Be a nerd, visit the Nerd Herd

Where else but at the Nerd Herd could you cuddle a cow, learn camels are soft or that sometimes pigs want belly rubs? 

Melissa Sylvia and Randy Moitosm own The Nerd Herd, an animal sanctuary in Dartmouth, home to hundreds of animals of all species. 

Outdoor animals at the sanctuary include cows, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys and camels. Inside are guinea pigs, farm cats and mice. They also have pet dogs that help on the farm. 

The nonprofit is a sanctuary rather than a rescue. Instead of rehoming animals, they take animals from bad situations and give them a forever home. 

The sanctuary began when Sylvia adopted her horse, Monty. 

“He was my rebellious stage,” Sylvia said. “My parents told me ‘No horse,’ … and I was like ‘You can’t tell me what to do.’”

She’s always been an animal lover. She originally taught archery and swordfighting on horseback, but felt this wasn’t her passion and decided to start taking animals in.

Sylvia still teaches, which helps fund the sanctuary. The Nerd Herd is about 90% self funded, with the rest coming from donations.

She chose the name “Nerd Herd” because she feels she is a nerd, and her animals are too — if something is medically improbable, she said it will somehow happen to her animals.

“That’s how the Nerd Herd came around, just because we’re all a little bit nerdy, I think everybody is,” Sylvia said. “And then when you come here, you get to be different.”

The Nerd Herd officially became a sanctuary in 2015, and became an official nonprofit in 2022. 

The couple tries to limit the number of animals they take in to give them special attention, such as massages, acupuncture and walks that couldn’t be as specialized with a larger sanctuary.

“They want to experience the world just like we do,” Sylvia said. “I don’t think they should be locked up in an area just because they are rescued.”

They moved from their original location to a larger property in January. The former apple orchard was sold to UMass Dartmouth for housing but was never used for housing and returned to farmland. 

They have moved some of their animals to the new property, and are working on clearing the land to build better enclosures for each species. 

Many of the animals were rescued by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals before finding their home in the Nerd Herd. 

“There’s a difference between surviving and thriving,” Sylvia said. “So I try to make sure everyone thrives as opposed to just surviving.”

The couple offers private tours of the facility, where they introduce each animal by name. 

Some of the animals, specifically their donkeys and mini horses, will do outreach. They have been brought to local events such as the Padanaram Tree Lighting, where the horse found a love of begging kids for sweets he shouldn’t have. 

They want to help people learn about animals, and that animals need more care than is often thought. 

“When I was a kid, the way we raise animals [was] very different than now,” she said. She referenced how it was thought that bunnies would be happy in a small cage, and it is now known they should be able to free-roam. 

The farm is located at 32 Pembrooke Drive, but is only open upon request. To book a tour, call or text 508-971-9862. To join their Facebook group and be updated on open farm days and events, visit https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CaTfwkzzg/. 

“They all changed my life for the better as much as I hope I changed theirs,” said Syvlia.