Laurie Zaleski has made fans worldwide through her work in animal rescue. Her circle of friends just expanded, thanks to a prestigious award and an appearance on the popular Kelly Clarkson Show.
By Edward N. Healy
In December, local country girl Laurie Zaleski swapped her trademark boots and cowboy hat for an evening gown and heels. The occasion: a trip to New York to accept the prestigious William von Leibig Foundation Award, given annually to a person or people working on behalf of animal welfare.
The owner of the Funny Farm Rescue and Sanctuary was recognized for her “profound selflessness and abiding passion for improving the lives of all animals.”
The Funny Farm, on 25 acres in the Jersey Pinelands, is home to more than 750 rescue animals, all survivors of abuse, neglect or abandonment. Astonishingly, the different species coexist peacefully: cats and dogs, donkeys and goats, horses and cows, alpacas and emus and pigs.
“They spat like brothers and sisters,” says Zaleski, “but at the Funny Farm, everyone learns to gets along.” Some animals serve as ambassadors in Zaleski’s kindness program, visiting local schools to spread the message of tolerance and anti-bullying.
‘Passion for compassion’
William von Liebig was an inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist who patented the earliest cardiac stents. He and his wife Suzanne created a foundation in his name to support causes including medical research, education, and the arts. In 2021, the foundation added a grant for animal advocacy.
Zaleski was nominated by Diena Seeger, of the Funny Farm board of directors.
“Her transformative work transcends saving animals,” Seeger wrote. “It ignites a passion for compassion in people of all ages, fostering a new generation of animal welfare advocates.”
At a champagne-and-caviar reception in Manhattan, Zaleski accepted a crystal statuette and a check in the amount of $25,000—an early Christmas gift for the animals, whose feed alone costs $10,000 a month. She stayed as a guest of the foundation at the luxurious Mark Hotel on New York’s Upper East Side (fun fact: the Mark’s opulent, multistory penthouse suite goes for $75,000 a night).
“It was my ‘Pretty Woman’ moment,” jokes Zaleski, who was dazzled by her upscale surroundings. “You can take the girl off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the girl.
“But everyone was so wonderful. They made me feel like a movie star.”
Hard-knock life
Zaleski recounted her extraordinary journey in the 2022 memoir, “Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals,” published by St. Martin’s Press.
She was born into upper middle-class comfort in Gloucester County, the daughter of an economics professor and his stay-at-home wife. That life ended abruptly when her mother, Annie McNulty, fled the abusive marriage with three young children in tow. Zaleski was just five years old.
With no income or child support, Annie and her brood lived in a one-bedroom house in the woods of Turnersville. To earn money, the former suburban housewife cleaned cages at a local animal control center. That’s when she started bringing home the animals that were next in line to be euthanized. And the original Funny Farm was born.
As a youngster, Zaleski pledged to one day buy a real farm for her mother. Years later, as a successful businesswoman, she kept the promise, purchasing the property in the Mizpah section of Mays Landing.
But Annie never moved in. Two weeks before the sale closed, she died of cervical cancer at age 52.
Zaleski continued her mom’s work, and in 2012, established the nonprofit that operates the Funny Farm. Since then, the sanctuary has been open to the public, and now draws about 100,000 visitors a year.
Walking the talk
Zaleski’s fame grew exponentially during the pandemic. Forced to close the farm, she stayed in touch with friends through a weekly Facebook Live program. The show, which still airs Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. ET, won fans around the world, and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning with legendary journalist Lesley Stahl.
Last week, Zaleski was in the spotlight again, on the nationally syndicated Kelly Clarkson Show. Clarkson presented her with a check for $5,000 from the Pilot Pen Corp., a show sponsor.
The show “was probably one of most memorable things in my life,” says Zaleski, who was joined on the show by feisty baby goat Ruby, Adele the Diva Chicken, and a basket of ducklings. “My mom was watching, trust me.”
The country girl is now back on the farm, back in her cowboy boots, back to the workaday chores of caring for hundreds of animals—and, coincidentally, running her own full-time graphic design firm.
Seeger says Laurie Zaleski is an inspiration because she walks the talk, working tirelessly for homeless animals, modeling kindness and compassion for children, and making the world a little better every day.
“There are people who ‘do’ things and people who ‘are’ things. Laurie embodies everything she is through her actions. It’s exciting and wonderful to see her be honored.”
The Funny Farm Rescue and Sanctuary is located at 6908 Railroad Boulevard in Mays Landing. It is open to the public every Tuesday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit funnyfarmrescue.org.
