Rowdy Girl’s Story
Before the sanctuary was founded, Renee King-Sonnen purchased Rowdy Girl, an orphaned calf, for $300 from a rancher up the road at her husband Tommy’s urging. His hope was to get her more involved in the cattle ranch. Renee bottle-fed Rowdy Girl who became the conduit that allowed Renee to see this baby calf and all the other cows as sentient beings. Rowdy Girl was Renee’s vegan advocate and the catalyst for Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.
Rowdy Girl went on to have four babies of her own—Lucky, Houdini, Stella and Magic. One of Rowdy’s calves, Houdini, escaped so many times that Tommy told her they would have to sell her. Renee refused. She had already gone vegan by that time, and she thought about finding a new home for Rowdy and Houdini at a farm sanctuary. Her heart kept telling her that what she really wanted was to convert the ranch into her own farm sanctuary and save all the cattle in her husband’s herd, as well as other farm animals in need. She would call it Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.
On February 20th, 2015, Renee founded her own non-profit. She considers Rowdy Girl her own daughter and Rowdy Girl’s babies, her grandchildren.
