Buddy Braley, 6, sat beneath an umbrella on his family farm on Saturday next to a handmade sign: “Stop here! To feed goats for charity!” A rainy hour passed with no visitors and hungry goats.
“We live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so we don’t get that much traffic coming by,” said Abbie Braley, Buddy’s mother, about their home near Gloucester, England.
Then a man visited and fed the goats. He gave Buddy about $80.
“I cried, my husband cried,” Braley said. “Buddy was in disbelief because it was a huge amount of money.”
Buddy explained to the man that he was raising funds to buy dog beds and toys for animals at local pet rescues — in memory of his dog, Brody, who died suddenly last month.
“Brody was super special to me because he would sleep with me in my bed every night,” Buddy told The Washington Post. “He just looked after me, and he was the best boy in the world.”
After Buddy’s grandmother posted in a local Facebook group that day, a steady stream of visitors showed up to feed Buddy’s goats, Bella and Bertie, through a custom cut-out board he helped build. He trained the goats to use it.
“He’s always loved goats,” Braley said of her son. “Since he was a toddler, he’s always been fascinated.”
Buddy raised about $155 that day. His mother, who shares snippets of their family’s rural lifestyle on social media, posted about Buddy’s fundraiser, and dozens of people asked to contribute.
“It’s not in our nature to ever ask for money,” Braley said in a phone interview with The Post. “But we had so many people that were messaging saying, ‘Genuinely, we really want to help these dogs. How can we?’”
She set up a GoFundMe, and in just days, more than $15,800 poured in from hundreds of people.
“It’s blown us away,” Braley said.
Braley and her husband, Callum Braley — a professional rugby player — bought their home on a 2.5-acre property in the British countryside seven years ago. They have three children — Buddy, 6, Blossom, 5, and Buster, 3 — as well as 17 chickens, two sheep, two goats, four horses, four ducks, a house pig named Percy, a cat named William and a puppy named Marlie.
“The animals are like family members to us, really,” Braley said.
They began adopting farm animals as pets about three years ago, when Buddy was in therapy to treat selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that made it challenging or impossible for him to speak in certain settings. Being around animals, his mother said, helped him tremendously, and he no longer struggles with speaking.
“We got him three chickens, and he just loved his chickens,” Braley said.
Buddy grew attached to the goats, too, as well as the family’s Dalmatian, Brody, who died at age 10 from bone cancer just days after he was diagnosed. Braley called him the family’s “soul dog.”
“He was always watching the kids, always with us,” Braley said. “He was just brilliant.”
Buddy was heartbroken and told his parents he wanted to do something to honor Brody’s memory. He decided to raise money to donate beds and toys for animals in shelters.
Buddy often sets up a stand in front of their home to sell their chickens’ eggs, and he used money he saved from that to buy a large wooden board. With his father’s help, he cut holes for the goats and trained Bella and Bertie to stick their heads through for food. The project took several weeks.
“I really just miss Brody boy, and I think he would like me to help other dogs that don’t have families to love them,” Buddy said. “I thought I would get only 10 dog beds, but it looks like I’ll get way more.”
The fundraiser’s reach was amplified by the large audience the Braley family had already built. Braley started sharing their life on social media about 18 months ago, and they now have more than 2 million followers across platforms.
Braley said she and her husband initially wanted to use social media to connect with other parents.
“We felt very lonely in having a high-needs child, and we had to look outside of the box from traditional parenting,” Braley said. “We found a much more outdoor lifestyle, limited screens and being with animals and nature just really helped him.”
People were drawn to the family’s way of life.
“I think people are leaning toward a slower lifestyle,” Braley said.
Braley said viewers are also charmed by their menagerie of farm animals.
Commenters say things like, “Can I be an auntie with visitation privileges?” and “Never thought I’d beg somebody to adopt me at 40 years old but please please please adopt me.”
“We get daily messages to say that in quite a dark world, we are a little corner of joy for them,” Braley said. “We’ve taken on that responsibility. … I think if we can brighten anybody’s day, it’s such a privilege to be able to do that.”
Braley said they plan to keep the fundraiser going for another week or so, as Buddy is hoping to sit outside at his stand again with the goats.
“He just really enjoyed doing it, and he really enjoys telling people about his goats as well,” Braley said.
When the fundraiser closes, Braley said, she and her son will research where the need is greatest and distribute the money among several organizations.
“We want to help as many rescue centers as possible,” Braley said.
“People are so kind, I can’t believe it,” Buddy said.
His mother said his project is helping him handle his grief.
“He’s really struggled in the last couple of weeks and it’s really nice to see him so happy,” Braley said.
Buddy said it feels good to make a difference.
“I think Brody is going to be really proud of me,” he said.
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