Herbie used to have the name Heartbreaker, and ended up being saved by the same person...twice. Here is his story:
Over 6 years ago on a frigid Christmas Eve, a woman named Jess met Heartbreaker as a sickly little calf. Three hundred animals were seized in a neglect and hoarding case that Jess was helping to expose at the time. In sad and eerie similarities, this "person" was collecting animals as if they were things solely to exploit just to bring in donations. The animals were not getting food or any basic care, and none of their medical needs were met. He claimed at the time to merely be "down on his luck" and just "overwhelmed", but really these 300 animals were just pawns to fund a fraudulent and cruel monster.
Heartbreaker was with a few other calves, all of whom were only days old and had been stolen from their mothers. When Jess arrived on the scene, she found all of them huddled in the corner of a dark and damp stall, so she immediately grabbed a heat lamp and bale of straw to give these orphans some warmth and comfort (seen in the photo above - Heartbreaker is in the center). All of them had fevers and watery diarrhea, which can be a deadly combination for babies. You can also see in the photo above that Heartbreaker was only skin and bones. I have never seen such sunken hips on an animal, and this is so sad and gut-wrenching to see. These babies just wanted the love and safety of their mamas.
After getting them some warmth, Jess then went all over the property and took as many photos as possible to gather all the evidence of cruelty that she could - there were pigs locked in closets, dogs eating the dead bodies of other animals just to survive, goats crawling around on their knees in mud, cats that were struggling to breathe, and more. She was able to use the photos as proof that these animals were in danger in order to get them out through the PSPCA (Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) on a medical seizure. Jess sent them the photos and the PSPCA arrived on scene immediately.
Because Jess gathered all of this evidence, this "man" ended up being charged with over 48 counts of animal cruelty. Forty-eight. I would like to again point out that Ashley DiFelice was only charged with a mere 17 counts, which is pathetic. She killed and tried her very best to kill over 150 animals and should have been charged for each and every one. She has never felt any remorse for her actions either. Seventeen is such a slap in the face to her animal victims, the sanctuaries run by her former friends that stepped in to clean up HER mess, and to her donors, who she used to unknowingly fund her selfishness and cruelty.
Many animals from this original case were able to be saved but because of his cruelty a lot of them sadly didn't have a fighting chance. Heartbreaker, the little calf with the heart on his head, was among the sickest animals rescued from him and spent weeks in the hospital as a result. After he recovered, he went to live with Ashley DiFelice at the former Twist of Fate "sanctuary". Ashley's first post about him on the old TOF Patreon was in March of 2019, pictured with his cow friends Hump* and Mooey. Jess had all the hope and faith in the world that Heartbreaker would be safe forever, cared for and loved, and she followed along on the TOF social media to watch him grow up.
While at Twist of Fate the little calf received the name Heartbreaker (named by Ashley's young son, Deacon) and made a lot of friends. One of his best friends was a cow named Mooey. A few years ago Ashley moved Twist of Fate from its original Pennsylvania location to New Jersey, and the new property that she purchased used to operate as a dairy farm. The man who sold her the property still had a few cows and she offered to take them all, but in the end he only left her one - a Jersey cow that Deacon named Mooey. Unbeknownst to the man, Mooey turned out to be pregnant and later gave birth to a little girl that Deacon named Trickerortreater (sometimes also spelled Trick or Treater).
At some point Mooey passed away, although I don't know when - the last post about her on Patreon was in October of 2019, right after Trickertreater was born, but that might not mean anything, and there could have been later posts on Facebook or Instagram. I believe Mooey was older though, having already been used her entire life for her breastmilk, being forcibly bred over and over and over and having all of her babies stolen from her, just so that her breastmilk that is intended for HER babies and not someone's coffee could be used for human consumption instead. A cow's natural lifespan is around 20 years, but due to the toll that repeated pregnancies and milking takes on their bodies, cows exploited by the dairy industry only live to be about 5 years old. This is when they are considered "spent" since their bodies have been used up to capacity and they are then sent to be murdered for their flesh. The dairy industry on its own kills, and it also directly funds the "meat" industry as well as the "veal" industry*. We can conclude though that Mooey passed away sometime between October 2019 and July 2022. Poor Heartbreaker mourned Mooey and also became good friends with Mooey's baby Trickertreater, and watched her grow up.
The two friends were found together in a field on that hot day in July 2022 when the first two people stepped onto the property and began the long and horrific process of discovering everything that Ashley had done and moving forward to save all of her victims. Both of their body scores were listed as a 5 (a healthy weight, not too thin and not overweight either), but if you look at photos of them at the time this number is obviously wrong as they were severely underweight - Heartbreaker was once again skin and bones. All of the surviving TOF animals found wonderful new homes and were transported away in trailers, never to see that place of torture again.
Heartbreaker and Trickertreater were the very last two animals to be placed, and ended up going to live at Gratitude Gate (@gratitude_gate) sanctuary in South Carolina, USA. The name of the woman who founded Gratitude Gate sanctuary? Jess. The same Jess who saved Heartbreaker all those years ago from hoarding, cruelty, abuse, fraud and neglect would once again be his savior from yet another hoarding, cruelty, abuse, fraud and neglect case. At their new home Heartbreaker and Trickertreater were given their new names, Herbie and Tricky*.
At their new home, Herbie and Tricky made friends with Gratitude's other cows PeeBee and Babe (who sadly passed away in June 2023). They are still very much bonded to each other, and they spend their days relaxing - happy, carefree, and well-fed.
To see Herbie all grown up and hanging out with his bestie Tricky, please give @gratitude_gate a follow! They also have horses, donkeys, goats, ducks, pigs, cats, geese, dogs, swans, turkeys, peacocks, and a llama with the most beautiful spots, plus they post gorgeous photos of the animals and their property too. If you'd like to make a donation to support the care of Herbie or anyone else, you can do so via their website, PayPal (gratitudegate@gmail.com), or their Amazon Wishlist . To make a monthly donation in any amount, you can also join their Patreon or sign up to sponsor one of the animals!
To Jess, thank you for taking in these two beautiful friends and giving them everything that they need and want, and thank you for all of your tireless and difficult efforts in the first cruelty case that Herbie was rescued from.
Thank you so much for being here!
*Hump also passed away prior to July 2022, and you can read Tricky's story here!
*To learn more about how the dairy industry uses and abuses cows, you can watch 'Milked' on Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, or AppleTV. As of the publication of this article, you can watch the entire movie for free on Vimeo. You can also watch this 5 minute video on YouTube.
Ashley DiFelice's next court date is February 22nd. Please continue to share the petition while we all wait! Thank you.