The Rowdy Girl Sanctuary story reached a national audience on the "More in Common" news program on ABC.

Renee's story about going vegan on her husband's Texas cattle ranch went viral across America on CBS Evening News.

Rowdy Girl Sanctuary was featured on Texas Country Report. They did a great job of telling our story.

Jane Velez-Mitchell and Renee, founder of RGS, co-wrote this catchy country tune about Texas Going Vegan.

From Director/Producer Jason Goldman and Executive Producer Moby

After a spiritual awakening, a former Texas cattle rancher leaves the cruel cycle of animal agriculture and transforms her husband’s beef operation into a sanctuary. Rowdy Girl showcases the inspiring work of Renee King-Sonnen, who has lived on both sides of the fence, and proves that there is a common ground between farmers and vegans: a shared mission of compassion and sustainability.

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"Vegan: Everyday Stories" is a feature-length documentary exploring the widespread rise of veganism in mainstream culture. The movie takes a fascinating, in-depth look at how everyday people follow a vegan lifestyle while interweaving renowned expert interviews and heartfelt community stories.

Please help us by donating now at: http://veganmovie.org/

Our friend Chee Wei Tay put together this beautiful video about Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.

A beautiful depiction of real time, sanctuary life at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.

Texas Cattle Ranchers Go Vegan, Turn Farm Into Animal Sanctuary

Tommy & Renee King-Sonnen are the owners of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary in Texas. The animal sanctuary was formerly known as the Sonnen Ranch before it became the Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, a sanctuary for cows. Once Tommy's wife Renee decided to go vegan, Tommy started looking at statistics and watching documentary films like Forks Over Knives, a film and website that advocates for changing our diets from animal-based to plant-based, and Kip Andersen's 'Cowspiracy.' Eventually, Tommy decided to become vegan as well.

Words cannot describe the moment when Lillie, a Brazoria County FFA Mom, said YES to Rowdy Girl Sanctuary rescuing our two newest residents, Chi Chi & Alana.  The video below vividly describes in real time how the rescue unfolded.  We are very grateful to our Brazoria County FFA mom that pardoned two of the turkeys that would’ve been “processed” or “dressed” to be consumed along with the other 20 turkeys that were raised for one reason only—to be slaughtered and eaten next Thursday, November the 24^th in remembrance of our yearly holiday tradition of Thanksgiving.

In the words of Lillie, here is what she says about what FFA means to her:

“Future Farmers of America” teaches children where their food comes from and all about their farming roots – some kids don’t know corn is grown in a pasture they think it comes out of the can. They learn about agricultural marketing from showing animals to getting animals ready for market and then to selling them to judging them – to learning different crops, farming techniques, etc.  The kids also learn how to weld, work on machinery and construct buildings for “livestock”.

I then asked Lillie why they chose turkeys instead of other animals to raise and she said that turkeys are a short-term project (4 months), and that they require a lot less land.  4 MONTHS OLD?!

I got to thinking about that and realized that the turkeys are processed and eaten at 4 months old—they are just babies.  If I would have known that I was eating a 4 month old baby all those years I ate turkeys, I don’t think I could have ever done it.

Finally, I asked her if any of her kids ever got emotional before they were sent to be slaughtered.  She hesitated for a minute and then said—“they are taught that when you show a market animal they know it is meant for market”.

That concept of “food animals” is deeply ingrained in our culture.  If we ever really thought about these animals as anything but food we couldn’t eat them – it would be like eating our dogs and cats or any pet that we loved and had feelings for.  The “food animals” are not to be considered with feelings and emotions – they are raised for one reason only – to be processed and eaten.

VOLUNTEER EFFORTS | Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, the day to day on a rescue farm. Duck, goats & more

We feel lucky to have been able to volunteer at this amazing place for 4 days. We helped build a goat shed, dug a trench, cleaned out metal scraps, cleaned the duck pond and so much more. We knew we loved farm animals, but this place helped solidify our plans for the future... Farm Sanctuary here we come!!! I won’t lie, goats were not my favorite but after meeting Sugar, I cannot wait to save some…they have so much personality! Rowdy Girl is a unique and special place. Prior to the sanctuary they used to be cattle ranchers and after many tears, decided to go vegan, saved their entire heard and have never looked back! They have since been a haven to goats, chickens, pigs of all shapes and sizes, cows, horses and more. Renee and Tommy, the founders, are incredibly compassionate and passionate about their cause. You can’t help but fall in love with the farm. If you would like to show your support, you can become a member for $5 a month, which helps them feed and care for the 50 plus animals they have living on the farm. You can also make a one-time donation or simply subscribe to their YouTube channel, watch, like and comment on their videos. Every little bit helps in the rescue world so don’t discard what one like and one view can do!

Our sweet Annalise arrives at the sanctuary.

Texas is known for farming but what about having a VEGAN FARM? The owners of Rowdy Girl Farm and ranch is one of the first farms in Texas to push the vegan movement on an agricultural level. The Vegan Farm Sanctuary is located between San Antonio and Houston, in Waelder, Texas. ‪@DownieLive‬ decided to surprise me while in Texas and I had no idea this concept existed in my home state of Texas.

Meet our rescues, Jan and Dusty. Jan is Dusty’s momma. They lived up the road from us about 5 miles from here and their life is now forever changed. Jan is 12 years old and her son is 1-1/2 years old. They are the last of a herd that has been sold off. Jan’s story is truly heroic. She’s a warriorress! Carol and Charlie, started going over to feed their neighbor’s cows with their grandson and fell in love with Jan’s spirit. When the neighbor decided to sell all their cows, Carol and Charlie asked if they could buy Jan. And then they couldn’t separate her from her son Dusty, so bought him too. They couldn’t keep them on their property and so they reached out to Rowdy Girl. They had been trying to get these two to Rowdy Girl for months but Jan outsmarted everyone who tried to apprehend her to bring her to safety. After several failed attempts, dozens of cattle panels, cowboys, vets and broken spirits, they were finally successfully and safely loaded up. Now they are settling in at Rowdy Girl and we are all breathing a whole lot easier.

Meet Alena Hidalgo, a young girl who refused to let her beloved pig Gizmo go to slaughter.

Ranch Rescue is a poignant depiction of life as it happened during the epic Hurricane Harvey that tore through Rowdy Girl Sanctuary late August of 2017. This 30 minute documentary is chock full of dramatic footage covering the farm animal rescue, the grueling evacuation, the unfolding topic of climate change and the growing need to rescue ranches and keep animals off of our plate.

DownieLive put this great video together about our sanctuary.

“This Cattle Ranch Turned Vegan”, and interview with Renee.

Our friends at All Y’alls Food created this beautiful video about Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.

eet Stormy, a 3 month old blind calf brought to the sanctuary by a cattle rancher's wife.

Meet beautiful Cinnamon, the rescued Brahman cow.