Katharine & Nathan
Jack and the Bean
Jack and the Bean Farm
Venue, Homestead, Animal Sanctuary
Here on Jack and the Bean, our sanctuary residents are different from our family adoptions, but still the same! The animals that first moved onto the farm (from our previous home) were foster fails from the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina. This includes our three dogs, Hagrid, Boomer, and Phoebe, and our blind cat, Ruby Rose. Our sanctuary animals are those who came to the farm for true sanctuary. All of our animals are fixed and fully vaccinated except the chickens, who do not hatch babies.
Hagrid
Foster Fail
Crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 6/28/23 Our family adoptions (aka first foster fail) started with Hagrid,! He is our oldest and biggest dog on the farm at 9 years old and 95 lbs. Hagrid was born to our very first mama foster. She came to us starved and abandoned, and delivered 8 puppies on Thanksgiving one year. When we say he is our biggest dog, we mean it in every way; biggest in size, biggest scaredy-cat, and biggest asshole. No, seriously - I have had to deliver 2 cakes in his lifetime to neighbors that read “I’m sorry my dog is an asshole.” If he is afraid of you, please just give him his space. (I really don’t want to have a third cake made.) Despite his fear, Hagrid is also one of our biggest snugglers. He’s our best foster dad to our bottle baby kittens, and he has an awesome, deep southern howl. Sadly, Hagrid is living with some type of GI cancer that we have not been able to isolate or control. We hope you’ll be able to meet him. He was the start of our crazy rescue journey!
Boomer
Foster Fail
“Here comes the Boom!” Boomer was a foster fail in 2015. He had been adopted and returned at no fault of his own. After a series of unfortunate events for Boomer, we decided that they were signs from the universe that he just needed to stay with us. Boomer is our most chill dog. He may look intimidating, he defies all aggressive chow stereotypes, and everyone loves him. As a puppy he had entropion, which is an abnormality that causes the eyelids to roll inward, leading the hair to rub the cornea and cause health issues. He ended up with two surgeries to fix the issue and hopefully save his vision. 7 years later now he’s mostly blind. We believe he can see shadows and light and maybe some basic shapes/figures. If he approaches to sniff you, he just wants to know who you are. He’ll probably back up if you reach for him but he just can’t see you well. Boomer appreciates his personal space but is a sucker for a good butt scratch. Out of all the animals, he loves the farm the most. His favorite spot is on the porch, enjoying the space. Please note: he has a sensitive stomach so no table scraps for him or I *will* call you to come clean my floors.
Phoebe
Foster Fail
Phoebe is everything we never knew we needed in a dog. We’re a dog family, and when the shelter asked me to foster the small, white, fluffy dog during a snowstorm shelter evacuation, I rolled my eyes. Within a few hours we knew she would stay forever. She is our funniest dog and has the most personality. She loves people to an almost obsession-like level. If you are seated, and she sees an opportunity to commandeer your lap, she will. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Ruby Rose
Foster Fail
Ruby Rose came to us when she was about 6 weeks old. She’d been found wandering on a farm with no eyes and a number of infections. After they surgically removed any tissue left in her eye sockets, they were sewn shut to avoid future infection. Ruby Rose has never understood that she is blind, and in her heart she is a dog. (Is this why she fits in so well here? We aren’t sure.) Please don’t spill the beans. She hates cats and we just couldn’t handle breaking the news to her. She is an amazing being and people are always in awe of what a normal life she lives. She can catch a fly in mid-air and bosses the dogs around daily. Ruby’s life goal is to go outside, but this is strictly against the rules. Please be careful if you have to go into the house for any reason so she doesn’t scoot out a cracked door. Our house is old, so ensure that the door latches closed behind you.
Michelle (and chickens!)
Chicken Ambassador
Michelle crossed the Rainbow Bridge 9/25/23 As for the sanctuary animals, our first genuine rescues were the chickens. Did you know that farm stores across the nation discard unhealthy chicks with the feed bags? With ailments ranging from broken legs to simple dehydration or vitamin deficiencies, they're "bad for business." We started rescuing from a local farm store and are up to around 15-20 chickens. The number fluctuates based on the flock that has been living in the bamboo forest for 8 years. Our resident chicken Ambassador is Michelle. She’s our fave. Don’t tell the others. Michelle is more cat than chicken and follows us around the farm. Her favorite place to be is with a human. When she runs behind you, it sounds as if an elephant is approaching and we don’t know how her little body makes that much noise. She has nine cat lives and is on at least her third. When we found her, she was living in a cage with ~50 other chickens. Her comb was pale, and her sister O’Mama had a deformity of the skull. O’Mama lived with us for a year before a tragic end, no thanks to Ruthie Mae. (Ruthie Mae, who we’ll introduce below, is a great dog but she is a chicken murderer. It’s not her fault, she’s just being a dog.) Michelle spent her other two lives on Ruthie as well. (Ruthie owes me a lot of money for vet bills.) We have amended many systems and housing arrangements to keep the peace and keep everyone safe. Michelle is sweet and funny, and her antics always keep us learning.
Ruthie Mae
Sister to Atticus
Ruthie Mae and her brother, Atticus, are both the product of junkyard dogs. Before their rescue, they had never had human contact. The owner of the yard had to use a pole to catch them, which was traumatic and only served to terrify them. Ruthie and Attie have been at our sanctuary as permanent residents for two years. We realized quickly they were not adoptable as they were, and the family decided to keep them so they wouldn’t bounce from foster to foster or risk euthanasia. If you enter the house, both of them will bark but they’ll quickly retreat. Please be gentle and warm but let them back up. Now Ruthie will seek and accept affection. She is still extremely skittish and is very untrusting, but she *wants* to be the best girl ever. She has the BEST underbite and wants to be in the same room as us all the time, but follows a strict 6 foot social distancing rule. Her personality has blossomed with us and she is quite an intriguing and loving little soul.
Atticus
Brother to Ruthie Mae
Atticus will still not allow you to touch him. In pairs of feral dogs, commonly one braver dog will step forward and one will rely on their sibling but never the human. We respect his needs and allow him to be who he is. He does love us and watches from afar with a small tail wag when greeted. He is beautiful in his very own way and is the only long hair brindle I have ever encountered in my 10 years of rescue work. He is a special soul and is loved just the way he is.
Meilin Pig
Sole Survivor
Meilin Pig, aka Mei Mei! Mei Mei is a Kune Kune, and the only survivor from her litter. Her mother decided she was not ready for motherhood and swiftly killed Mei Mei’s siblings as soon as the litter was born. The owner heard a squeal and came outside to the mom tossing Mei Mei against the barn, just a few minutes old. She came to live with us two days later. She was our first pig adoption and we had to learn quickly! Mei Mei has gone from underage and medically vulnerable to laid back and sometimes aloof, like Boomer. She knows what she wants to do and just wanders around entertaining herself. Her favorite foods are watermelon and blueberries. She enjoys a good belly rub every now and then, and loves to lounge in the sun. Mei Mei will sit on command for treats. Her vet says she is the most well behaved pig he’s ever had as a patient. We agree - she’s pretty perfect.
Theodore Richmond Lasso
Drama Queen Special Boy
Theodore Richmond Lasso is affectionately known as Teddy. He’s a Pot Belly / Kune Kune mix. Teddy is the result of a pregnant rescue mama. His mom was picked up by animal control, and he, coincidently, was born the day after Mei Mei. Pigs are extremely intelligent and social animals, so we didn’t waste any time adopting him when he was weaned. We knew Mei Mei needed him. Teddy is our Drama Queen Special Boy. He is very vocal and will tell you off in a hot minute if you don’t show up to visit him with snacks. He is always yelling about something - we call them Teddy Tantrums. This boy LIVES for snacks and doesn’t have favorites. All food is his favorite. He will drop for belly rubs in a heartbeat and will also try to climb in your lap if you’ve earned his trust. He is a little wary of strangers, but warms up quickly. The little dangles under his chin are called “waddles.” There is no scientific reason to have them, and they are a breed trait of certain lines.
Jack Sparrow
Foster Fail
Jack is our newest resident and came to us March 23, 2023. We brought him in to foster after he had survived a URI, acute double eye infections and Feline Pan-leukemia, which is extremely rare. He spent almost 21 days total in the ICU at the vet and due to his high fevers suffered some neurological damage. Miraculously, he survived all of this. He is 100% blind in one eye and has limited vision in his other eye. He walks with a wobble and has head tremors but that has never stopped this goofy boy from loving life. He provides endless laughter with his silly antics and we just knew that we could meet his needs here and wanted to make him a Wilkie almost immediately. He has been such a fun addition to our family and helped us through the loss of Hagrid and Michelle.