After fire kills 20 animals, Amherst County sanctuary begins rebuilding
Jody Bart’s 1,100 square foot home on her animal sanctuary burnt down taking 8 cats, multiple exotic rescue birds and one dog with it in Amherst County, Va. on Saturday, January 23, 2021.
Bart was less than a mile away from her home and animals of Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care tending to her mother who is going through chemotherapy treatments when she lost her home of 17 years.
Still around 100 animals such as roosters, geese, ducks, pigeons, chickens, goats, horses and pigs live on Bart’s animal sanctuary.
As Bart deals with the loss of her home and many animals, she focuses on giving her rescues the care that they need to help being back a sense of normalcy to herself and them.
Each one of Bart’s animals has a unique name, she knows the situation they came to her from and their individual personalities. She plans to move each animal to her mother’s property down the road while she rebuilds.
Jody Bart pulls a hose next to what remains of her home at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Bart's home caught fire on Jan. 23 and she lost 20 animals, a multitude of medical supplies she uses to treat the animals in her care and a winter stockpile of feed along with her belongings.
Jody Bart holds one of her rescue ducks at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Bart puts a number of her animals "to bed" each night to protect them from predators.
Charred cans of cat food lay on the ground at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Amanda Myers, a close friend of Jody Bart's, digs through ashes in search of anything salvageable from the burned down home at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Jody Bart comforts her potbelly pig, Sagan, at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Sagan used to live in Bart's home and has been upset since the fire.
Jewelry, antiques and family heirlooms that survived the fire sit in a pile at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Jody Bart hangs out in the pen with two of her ducks as she fills their pool with fresh water at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Charred bird cages sit in what remains of Jody Barts home at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Jody Bart watches as Amanda Myers digs through the ashes of her home for anything salvageable at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Jody Bart stands illumined by light streaming though holes in the side of a shed caused by the fire at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. Bart currently keeps some roosters in the shed as their enclosure was damaged in the fire.
Jody Bart walks out of the barn after feeding her four rescue horses at Sanctuary Farm Everlasting Care in Amherst on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.