Just over a year ago, John Fiske believed he was doing right by cows and the planet by eating only grass-fed beef.

Then the 32-year-old attorney had a “light bulb moment” and decided the toll that animal agriculture takes on animals and the environment is too high. Since then, he has been putting his money where his heart is.

View the photo gallery: Farm for rescuing farm animals

Over the past year, the now-vegetarian rancher has transformed his 2.5-acre Elfin Forest property into a sanctuary for rescued animals, including four horses, a crippled pig, two hens, a German shepherd and, soon, a few goats. On May 15, Fiske will host the grand opening of his San Diego Farm Animal Rescue.

San Diego Farm Animal Rescue Open House When: 4 p.m. May 15 Where: San Diego Farm Animal Rescue, 20771 Camino Cielo Azul, Elfin Forest. Admission: Free (proceeds from sale of $20 T-shirts will go toward animal feed) Phone: (619) 261-4090 Info: facebook.com/SDFarmAnimalRescue

Through the organization’s Facebook page and website (sdfarmanimalrescue.org), Fiske said he hopes to use his ranch to raise awareness, find new homes for slaughter-bound animals and gradually build a network of ranchers and farmers with the same humanitarian purpose.

“My goal is to promote the concept of compassion,” Fiske said. “Now that I’m on the other side with the personal journey I’ve taken, I can show how important it is for a person’s ideas to evolve.”

Raised in Rancho Penasquitos, the son of a city planner (his dad) and county planner (his mom), Fiske said he was taught a love for the outdoors from an early age. With his father, he camped all over Southern California, and in both high school and college he studied environmental science.

When he finished law school, he dreamed of one day becoming a district attorney. But three years ago, an opportunity came along to develop a new “eco-lawyer” division at attorney John Gomez’s personal injury law firm in downtown San Diego. Fiske now represents, among other clients, numerous California cities that are suing the chemical-maker Monsanto over the cost of cleaning up polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in public waterways.

Although Fiske said he had long been dedicated to saving the environment, his interest in saving animals wasn’t awakened until he started seeing a woman who is a dedicated vegetarian. During the two years they dated, she shared her vision with him of creating a sanctuary for farm animals.

A year ago, he purchased the ranch in Elfin Forest and has spent every weekend working to transform it into a sustainable habitat for himself and his menagerie of animals. Although he and his girlfriend are no longer together, he said his newfound passion for animal rights has led him to carry on with her vision.

As a lawyer, Fiske said he’s inherently skeptical, but he couldn’t argue with the facts and figures laid out in a documentary he saw a year ago called “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret.” Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film details the toll that raising beef cattle and pigs takes on global water consumption, water pollution, rainforest destruction, climate change, land use, world hunger and wildlife extinction.

Fiske said he also came to realize there’s a profound disconnect among consumers over which mammals are fit for consumption and which are fit for pets.

“Our society has drawn a line between eating cows and pigs and eating dogs and cats, but there’s no real reason for it. The number of farm animals killed each year is astronomically high,” he said.

According to the Humane Society of the U.S., 2.7 million dogs and cats were euthanized in shelters and pounds in the U.S. last year, compared to 9.2 billion farm animals (cattle, chickens, turkeys, ducks, hogs, sheeps and lambs) killed in slaughterhouses.

At the hillside property that Fiske has named Cherimoya Ranch (in honor of the 120 fruit trees on the property), one of his first rescues was Daisy, a 3-year-old German shepherd saved a year ago from a local shelter.

At the foot of the hill is a large open pen that’s now home to four horses. Pokey and Emma are retired trail horses in their late 20s who are too old to adopt out, so they will live out their days on the ranch. Frisco and Jingo are a pair of 15-year-old paint brood mares who were saved from slaughter and are available for adoption if they’re taken as a pair.

On a shaded plateau above the horse corral is a small, fenced-in garden where Roosevelt resides. He’s a 4-year-old, pot-bellied pig born with deformed hooves. His owners were moving out of the county and wanted to ensure he went to a good home. Because of the pig’s unusual gait, he’s named after the polio-stricken U.S. president.

At the southeast corner of the property is a newly constructed chicken coop and yard, where Fiske keeps two rescued Buff Orpington chickens, Amelia and Eleanor. He plans to take in another two chickens next week. And on a slope just east of his hilltop home, he’s planning to fence in an area for rescued goats.

Caring for so many animals is both time-consuming and expensive. To cover the costs of animal feed (each horse costs about $100 a week in feed and other expenses), he rents out a studio apartment on his property on Airbnb. All the proceeds from the “Cozy Studio on Cherimoya Grove” pay for animal feed. He also sold his first crop of cherimoya fruit last fall to cover feed costs.

Although he works long days at the law firm downtown, Fiske said he loves coming home to the quiet ranch where he spends all of his free time caring for the animals. Lately, he’s been getting a little help from volunteers who have found the “San Diego Farm Animal Rescue” page on Facebook. Some people inspired by his cause have volunteered to help feed and clean up after the animals.

Fiske is encouraging families to come out to his free grand opening celebration at 4 p.m. May 15 at 20771 Camino Cielo Azul. The public can tour the ranch, meet the animals, enjoy free food, beer and wine and live music by Joe Cardillo. Fiske will also be selling $20 T-shirts, with all proceeds benefiting the animals.

The opening event will kick off the first formal educational programs at the ranch. Later in May, he’ll host a Brownies troop that will come to learn about the care and feeding of farm animals. He also welcomes all visitors on weekend afternoons, though he asks them to contact him first through his website.

Although Fiske said he knows his property is too small to save very many farm animals from slaughter, he hopes that his message will inspire visitors to at least think hard about the realities of America’s livestock business.

“Our food system has become a grotesque, violent industry, and unless we help out those who can’t help themselves, our job isn’t done,” he said.