that are providing a forever home to many animals directly saved from the dairy industry,” just like Bucket, Journey, and Miles! 

Tater and Tot are ready for their close up!

Resident Spotlight: Meet Tater and Tot the Goats! 

Twin goat brothers Tater and Tot joined Little Buckets when they were just one week old. Born with lesions on their brains, both of the kids had severe neurological and vision issues.

“They initially could stand just for a few seconds before falling over,” says Klingenburg.

But the duo didn’t let their health conditions keep them down and out. 

“They often wanted to try to frolic before walking, and so they did,” says Susan. “They had been born with [many] issues, but it certainly was not going to stop them.”

Now having passed their first birthday, the boys are unstoppable.

“They run all over the farm. As they still might fall, the improvement is immeasurable. It has been incredible to watch these boys fight to walk and run and [even] just stay standing. They will continue to have to do it every day. But just as they did when they were young, they still love to jump and run as fast as they can. They are truly happy goats.” 

 Susan Klingenberg with Tater and Tot 

You can help support Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary by sponsoring an animal resident, volunteering, purchasing Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary merch, donating items on their wishlist, telling your friends about the sanctuary, and engaging with their social media accounts. 

Follow Little Buckets Farm Sanctuary on their Facebook and Instagram to keep up with day-to-day life at the sanctuary and rescue efforts! 

And, if you want to indulge your sweet tooth and try our new chocolates while also helping rescued farmed animals like Tater and Tot, be sure to preorder our brand new vegan milk chocolate bars beginning June 28th! 😍