It's probably no exaggeration to say that of the 1,200 animals we've taken in since 2001, half have come from the five boroughs:

Dino, our very first resident: a tiny pony who was the sole survivor of a Brooklyn arson that took the lives of 23 horses.

300 crated chickens, abandoned at a live poultry market, drowning when torrential rains flooded city streets.

Hannah the sheep, found late at night in a Queens cemetery.

Henry the rooster, found in a Bronx mailbox.

My wonderful friend Policeman, a 900-pound pig seized from a Bronx apartment during a drug raid.

Oliver the goat, found on Manhattan streets with "sold" spray-painted on his side.

and so very many more.

Yesterday, four more arrived, seized, as so many have been, by Anne Marie Lucas of "'Animal Cops" fame. Hundreds of our animals have come through her dedicated work.

One is a tiny young Silkie hen--mottled white with a blue beak and a mop atop her head. Underneath all the fluff, she's the size of largish potato. Three are young sheep, two rams and a ewe, seized from the yard of someone who had purchased them at a live poultry market in order to slaughter them at home. Flourescent green lines sprayed down their backs would have enabled a purchaser to buy one particular side of the lamb; slaughter doesn't occur until both sides are purchased (yes, if you've ever heard someone say "I bought a side of beef" they literally bought either the left or the right half of the animal's body).

We've named the girl Nellie; send us your suggestions for the boys!!