In a small stretch of Chelsea, Michigan—just off the highway where fast food joints and gas stations clamor for attention—you’ll find something quieter. A little haven with pastures, purpose, and a pig named Little Dude (he’s popular and well known).
Welcome to the Barn Sanctuary.
“I just didn’t want it our family farm to become another gas station or fast food establishment” says Tom McKernan, standing in the shadow of a barn rebuilt after a fire a century ago. His voice is steady, the kind that carries the wisdom of land passed through generations. Nearly 150 years of family history is rooted in the soil here, and today, that legacy includes 140 rescued farmed animals and a growing movement of compassion.
The Barn Sanctuary, started in 2016 by Tom’s son Dan McKernan, has become a refuge for farmed animals—many of whom were once destined for slaughter or lived lives of neglect. It’s also, quietly, become a place where people come to feel something again…