HASTINGS, Mich. — As the evening sun sets across the street, Jay and Mandy Dutter enjoy a peaceful evening on a patio-style swing. Moments like this are what they always dreamed of.
"I grew up just outside of Chicago, and then lived in Grand Rapids for about 24 years. So I wanted to be out of the city," Jay said.
The Dutters found their peaceful place in the country about three years ago on Hammond Road in Barry County.
"We weren't looking for a farm. We were just looking for land, and we figured that this already was established. We didn't have to build, and yeah, we fell in love with it right away," Mandy said.
But just when things were going well, tragedy struck. Ethan Dutter, Jay's son and Mandy's stepson, passed away in a car accident in 2022 shortly after he graduated from Forest Hills Northern High School. The accident changed Jay and Mandy's life forever.
"It was really hard for a really long time, and [Jay] struggled for a really long time. Everybody did. You just struggle, period," Mandy said.
To bring a little joy back to their home, Mandy brought home a couple of pigs. The couple decided to start a hobby farm. But it wasn't long before they noticed all the animals in the world that need good homes and decided to do a rescue farm instead.
"We have multiple pigs that were abused. A number of our pigs were indoor pigs that people thought were going to be mini pigs. There's no such thing as mini pigs. A mini pig is a baby pig. Our smallest pig is probably 70 pounds," Jay said.
A number of the animals have disabilities. For instance, the Dutters have a one-eyed turkey, a blind chicken and a blind horse. Since it started, the farm has grown to be a tribute to Ethan, who loved animals and had special needs.
"We just started doing special needs classes. I'll put a little blurb out there on Facebook saying we'll have a special needs class and it's for all different disabilities - autism, cognitive impairment, emotional impairment. We work with the animals. We do a craft. We have a snack. It's usually about two hours long. We just started offering that," Mandy said.
Even the name, Sunshine Farm, is an homage to Ethan, after a friend's mom described him as "sunshine in shoes."
"Ethan brought so much joy to everybody's life that we wanted to give back, in a way, to the community and then to the animals," Mandy said.
Sunshine Farm is not open to the public just yet. However, they are looking for volunteers. If you'd like to volunteer or keep up with all the events they're hosting, you can follow their Facebook page.
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