Beyond The Farm: So much to see, so much love at Allaire Community Farm in Wall, NJ

If you haven't taken a trip to the corner of Baileys Corners Road in Wall Township where Allaire Community Farm is, you need to take that ride with your family, kids, friends, whoever, and enjoy all that they have to offer there -- and it's more than just animals and a farm, it's a home.

Even if you have been there before, there's always something new there even if it's just new memories.

The rescue animals all have stories to tell you as well and because of the care they're given at Allaire Community Farm, they will show you affection too.

"We have well over 100 animals and a majority of our animals are rescued other than those that need to be used for specific tasks, like a therapeutic riding or driving horse, but the rest are rescued," Jo Ann Burney, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Allaire Community Farm, said on 'Shore Time with Vin and Dave' on 94.3 The Point and 105.7 The Hawk on Sunday morning. "We have 20 horses, we have mini-horses, we have donkeys, we have Al the Alpaca, we have a cow -- Lola Grace --, we have a ton of chickens and ducks, we have Ryan Goosling -- my favorite -- Tofu the Turkey who was rescued before Thanksgiving and we worked with EatCleanBro to make that happen."

Some of the rescues have overcome such odds in their lives and are now just the happiest animals out there like Lilly the Pig.

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"We got a call from Animal Control to rescue a Percheron horse -- which is a huge draft horse that we've named Queen Esther -- and my husband went down to pick her up and he called me and said 'listen, they want to get rid of some ducks and a pig also' and I said 'okay', we were just starting out and didn't have a lot of paddock space, and I said 'as long as she's not too big, bring her up', and he goes 'no, she's only like 150-pounds, and I said 'wonderful', so she came and -- we have two dogs -- and Lilly would follow me around just like a dog," Burney said. "She was a wonderful pet but Lilly kept growing and growing and growing and fast forward -- Lilly is now 900-pounds -- so now, when we go in with Lilly, we have to go in pairs because Lilly is so affectionate that I was in her pen one time fixing her fencing and I was bent down and she wanted to snuggle me and got on my back and it took five men to get her off of me. She was just snuggling, she's just a big lovebug."

There's also a celebrity of sorts on the farm in Ryan Goosling.

"Ryan's story is a sad one but it ended well. He and his wife were dumped on our farm, somebody just dumped them on the farm -- when we were on Allaire Road before we bought our farm on Baileys Corner -- and he and his wife were a happy couple and one Sunday we came home from church and it was the saddest site, it was Ryan standing in the midst of a bunch of feathers that were his wife's and his wife had been taken by a predator," Burney said.

"I felt so bad, so I went into the house and started cooking French toast and brought it out and would feed Ryan and that continued because he was so sad, he wouldn't bathe -- and he's a beautiful white goose -- and he was dirty because he was depressed and the more I hung out with Ryan and talked with him and petted him, he would start to bathe himself and he started to become attached to me and he would attack my husband and we'd have friends call us from the parking lot saying 'your goose won't let me out of the car', because he was protecting me. Geese are natural protectors and that's why Ryan did. Ryan found a new purpose in life, I had him in with some of the rescued animals in our outside petting zoo. One day when I went down to visit him -- he had flown into the duck paddock, and they were all locked up at night so that the foxes don't get them, but he was lying right there next to them and it was as if he was telling me 'mom, I want to take care of them now, I can protect them' because he could. Since then Ryan has been in charge of all the ducks at Allaire Community Farm."

Then there is Jack and Jill who are sheep at Allaire Community Farm.

"They don't have wool, they have hair, so they don't have to be sheered. We got a call to rescue them because word on the street was they were heading to slaughter the next day and they were going to be used for Lamb Chops," Burney said. "My husband went over there and rescued them, we actually ended up having to pay for them, but it was well worth it. We brought them back and we had our Vet immediately do all the blood work. They were loaded with worms, so we had to de-worm them and they were frightened because they had never had human touch and they were only six months old. It took a long time for Jack and Jill to warm up to us but now they are farm favorites,  they're adorable, they come right up at the petting zoo, we do have food that we sell there that's safe for them and they eat right out of your hands."

There are so many great stories just like these about the animals at Allaire Community Farm and so many different events that take place there and so many great volunteers and programs that are for Veterans, those with Autism, and At-Risk Youth among others.

You can hear more from Jo Ann Burney about what's happening at Allaire Community Farm in Wall Township, right here.