BIBLE HILL, N.S. — After Shane Wambolt got a second chance at life he decided he wanted to give farm animals another chance. He and his wife Lisa now run Wambolt’s Hobby Farm and Pantry and they brought some of their animals to the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition this year.
“I had a brain tumor and I had trouble with my vision, headaches and I was sick a lot,’ he said. “I had surgery and that gave me my second chance at life.”
He said he had to go to California and pay for his surgery himself because it was considered “elective surgery.”
“We had dogs and they made me feel better when I was going through everything. Now we have a lot of animals and I find being around them very therapeutic.”
With poultry, sheep, goats and pigs, they have almost 100 animals on their property in Grand Desert, near West Chezzetcook.
They visit schools to talk about animals and let children interact with some of the friendliest ones, and they set up at events. When they take part in things like the exhibition, Lisa sells some of her home baked goods in order to raise money for animal feed.
“I enjoy baking and I know it’s helping the animals, so I’ll keep doing it,” she said.
“We’re trying not to get too many animals. We often have people asking us to take pigs, but we just don’t have the space for large ones.”
Two sheep, called Thelma and Louise, were the first animals they took in, and Shane still has a special place in his heart for Louise.
“I love them all, but she was my favourite,” he said. “She had a great personality and she was really special.”
Louise died earlier this year and Thelma now spends much of her time with the goats.
The Wambolt family also includes two children, aged five and nine, and the animals are a big hit with their friends.
Shane and Lisa hope to eventually establish a sanctuary.
Wambolt’s Hobby Farm and Pantry will be at the exhibition until the end of the week, and on Sunday they will be set up at the Hope for Wildlife open house.
