Renee King-Sonnen

How Rowdy Girl Began

It all started with Rowdy Girl, a little 2-month-old baby calf that Tommy wanted Renee to care for, hoping she would start wanting to be a “good” rancher’s wife. She bought her for $300, having no idea that Rowdy Girl would take her down the rabbit hole where she would come out on the other side with compassion for all sentient beings—even the ones that used to end up on her plate. The rest, they say, is her-story.

The Moment Everything Changed

As a result of watching a Melanie Joy documentary on Carnism, Renee experienced a defining moment on Halloween 2014 while at her mother-in-law’s. She was served Beef Stew, and instead of seeing meat, she saw floating dead animal parts.

She had been vegetarian in the past and even tried a raw plant-based diet for several months, but never had the compassion connection until she lived it. She went vegan and never looked back. Forever Vegan.

The Birth of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary

Renee soon realized she could not stand to watch the babies leave their mamas even one more time to go to the sale barn for slaughter, and she had to do something to prevent it from ever happening again.

Tommy had come to the end of his rope. He was ready to sell the entire herd and get out of the business altogether because of her revulsion to the ordeal. When nothing but divorce and 30 slaughtered cows looked like the only way, Renee was truly at the end of her rope.

The idea to create her own sanctuary to rescue all of the cows was born from this realization. Since Tommy was going to sell them all anyway, Renee asked him if she could buy them and if he would give her a discount. He thought she had lost her mind, and frankly she had—but it was her only hope.

Because of compassionate vegans across the world, her project on Indiegogo was funded early May 2015, and Rowdy Girl Sanctuary was born.

As a result of her transformation, numerous media stories have been published and have gone viral. Tommy and Renee’s story has been seen all over America on TV stations like CBS, NBC, ABC, and Animal Planet, as well as magazines such as Vogue, Bon Appetit, Southwest, and Vera.

Rancher families reach out to Renee on a regular basis because their story has landed in their living rooms via the news, a TV story, or a documentary. Ranchers and their families relate to her, and she realized she could be an advocate for ranchers. In July of 2018, the Rancher Advocacy Program (RAP) was launched to help animal farmers transition to sustainable business models that are good for the planet, the animals, and the farmer.

In May of 2019, Renee and her family began their move to Waelder, Texas after three flood events made them and all their animals climate change refugees. They settled on 147 acres in Waelder as their permanent sanctuary home.

Renee’s prior background includes a career as a professional singer, songwriter, and recording artist. Before Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, she traveled extensively with her band, Renee King & Wildcard, and recorded an album titled Renee King, Queen of Honky Tonk. She was also a top-producing Realtor for five years running in Pearland, Texas, and founded and owned a wellness spa where she was a certified Hatha and Kundalini yoga instructor and Ayurveda practitioner.

Renee’s passion is her greatest asset. She believes her true calling has finally found her in the sanctuary. Her desire to be a mother has been fulfilled in the care of farmed animals. She is a catalyst for change, shining a light in the darkness and educating others about the vital importance of adopting a vegan lifestyle.

Renee finds her greatest strength in the still, small voice inside her that she has come to know through her practice of yoga and meditation.

Isn’t it wonderful that we can be moved by life experiences to change our hearts? The capacity within each one of us to become more compassionate and justice-driven is the very hope of the animal rights movement. Without this hope, our movement is nothing. With this hope and with the action it brings, we are changing the world to be more just and compassionate.

I am the change I want to see in the world. I am choosing love, each and every day. Love continues to transform me to help me do our work—and there is much work to do for our fellow humans and nonhumans. I hope you will join me in putting that love into action and not let the demons of our past sabotage the deeds we do today.”