Wednesday, May 20, 2009

"Pigs" are pets too!!



When i was contacted by the family giving up Pebbles my heart sank. This little pig had been living how all pets or as we call them now "companion animals" should live. She was part of the family ,living in the house with them. Snuggled deep into blanket's at night with the cat and dog watching TV with the family. What they ate she was treated , she had her special bowl , special treats and special breakfast. She had everything i want for all of them. I cried buckets over her before i even met her . I tried for months to find her a home like the one she had grown up in. Sadly she had to leave her family because the city prohibited swine , a pig is a pig so it seems.

Pigs as pets are not for every one and the same can be said about pretty well any species or breed. Not every one will have a snake and not every one will want a great Dane. But it is up the individual who is perpetuating the market of animals to educate themselves about the species before they buy one.

Rescuers will make sure you have, it is not easy to get one of our babies. You can't come over and simply fill out a form, pay the price and leave with an animal from any reputable rescuer. They will not put the animals in jeopardy again by taking risks. You will fill out a form and we will check your references and then we will come to your house. We will decide what is best for the animals in our care because we are the one picking up the pieces and putting them back together again . We don't enjoying crying to sleep every night and either do they.

I don't enjoy bringing a little pig here who is used to getting cooked oatmeal for breakfast because i couldn't find a comparable home . I don't enjoy worrying about there transition , there mourning for there families and there child like innocence of not understanding what they did wrong to end up here.

I tell them they will be happy again one day even if they think they can never be happy again. I wipe the tears from there cheeks and urge them to get up to eat dinner when they arrive crying and then fall into depression. I tell them not to worry about things that it is my job to worry to leave there worries up to me. I tell them it is my job to take care of them and that it is a good job. I tell them as i kiss there little bristled heads this is not a place for unwanted pigs, it is a place where all the best ones come.

I make them a home, i give them their own space , a house and a blanket and i introduce them to life here slowly sometimes by bringing them inside with me. They learn like us to be happy with what life is offering and what i offer is wide open spaces and freedom to race threw pastures and life when there is no hope. They adapt, and it is up to me to make sure that happiness continues and that they know i love them for the rest of there lives.

Pebbles is indeed happy here now as you can see after eating some hay she made her self a nest. But i want more for each and every one of them. I want what was taken from her so long ago and that life for those who never tasted it. Pigs are pets too.

4 comments:

Tara said...

This is so heartbreaking. I am very glad that Pebbles and the other pigs have such a caring person like you looking out for them.
Back before I went on hiatus, I did a weekly thing on my blog called Sanctuary Sundays, where I profiled an animal shelter or sanctuary. Would you be interested in being profiled in a Sanctuary Sunday? If you are, you can e-mail me at kindlystraycat[at]gmail[dot]com
Thank you for taking care of the pigs!

Jean said...

Good post, Janice! I was continually frustrated by people who inquired about Scotch and Soda's piglets but were too impatient to wait out the application process and so snatched a pig out of the classifieds (and in some cases dumped them again just a couple of months later). And, of course, I see the same thing in canine rescue - impatient people who decide "I want a dog - TODAY" without considering the suitability, their own situation, the bylaws of the place they live, etc.
Thank goodness for sanctuaries like yours - but I dream of a day when they will no longer be needed because people will understand that adoption, whether pig, dog or human, is a lifetime commitment.

Janice Gillett said...

Thank you Tara and Jean and yes Tara we need help in getting the word out any way we can!!

You know it was late when i wrote that and i got up and whispered to Pebbles and then brought her inside.

Winnie had spent the afternoon in here and so it goes that i give them what i can when i can for each and every one of them.

Colleen said...

What a heart breaker for Pebbles and her family.

Thank you for being there for her Janice. Bless you.