Of course, not all farm animals live a life as good as those here at Celebrity Dairy.

Let's head to Pittsboro, where producer Rick Sullivan met a fascinating couple dedicated to helping the lives of the animals at the Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge.

[rooster crowing] - [Rick] It's a new day, and Mr. Carter is ready for work.

This rooster's only job this morning is to keep the cameraman away from his hens.

That's Carter, and he is not happy with me saying hi to Edith, but Edith wants her turn on TV.

Hey, Edith.

There are no expectations that visitors and volunteers to the refuge will share the same level of dedication to animal welfare as the staff, and that's okay.

An open mind and a love for animals is all it takes for a wonderful tour.

- So we're at Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, which is in Pittsboro, North Carolina, which is near the Triangle region, Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham.

We're a nonprofit organization on 45 acres of land that works to rescue farm animals who come from abuse, neglect, and abandonment.

We provide them with a forever home here, and then we're open to the public, where you can come volunteer.

You can come on a tour, meet the animals, and learn their stories.

- [Rick] Every animal has one.

Take Carter, for instance, who came here from the big city.

- He has quite a unique story.

He was actually shipped as a prank to the CEO of a major company in Manhattan, who opened a box, and a baby chicken popped out.

- [Rick] Now the little guy is living the life with his hens.

The largest animal at the refuge is Benny the steer.

He's a full-grown dairy bovine and a rare site because only milk-producing female cows typically live to adulthood.

Benny was rescued along with his best friend Roz.

- [Lenore] Now he's just our towering giant, but he's one of the sweetest cows here, and that's good because otherwise he could really give us a run for our money.

[laughs] - [Rick] The animals have plenty of space to spread out here and some really nice architecture surrounding them thanks to Lenore's husband Paul, an architect.

- Me and Lenore moved to this property about 10 or 12 years, and at the time, I was in school at NC State University in the Master of Architecture program over there.

For the first couple of animal houses that we built here, I actually incorporated them into my schoolwork as school projects, and my master thesis was actually designing, researching, and building the goat and sheep houses here.

Hey, Todd.

Hey, Ethan.

- [Rick] The entire project of designing, building, and sustaining Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge has been a collective effort of Lenoir, Paul, several employees, and local volunteers.

In 2025, the refuge celebrates 13 years in business saving animals.

- You know, one of the things that's been really important to me because a lot of animal rescues and sanctuaries, they end up closing because there are so many animals in need, and it's hard to say no.

So being sustainable over time and making sure that when we take an animal in, and we say to them, "We're gonna be here for your whole life," that that really means something.

For these animals, that can be quite a long time.

Cows can live to be 25 years old.

Geese can live potentially up to 40 years.

So it's a really big commitment.

- I have a background working on sanctuaries.

This is the fourth sanctuary I've worked at.

So, yeah, just a love for animals and farm animals.

I went vegan like over 10 years ago.

[chickens clucking] [rooster crowing] - [Rick] There are no expectations that visitors and volunteers to the refuge will share the same level of dedication to animal welfare as the staff does, and that's okay.

- [Rick] An open mind and a love for animals is all it takes for a wonderful tour.

- At the refuge, our goal is to be a very welcoming space for all and to be a space where no questions are off-limits, or they are considered to be stupid questions.

We're really a place for people to be curious, to ask questions, and to learn about these animals' stories.

- The Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge is at 7432 North Carolina Highway 87 in Pittsboro.

To plan your visit or to volunteer, give them a call at 919-533-4013 or go online to piedmontrefuge.com.