Dog-Friendly Sanctuary Experience at Changing Hearts Farm

Dog-friendly Tiny House with private decks and fenced yard, in the middle of an 18-acre farmed animal sanctuary! Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with lush pastures and mountain views.

- Enjoy our peaceful acreage with 2 fenced dog parks;
- Visit with friendly rescued farm animals;
- Stroll to the horse barn with a glass of wine to watch the sunset;
- Return to have s'mores at your fire pit, or soak under the stars in the quaint outdoor tubs;
- Explore local attractions, quaint nearby towns, or head into Charlotte, Greenville, or Asheville for big city experiences.

We're a rescued farm animal sanctuary. Rental revenue from Sanctuary Tiny House, along with donations, is the main source of income - 100% of rental income goes directly to the care of the animals.So when you book your Sanctuary Stay, you're helping the sweet residents you'll grow to love!

WE'RE COMPLETELY RENOVATING SANCTUARY TINY HOUSE... STAY TUNED FOR HOUSE PHOTOS ONCE IT'S FINISHED. BOOKING RESERVATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 1ST.

House rules

Our Sanctuary Tiny House, along with donations, is our main source of income to run the farm animal sanctuary. Thank you for supporting our rescued animals!

GUESTS
Sanctuary Tiny House is available for up to 2 guests, ages 18+. All Guests will be given a free Sanctuary Orientation Tour to introduce the animals, and to ensure you, and our animal friends, remain safe.

DOGS
Dogs are welcome with advance approval. 2-3 dogs may be allowed, depending on size and temperament. Dogs must be current on their shots, socialized, and never aggressive with people, animals, or property. They’ll enjoy the 2 off-leash dog parks and can explore the rest of the sanctuary with you on-leash.

SAFETY & PRIVACY
To keep our residents (and yourselves) safe, never open any pasture gates, never enter any fenced pastures, and never feed the animals (unless we are with you.) The animals are on restricted, specialized diets, and introducing different foods can be dangerous or deadly.

We respect your privacy! Note: we are an active, working farm sanctuary, so we and/or caretakers may be on the Sanctuary property during daylight hours taking care of the animals. Don't worry though, the Sanctuary Tiny House and yard are private, all for your enjoyment!

VISITORS & EVENT SPACE
Guests are allowed to have up to 2 daytime visitors with approval. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the Sanctuary Tiny House and attached yard, of course. For Visitors to have access to the rest of the Sanctuary property, meet the animals, etc., they will need to attend a Sanctuary Orientation Tour. Please contact us to arrange this.

Guests are welcome to book our Pavilion Event Space for groups and invite up to 25 people for a potluck meal, drinks, sunset, or sanctuary visit with the animals. The pavilion is equipped with a kitchen and restroom, picnic tables and plenty of parking. Contact us to inquire about booking the pavilion and scheduling a Sanctuary Orientation Tour for your Visitors.

FOOD
We are vegan, but we don't require Guests to eat only plant-based foods on the property. We're hoping that if non-vegans visit, their hearts will be forever changed. However, if you'd like to have a plant-based sanctuary vacation and want some suggestions about what to eat we'd be thrilled to help!

SMOKING
Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the Changing Hearts Farm Sanctuary property.

The space

OVERVIEW:

The Sanctuary Tiny House is 442 sq ft with front and side decks and a large, private fenced yard. It's being renovated so we'll have interior photos to share soon!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Being on a farm animal sanctuary has countless benefits! When you arrive you’re most likely to meet our big boys, Zeek and Zephyr, first.- male cows rescued from the dairy industry. And believe it when we say—they are impossible to miss! However, if they happen to be roaming elsewhere (which they’re free to do), you will still get a chance to mix and mingle with them while you are here. You'll also meet other charming cows including a mother-son pair, Rosebud and Cassidy, and a sweet little blind male named Joey.

And don’t be surprised if a 400-lb. pig meanders across your path on her way to… who knows where? That would be Willow. If you don’t see her right off, you might try looking in one of her favorite places—which is just about anywhere belly rubs are being given out.

Next, you’re likely to encounter our resident goat duo, Buckey and Baker, and their pasture-mate, sweet Daffodil the sheep. Buckey and Baker are always eager to have a close encounter with new arrivals and are quite adept at converting them into new best friends. Daffy is a touch bashful, so don’t be surprised if she opts to hang back a bit.

You'll also meet several other friendly pigs (Jimmy, Willow, Sunshine, and Jazzy) who love belly rubs, our horses, Song and Lily, and sweet Berta the turkey. They will all charm you!

We're happy to guide you around the property to meet all the rescued residents, each of whom has their own unique character and special qualities. After your Sanctuary Orientation Tour you can freely interact with the residents. There's nothing like animal therapy! And it's always fun to join us for Treat Time in the evenings when everyone's so excited to receive their bedtime snacks.

GREAT LOCATION:

You can enjoy our beautiful, peaceful acreage, pecan grove, and vistas. You might want to take the short drive into the quaint town of Shelby to explore the storybook Main Street, or head into Charlotte, Greenville, or Asheville for big city experiences. Or enjoy the river and trails at the Broad River Greenway, just a few minutes away.

ENVISION YOUR STAY:

Do you love to cook? Our fully-equipped kitchen will allow you to make delicious meals. The deck includes a BBQ for grilling on those warm evenings.

After dinner you can walk down to the horse barn with a glass of wine to enjoy the sunset, then gather around the fire pit for s'mores, or a soak under the stars in the outdoor tubs.

Snuggle into the queen-sized bed and enjoy a wonderful night's sleep. There's even room for your pups in the room with you, with waterproof doggie beds for their comfort.

In the morning, enjoy coffee or tea on your front porch overlooking pastures and mountains. You might even find some animals at your gate, wanting to say hello.

DOG-FRIENDLY:

We've always loved vacationing with our dogs, but finding dog-friendly places to stay wasn't always easy. That's why we're welcoming both human and dog guests to our beautiful sanctuary with no additional fees. It's a dog-lover's vacation dream!

Your dogs will feel right at home with two secure dog parks: a fenced in yard at the Sanctuary Tiny House, and a larger fenced pasture as well. And everyone loves the 18 acres of land to explore - your dogs can explore with you as long as they're on-leash outside of the fenced dog areas.

While we're a vegan family, and we rescue farmed animals, we don't require guests to eat vegan food onsite. Our main goal is to enable you to have the perfect sanctuary stay, and hopefully change hearts through the experience. Of course, if you'd like to enjoy a plant-based vacation we're happy to help! We can provide some favorite recipes for you, as well as some of our favorite foods you can buy at local grocery stores and restaurants.

While our beautiful rural location doesn't yet have internet connectivity, we will soon. In the meantime, we have strong 5G cellular service so hotspot connectivity is excellent. (We work from here all the time using our hotspot and it works great!)

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LOCAL HOSTS & COMPLEMENTARY SANCTUARY TOUR

We, Rick and Carolyn, will greet you on arrival and are able to assist with anything you need.

We'll be thrilled to give you a complimentary sanctuary tour and introduce you to all our animal residents! And we can share our secrets on the best places to dine, shop and visit, as well.

And don't worry... we respect our guests' privacy and will leave you in peace to enjoy your stay. While we are a working farm sanctuary and will be taking care of the animals around the farm property during daylight hours, the Sanctuary Tiny House and fenced yard is your private sanctuary during your stay.

But of course, we will are available by phone or text to answer any questions you may have. And you can join us for Treat Time with the animals every evening, or help out with them any time if you'd like.

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THE BEST DOG-FRIENDLY VACATION RENTAL!

You love to vacation with your beloved dogs. We get it. We encourage you to bring them along - and there are no additional fees!

Your dogs will love the private, fenced yard around the Sanctuary Tiny House. We have three comfy, waterproof cooling beds and food and water bowls for you to use.

Dogs may also access our large, fenced dog park/pasture (with prior approval) and have the chance to interact with some other farm animals in there.

They may also explore all 18-acres of the sanctuary with you, as long as they're on-leash.

THE FINE PRINT:

To ensure the safety of your dogs, and all our animal residents, we ask that you adhere to the following rules:

- Dogs must be socialized and well-behaved enough to never be aggressive with people, property, and the other animal residents. If dogs are constantly barking or aggressive, it may upset the rescued animals.
- Contact us to confirm the number and type of dogs you would like to bring. We may be fine with 3 little dogs, for example, but limit large dogs to one or two. Contact us and we'll chat about it.
- Dogs must be up-to-date on shots (rabies, parvo and their preventative flea & tick treatments.)
- Dogs may be off-leash in 2 areas:
in the Sanctuary Tiny House fenced yard, and
in the dog-park/pasture (with approval). It's important to get approval to enter the dog park/pasture because other farm animals may be in there too, and we want to ensure everyones safety.
- Dogs must be on-leash everywhere else, enjoying our 18-acres of paradise with you, again as long as they're well-behaved.
- While in the Sanctuary Tiny House, please use provided dog sheets and dog towels to keep the furniture and linens clean.

SAFETY:

Our #1 priority it to keep you and our residents safe. That's why you'll hear us often remind you to never open any gates, enter any pastures, and never, ever feed any animals without our consent. The animals are on specialized, restricted diets, and the wrong food can have dire consequences.

Neighborhood

COME TO RELAX... OR EXPLORE THE SURROUNDING AREA

Some people never want to leave, but if you want to explore, there's plenty to see and do
We're just down the road from Gardner-Webb University, 5 minutes from historic Boiling Springs, and 6 minutes from the Broad River Greenway, a 1500 acre nature park with 15 miles of natural surface trails.

Historic Uptown Shelby is 17 minutes away where you can enjoy live music outdoors on summer evenings, or visit the Earl Scruggs Museum. Shelby's storybook Main Street evokes old-world charm and Carolina culture and you can explore the galleries and restaurants, studios, shops, and theaters in this charming town.

Some other popular nearby attractions include the BMW Zentrum Museum, Cowpens National Battlefield, or shopping at the Gaffney Premium Outlets.

Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC are just over an hour away, and Asheville, NC is under an hour and a half away. These cities offer plenty of "big city" things to do.