When Erin and Chris Amerman purchased a 210-acre farm near Gainesville, Florida, in 2015, they had no idea how much their rescue efforts would grow.
asserted
efforts → purchase → idea
A year later, they turned it into Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary.
asserted
they → turn → Sanctuary
They started with three rescued cows.
asserted
They → start → cows
By 2019, they had expanded their mission by acquiring Critter Hills, a 200-acre ranch and hay farm in nearby Alachua.
asserted
they → expand → Alachua
Today, the sanctuary spans three properties totalling 420 acres and cares for more than 180 cows, alongside donkeys, pigs, horses, a bison, a turkey and a water buffalo.
asserted
sanctuary → span → donkeys
The sanctuary is more than a haven for rescued animals.
asserted
sanctuary → rescue → animals
Of the original property, 125 acres are dedicated to wildlife conservation, while monthly tours and public events help visitors connect with farmed animals!
asserted
visitors → dedicate → animals
The rat who changed everything
Erin Amerman’s road to rescue started with a rat.
asserted
road → change → rat
She was seven, and her mother had finally agreed to let her have her first pet.
asserted
her → agree → pet
Erin wanted a hamster.
asserted
Erin → want → hamster
During a visit to the pet shop, she realised that the hamster she picked up wanted to pee on her.
asserted
she → realise → her
Another wanted to bite her.
asserted
Another → want → her
A third only wanted to run away from her as fast as it could.
uncertain
it → want → her
That was when a young woman working at the shop asked if she had ever considered a rat.
asserted
she → work → rat
They wondered whether rats made good pets.
asserted
rats → wonder → pets
The woman told them that rats were gentle, intelligent animals that rarely got a fair chance because people assumed they were dirty and dangerous.
asserted
they → tell → chance
Erin held one, and he was sweet.
asserted
he → hold → one
But he did pee on her!
asserted
he → pee → her
Guess which animal came home?
asserted
animal → guess → ?
Not the hamster, but the sweet little rat she named Templeton!
asserted
she → name → ?
Besides peeing on her, Templeton also taught her something priceless: how society treats two species of animals differently.
asserted
society → pee → animals
Hamsters are welcomed into homes, while rats are often feared or rejected.
asserted
rats → welcome → homes
This very incident led her to co-found Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary with her husband, Chris Amerman, in 2016.
asserted
incident → lead → 2016
They started with three cows
Erin met Chris Amerman at the University of West Florida in 1995.
asserted
Erin → start → 1995
Two years later, they exchanged their wedding vows.
asserted
they → exchange → vows
Chris, who has always been an animal lover, gave up animal products shortly afterwards.
asserted
who → give → products
While they were in medical school, the couple started volunteering at a no-kill shelter.
asserted
couple → start → shelter
They began rescuing cats and dogs, and they never stopped.
asserted
they → begin → cats
In 2015, they purchased the original 210-acre Critter Creek farm and wildlife preserve near Gainesville, Florida.
asserted
they → purchase → Gainesville
A year later, they founded Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary, a non-profit organisation that began with three rescued cows.
asserted
that → found → cows
It is a farmed-animal sanctuary, wildlife refuge and community organisation.
asserted
It → farm → ?
“Our mission is to foster compassion for all animals through science-based rescue, outreach and conservation,” they state on their website.
asserted
they → foster → website
Today, it has grown into the largest bovine sanctuary in the US, with three facilities totalling 420 acres.
asserted
it → grow → acres
The land has become a home for animals that had nowhere else to go.
asserted
that → become → animals
Keeping a rescue running takes space, and space costs money.
asserted
space → keep → money
In 2019, the Amermans gave up the dream house they had been saving for.
asserted
they → give → house
Instead, they put that money towards Critter Hills, a 200-acre ranch and hay farm in Alachua.
asserted
they → put → Alachua
“We realised that if we’re going to keep this rescue thing going, well, we’re gonna need a bigger ark.”
asserted
we → realise → ark
Today, Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary is home to more than 180 cows, making it the largest cow sanctuary in the country.
asserted
it → make → country
People have asked them why they focus on cows, and they have a reason.
asserted
they → ask → reason
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
