For 25 years, Wendy Cozzone has cared for the neglected and abused cattle of Anne Arundel - Capital Gazette

Hidden down an unassuming country road in Odenton lies an animal kingdom and Wendy Cozzone is its queen. Dozens of animals, from horses and cows to ducks and rabbits, know Cozzone not only as a guardian but also as a savior.

As she throws food for 24 goats into a tray, the animals come running from all directions. Some are driving at full speed. Some limp from one foot. Some have horns. Some have had them removed by previous owners, but Wendy loves them all the same.

“For some reason I’m still able to communicate with them,” said Cozzone, 65, who runs Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a 22-acre cattle sanctuary where animals can retreat from milk and food production. . She will celebrate her 25th birthday in August. “I can just comfort them.”

Wendy Warnick Cozzone feeds the goats. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

His love for animals was born on the neighboring property, land his grandparents purchased in the early 1940s to raise cattle, pigs and chickens, Cozzone said. She loved visiting animals, even though she knew her grandfather raised them to make bacon, burgers and scrambled eggs.

When Cozzone was around 11, she rescued her first pet, Snuffy the Skunk. His grandfather, who was also a carpenter at the Naval Academy dairy farm, found Snuffy after a combine cutting corn on the farm killed the skunk family. Some might have scoffed at the idea of ​​dealing with a creature that sprays a noxious liquid. Cozzone was undeterred.

In the summer of 1974, between her junior and senior years at Arundel High School, Cozzone met her future husband, Jim, at a party.

The following year, their first child, Mike, was born. About three years later, they had Kristi. Cozzone worked in insurance while raising the children. Jim drove heavy equipment.

During a major layoff, Cozzone lost her job and decided to work for herself.

In 1998, she rescued Cheryl, a border collie she had trained to scare geese. The five border collies she’s had in the last 25 years are being paid to do this all over the state, including NASA Greenbelt land. This income pays for most livestock expenses, including feed, horse grooming, vet visits, and cremation.

Wendy Warnick Cozzone with her three dogs. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

When Cozzone got Cheryl, a neighbor asked her if she would take in a goat she was having trouble with. Then a co-worker asked if Cozzone would take some sheep away from him.

“I was like, ‘Hmm I kinda like that,'” she said.

As she took in more animals over the next few years, the prices for pet food skyrocketed, so she formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to accept Donations. All donations go to animals, Cozzone said.

Although the number of animals on the farm fluctuates, she estimates that she has cared for around 500 animals in her lifetime and won’t be stopping any time soon.

A miniature horse that was rescued. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

“I make up for how the humans let them down before they got here,” Cozzone said.

She is saved buried in her own excrement, sunburned pigs left in the sun to die, and animals that must be killed by ranchers who no longer need them.

Other animals end up in dire situations because their owners don’t know how to care for them, Cozzone said.

“I can’t tell you how many stinky goats I got from Baltimore City. People think it’s good to put a goat on a garden postage stamp or they get these little piglets which they think will stay little piglets and it’s not – a pig grows for about three years old – the next thing you know you have a 150 pound pig in your house,” Cozzone said. All the poor ducks are usually victims of Easter. Someone got them when they were little, cute and fuzzy, then they threw them away.

While people are having their pets spayed more than ever before, Cozzone said, it’s an expensive process that some pet owners avoid. Soon their pets will have babies that they will no longer be able to take care of. They send them to him.

A fuzzy bunny in the bunny area. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Although she loves taking care of all animals, she said her favorites are goats.

“They are so bad. They are in everything and they will crush you. I love them,” Cozzone said.

Two of his goats, Tabasco and Wasabi, were named to reflect their spicy attitudes.

Cozzone is known for what he does statewide. Friends alert her to animals in need of rescue, and she gets calls from animal control agencies all over Maryland. She also sits on the county’s Animal Welfare Council and served as its first-ever chair when it was founded by the former county manager Jean Leopold in 2009.

Tabasco is a goat that has been repurposed. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Cozzone passed on her love of animals to her children and grandchildren, including her daughter, Kristi Carr, who owns a pet supply store, Biggy’s Farm and Feed. His grandsons, Peyton and Kris Carr, work at Biggy part-time.

Kristi Carr has worked at the Gambrill store for 13 years. On June 1, she becomes the owner.

The eclectic shop sells pet supplies and houses consignment kiosks for independent sellers. Carr also keeps her foster pets at the store during the day to introduce her to potential owners.

Wendy Warnick Cozzone, her daughter Kristi Carr, runs Biggy’s Farm and Feed and is known to have challenged an animal herself, like this dog she recently rescued. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Peyton Carr plans to work full-time at Biggy when he graduates from Arundel High School this summer. He is also a natural with animals. When he was little, he knew all the animals on his grandmother’s ranch and took tours. He bottle-fed the Cozzone cows “about 1,000 pounds ago,” he said.

For animal lovers in Odenton, Piggy’s is not just a store but a gathering space.

Animals are different, said Peyton Carr. They are selfless, dependable and patient and have “the ability to help without expecting anything in return”.

From left, Wendy Warnick Cozzone, her daughter Kristi Carr and her grandson Peyton Carr at Biggy’s Farm and Feed. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Although Carr’s store is doing well, she said, inflation has nearly doubled the cost of most food cozzone purchases in recent months, she said.

The farm costs around $2,500 a month by Cozzone’s estimate, but friends and neighbors help out.

One of those friends is Nola Lowman, whose dogs, Odin and Lucy, were on death row after they would have killed a cat early January 2021. The case gained national attention, in part due to Cozzone’s advocacy.

“If you have a problem with an animal, call Wendy,” Lowman said.

A welcome sign hangs on the door to the barnyard. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Lowman hosted a food drive for Cozzone’s farm at Giant Food in Odenton that lasts until the end of the month.

“She will never, ever, ever forget what I did for her and she feels like she constantly has to pay back, but she doesn’t,” Cozzone said. “Just having these dogs in the house has been worth it to me.”

Wendy Warnick Cozzone feeds the goats. Wendy Warnick Cozzone will celebrate 25 years leading Cheryl’s Rescue Ranch, a cattle rescue in Odenton. (Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette)

Cozzone said she didn’t know her ranch was approaching its 25th anniversary until The Capital let her know. Time has flown.

“It’s my fucking dream,” Cozzone said. All the work that goes with it. All the headaches that come with it. All the negative people who say, ‘Why are you wasting your time with these animals?’ It’s worth it. I live the dream.