The Winterpast Farm Petting Zoo is an animal sanctuary in Wake Forest North Carolina that has been operating since 2003. When Mary was a little girl, she always wanted animals and her Mother said she could have them when she got older. Now that she is older, she lives and breathes animals and has made her home at Winterpast where she cares for cats, peacocks, ducks, chickens, sheep, goats, emu, a donkey, mini pigs, and more. Almost every animal was a former pet that needed to be rehomed and each has a long history.


She spends an average of 12 hours a day outdoors caring for all of the animals and hosting visitors, field trips, bonfires, and camping trips. She takes her mobile petting zoo to birthday celebrations, schools, camps, corporate events, live nativities and more. Winterpast Farm also acts as a place to employ special needs adults, like Mary’s daughter Elizabeth, who cares for the animal and hosts amazing camps for local children. Mary has devoted her life to caring for her children and animals and planned to live on Winterpast serving her animals and community for the remainder of her life.


Recently, Mary’s sister and investor decided she does not want to participate in Winterpast Farm and is trying to force a sale of the ten acre farm that many special needs and unwanted animals call home. We need your help to keep this amazing place up and running!
WINTERPAST FARM is….

- Home to Farmer Mary and Elizabeth, Charlie the 10-year-old Border Collie, Henry the 1.5 year-old Golden Retriever, Max the elderly Chihuahua mix, and Sweetie the elderly Dachshund.

- A place for special needs young adults to safely volunteer.

- A place for families, public and private school groups, preschools, homeschoolers, camps, Scouts, and individuals to spend time outdoors enjoying nature and learning about animals and their behaviors.

- A home for children from Belarus who are living in the post Chernobyl nuclear accident pollution. After seeing amazing, documented health benefits after a summer at Winterpast, Mary adopted two children who now call the farm home.

- A unique place for “fur children” of all sizes to vacation while their humans are working, serving in the military, or recovering from illness.

- A safe, permanent ground for loved pets who are no longer with us.

- A place to donate that turtle that has grown too large for its aquarium or those fish that have outgrown your tank or pond.

- A place where visitors of all ages regularly say they had the best day of their lives, where families and individuals visit regularly and get to know and have a relationship with the animals.

- A place where you can rent animals for all of your animal needs! Think a baby goat for a Promposal, baby chicks to watch develop at home, donkey and sheep for a church Live Nativity, a pet bunny for Easter photography, rent a former pet guinea pig and help Farmer Mary recycle existing pets instead of just creating more.. The list goes on!

Farmer Mary has a willing heart and hands and is usually the one helping others, but now she needs our help to keep Winterpast Farm up and running. Please consider donating to help save Winterpast Farm and please SHARE with any of your friends who love animals, friends who love adoption, friends who love special needs children, and friends who love the idea of saving an old farm that dates back to the 1730’s.


Currently, Farmer Mary’s legal expenses have taken all of her savings and she is hoping for a miracle. She hopes to be able to pay off her sister so that the land won’t be sold and developed.
Winterpast Farm makes a difference, not just to unwanted “imperfect” animals but to families and individuals of all ages. When you support this small business you are not only supporting a childhood dream to have animals, you are supporting Farmer Mary caring for and feeding all the discarded and “imperfect” animals for their lifetime and more to come.
Thank you so much for supporting a small local farm family animal rescue!