Tracy Murphy's dog, Asha, was dying of cancer. Losing her lifelong friend was heartbreaking to Murphy, but it inspired a mission.
"When she was gone, I decided 'life was so short,'" said Murphy. "I wanted to do something with my life to help animals like her and then also help farm animals."
Six months later, she sold her property in Cheektowaga and moved to the country. In 2013, she founded a farm sanctuary, Asha's Farm Sanctuary.
"Asha means hope," said Murphy. "It means life and this is what the sanctuary gives to animals like her, but they're farm animals."
Asha's Farm Sanctuary in Newfane, NY, is the home of Cow Fest, an event celebrating compassion for animals and encourages a vegan lifestyle to save animals. This past weekend, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary of saving cows.
When you walk onto the farm for Cow Fest, there are barns, large fields with fences, a trail taking you around the farm, and of course, animals.
"Oh, well, the first year, we didn't bring any animals," said Murphy. "We really just got the idea out there and we were working trying to build our first henhouse and outdoor shelter for them."
It was just a house and a garage. With some grant funding and some of Murphy's financing, she was able to adopt some animals and have them live on the farm.
It was chickens and turkeys to start. Then came Albert.
"Ten years ago was our very first rescue," said Murphy. "We rescued Albert, who we call Albert the supercow."
Albert was a day-old calf with an umbilical cord hanging from him, crying and falling. He was in an auction house and getting ready to be killed.
"He was pushed out into a ring where people were bidding on him," said Murphy. "I was just there and I showed mercy and got him out of that situation."
But it still looked grim for Albert. After bringing him to Asha's and going unconscious, a veterinarian told Murphy that he wasn't going to live.
"I prayed and asked for a miracle," said Murphy. "Albert survived and this is his 10th birthday. So this is what 10 years means to me. He got to receive 10 years that he never would've received if we had not rescued him."
After 10 years, Murphy wants visitors to feel the same compassion that she felt.
"I want them to experience the animals," she said. "To see how loving, sweet, emotional they are and how friendly they are. That they're no different from a cat or a dog. I want them to think 'What can I do to help that animal and end their suffering?'"
One way is adopting a vegan lifestyle, which is what Cow Fest promotes by offering all vegan food options.
"What we want them to take away is that 'I can eat other food that doesn't involve animal products,'" said Murphy. "'I can find good food and I can be compassionate to these animals.'"
Murphy's most important mission is for both the animlas and people to be happy.
"It just makes me smile when I see the animals happy and when I see people happy. It just means the world to me."