Jeffrey Dean Morgan lives in upstate New York, with his partner, Hilarie Burton, and their two children: son Augustus, eight, and baby daughter, George, nine months. Hilarie and Jeffrey do charity work for a children’s welfare organization in their town of Rhinebeck (here’s a cute video of Hilarie with their kids announcing a project) and they live on a farm with animals including chickens, cows and alpacas. They also co-own a sweet shop in Rhinebeck with Paul Rudd called Samuels Sweet Shop! They bought it to save it after the owner passed away unexpectedly in 2014. I don’t know how involved Hilarie is in the day-to-day operations but she does go there frequently and they just held a teddy bear beauty contest.
Their life sounds straight out of a Hallmark movie and here’s another story to add to that. Jeffrey adopted two animals in need of a home, a donkey and an emu. The donkey is a male named Jack and the emu is a female named Diane. They’re a bonded pair who often cuddle together and did not want to be separated at all. They were abandoned by their previous owner and were saved by a North Carolina rescue group called Waterfowl Rescue. Their story went viral, Jeffrey and Hilarie applied to adopt them, and they were approved because they have a great farm. I love this story!
A North Carolina animal rescue group says that thanks to “The Walking Dead” actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a donkey and an emu who’ve bonded with each other can stay together.
The Charlotte Observer reports Carolina Waterfowl Rescue Founder Jennifer Gordon says Morgan is adopting them Tuesday. Morgan plays the villainous Negan on the TV zombie thriller.
Jack and Diane were rescued from Kershaw, South Carolina, when their owner vanished. Gordon says they cuddle and sleep together, but cried and became frantic when they were separated.
Gordon says a post about the complexities of adopting them out together sparked more than 2,000 inquiries, including Morgan’s. She says Morgan was the best choice since he has resources to care for the pair and they can roam free on his Hudson Valley, New York, farm.
Here’s a video of Jack and Diane in their new home. It looks so nice there! You can see more videos and photos of these two before their adoption on Waterfowl Rescue’s Instagram. I bet that Jeffrey and Hilarie will continue to Instagram video and photos of them too. I’m following both of them now.
That’s a warming news we all need!
aww, cute story! the hudson valley is beautiful in that old-school, bucolic way. I knew they lived up there but didn’t know they were in rhinebeck. I’ve been to the sheep and wool festival there (I’m a knitter/crocheter).
Another knitter here – Rhinebeck’s sheep and wool festival is amazing! Heartwarming story
Yet another knitter here! I love the Rhinebeck festival. Unfortunately, it falls in the middle of my kids’ travel hockey season, so I only get there once every two or three years. I had no idea they lived up there. That farm looks magnificent. How wonderful!
Can they adopt me, too? I WANT TO LIVE ON THAT FARM!
I love this story! There are so many farm animals in need of homes/farms who are at very high risk to be sent to slaughter (not to mention all the farm animals continuously being killed) so it’s really nice to see people step up and offer a safe home!
Oh this story was just what I needed this morning!! First off, LOVE JDM. He is super sexy.
Secondly, the “saving some animal best friends” story really warms my heart, especially after a particularly rough morning. On my way home from the gym this morning, the car in front of me (he passed me like I was doing nothing) ran over a deer and it was so upsetting to see the poor thing struggle and try to get away only to be hit again 🙁 I was crying when I got home. So thank you for this!
I’m sorry you had to experience that!
This might be the sweetest story I’ve read in a long time. I get teary at thinking of someone just abandoning Jack and Diane, I’m so happy they’re able to live their best life now, and together. And helping to keep that sweet shop open was an amazing gesture, too. This is what compassion and community looks like.
Its nice to read something that doesn’t want to make me punch everything in the face or defenestrate myself. Thanks, CB and Jeffery Dean Morgan!
I LOVE THIS STORY. how wonderful that they get to stay together.
and Hilarie Burton looks GORGEOUS these days. I love her with the dark hair.
I follow both of them on social media, and they seem like solid, great people. This story is so sweet and I love stories about animal besties.
Yeah,I side-eyed them a bit when they got together, because she was so young and the whole thing very quick and messy, but they do seem really ok now, both health-wise and on a personal level.
This is the first story I clicked on this morning and I think I’m going to leave it there. This makes me so happy I don’t want to read anything else that will ruin it.
A farm full of rescue animals is the life I dream of after (if) I retire.
I know I’m not the only one who could use more stories like this frequently. So uplifting and much better than what we’ve been seeing everywhere when it comes to the Cheeto and his ilk.
Go Morgan family!
This is so sweet. I love JDM. Love him even more now.
I follow JDM on Twitter and he had been giving hourly updates on them when they came home which was really sweet. Also I believe he and Hilarie are actually married. She wears a wedding band and he has referred to her as his wife in interviews.
This is so lovely! And a sweet shop too!
Aww that warms my heart. <3
What a nice story!
That’s a beautiful area, I was up there a few years ago. That’s a nice place to live and raise their kids.
Aww. Trump and Pence together for all time.
Sorry. Not sorry.
That’s an unforgivable slur on the donkeys! Take it back! ;p
I thought I couldn’t love him more after Walter “Big Walt” Jones posted a photo of them together at the Seahawks game, but love him more I do.
p.s. yes, I am boycotting the NFL, but still follow Big Walt on IG.
Okay Jeffrey Dean Morgan … I forgive you for the never-ending Negan story arc.
I low key social media stalk both of them lol and they really do seem to be genuine, good people. They care a lot about animals and do great things for charity. The work that Hilarie does with Astor Services (astorservices.org if you’re curious) is amazing. Wish more rich,successful, talented, lucky folks were like this!