Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Montrose.
Hi Denise, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
No one is more surprised that I opened a nonprofit cow rescue than me. Never having lived on a farm or owned a cow before, it wasn’t even something on my radar. Then, one day, on my 50th birthday, I met a cow. This spring, we will have been at the new farm for 5 years. I bought the land vacant and slowly we turned it into a farm sanctuary.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say it’s been the roughest road imaginable, off road terrain rough! The first year, when I was living in an RV with my 160lb dog, trying to figure out how to do absolutely everything related to farming, it was really hard. I cried more days than I didn’t. There have been wonderful moments along the way though that kept me pushing forward, towards the light at the end of the tunnel.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a 501c3 nonprofit farm rescue with a primary focus on cows. We do have one resident sheep, Little. As we head in to our fifth year, we’ve grown to not only be a resource for our community farmers but to be a source of information on compassionate farmed animal care, kindness farming and the dangers of factory farming on our communities, the animals, the food and the environment.
We are a non traditional micro sanctuary in that we are willing to do things differently, trying new things and thinking outside the box. I spent the first year trying to fit the rescue founder mold and now I care more about making the biggest impact. In a lot of ways, farmed animal rescue is broken. Many, many, many micro sanctuary founders are tired, in debt, stressed and frustrated because the work is very hard and the support isn’t there. Yes, we can save an animal who needs our care and attention and that is great, it feels great, it’s great that the animal can then live the life they deserve. However, while we are all trying to figure out how to keep the barn lights on, we’ve barely moved the needle on the farming changes we want to see. It is not realistic to persuade everyone to be a vegan. I am focused on the bigger picture and on driving change in a much larger, holistic way. We need to fix animal farming before we can end animal farming.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
The internet has made everything in this giant world accessible. I think it’s easy to find a person or group of people who are well aligned with what you believe or where you want to go in life. I’ve had great results reaching out to people, regardless of who, what, or where they are, and sharing what I admire about them and expressing appreciation for the work they are doing. From there, if you’re lucky, you can become acquainted in a way that drives your growth.
Don’t spend time with people who don’t support your dreams, passions, and purpose. Look for the people who do.
I have a reminder on my phone that says, “If it doesn’t bring you peace, profit or purpose, don’t give it your time, energy or attention”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tennesseecowrescue.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tennesseecowrescue
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tennesseecowrescue
