Cheryl Sutherland is still at Rainbow Farm.

Jeff Green | Oct 06, 2021

All things considered, that is an accomplishment in itself.

Rainbow Farm was a project that Cheryl and her wife, veterinarian Heather Carver (Verona Animal Hospital) had set up in 2015 as a place to raise their daughter and provide a place for animlas in need of care.

In 2018 Heather started to run into difficulties, and by the fall of 2019 she was diagnosed with early onset dementia. She closed the Verona Animal Hospital, and soon after that it was determined that he dementia was caused by Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which she succumbed to on July 29, 2020.

Cheryl was left with her grief, her daughter's grief, a farm full of animals, and financial problems to address.

Articles in the Frontenac News and other media outlets helped a GoFundMe campaign the was set up in late 2020, and Cheryl has been working since then to carry on the farm and be a good mother while dealing with the devastating loss of Heather.

“It has not been an easy year, and I could not have made it through without support from friends and neighbours who have helped me out in so many ways,” she said.

Now that over a year is passed since Heather's passing, Cheryl is starting two new ventures, as a way of moving forward with her life and trying to secure a sustainable future for Rainbow Farm.

“Heather would not want me to remain so gutted that I could not rebound, and I now see a way to carry on my life. Their is life after loss, there has to be,” she said, in a phone interview this week.

There are still 20 animals on the farm that Cheryl is caring for, and she has started up a kennel service

“I have been spending a lot of time working on the farm to develop a new business. I am calling it Forest and Fields Dog Retreat. I have trails on the land for dog walning, an indoor space, a fenced outdoor space and a fenced outdoor space for dogs and I am now ready to provide a place for people to leave their dogs whenever they need to,” she said.

The retreat is licensed, and insured, and ready to welcome visitors. Cheryl is also willing to provide a pick up service for people in the Westport and Kingston areas, and is working out the details about how to make that work.

A second venture, which is also based at Rainbow Farms, is Alchemy in Spirit, “a place for healing, self exploration and forest therapy”

The first one day session under the Alchemy in Spirit banner was held last weekend at Rainbow Farm. It was led by Lisa Fox of Lisa Fox Quantum Healing.

“We had six participants, including myself,” said Cheryl, “and it was a wonderful day. The space was ideal for that sort of session, and I will be looking to hold similar events as I move forward.”

It all adds up to a busy time, as Cheryl continues to work on developing Forest Farm's potential, while starting up not one, but two, business ventures, while keeping up the care of the Forest Farm animals and ferrying her daughter to hockey and other pursuits.

“I feel lighter, my daughter feel's lighter as well,” she said. “the other day we were looking at the milky way and my daughter said, 'mama is up there, in the milky way'. That was lovely to hear from her. Life is full of possibilities.”

At the end of the month, Cheryl is planning to hold a Holler ween dog walk, an opportunity for people to come out to Rainbow Farm with their dogs to see the space and enjoy a walk.

For information about the Forest and Fields Dog Retreat, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or between 9am-5pm you can try calling 613-273-9297.