The assistant coach of Canada's national women's hockey team was visiting family in the Netherlands after the 2005 world championships in Sweden. Part of the visit included a trip to a petting zoo where she witnessed a mother hen and her chicks marching along until someone picked up one of the chicks.

"The hen stopped, circled around her troops, got them behind her and waited. The person dropped the chick back down and the hen scolded the chick, or said I love you I'm not sure which, and then carried on," said Page.

"From that I became a vegan - I don't eat any animal products - and really wanting to own a farm and operate a sanctuary."

The reaction from some was what you might expect, but close friends and family knew of Page's love for animals and a few years later her dream is becoming a reality with the recent purchase of a farm on Bowen Road in Stevensville.

Page and her husband Don purchased the farm from Sam McComb, who rode Good Ole Mort to victory in the 1965 Prince of Wales and can still be found sweeping stalls in Fort Erie's backstretch even as he approaches his 80th birthday next year.

While he now lives with his daughter, McComb is a regular visitor to the farm to spend time not only with the new owners, but the horse he left behind -- One Purpose, who at one time was the oldest active thoroughbred in North America and had 234 starts before retiring at age 14. Page was so taken by the story of McComb and One Purpose and how they kept reuniting that she has decided to name the farm Farm of One Purpose.

"Sam still comes by all the time. He left his horse here because he is so old and we didn't want to move him," said Page. "It's a perfect situation because Sam still works at the track and he's the perfect person to teach me some of the basics about horses and the farm. He's got a certain way that he did things and some things have to be updated, but he's awesome and he wanted to make sure that One Purpose was OK."

Page is starting slow and gathering knowledge as she goes. Along with One Purpose, the farm is home to six cats and four ducks right now with plans to expand by next spring.

"By then I'm hoping to start building a sanctuary -- a haven for neglected and abused farm animals," said Page. "I hope to be able work with other organizations down the road. Maybe the SPCA has a horse or a goat that they can't and they can help me with some of the medical costs or teach me how to look after a goat.""Then I will be able to foster the animals until they find a good home or they can stay here."

How many animals Page will eventually be able to house is dependent on several things, including financial considerations, but one thing she doesn't want to become is simply a place for people to drop off their unwanted pets.

"I think that once people realize that someone wants to have an animal shelter of some sort, they think they can just drop an animal off. They don't understand, number 1, the emotional detachment the animals have and, number 2, how much financial burden and time they are putting on the person they are leaving them with," said Page.

Page was an assistant coach with Canada's 2006 Olympic gold medal women's hockey team in Turin, Italy, and remains involved with Hockey Canada mentoring young coaches. She is also in her ninth year as head coach of the women's hockey team at Niagara University.

"I have two great passions. One is hockey and the other is the farm and the animals. I did a dissertation for Hockey Canada for one of my certification levels about two paths and somehow they have to cross and being able to do both paths.

"So far, it's been working out."