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Gracie, a 160-pound “pot belly” pig, is lucky now to be living her life at A Home for Hooves farm sanctuary in Duncan, BC. She has a pen and shelter with her name inscribed to let you know that it is “her place”.
Finally, she has a place.
Gracie was bought by farmers from a man who was selling pigs-as-pets from the back of his pick-up truck. Sellers typically make their buyers believe that the cute little piglets they are offering will stay small and won’t be much trouble at all. Somewhere between $200 and $500 or more completes a purchase. Terms like “Mini”, “Micro “and “Tea-cup” precede the word “pig” to make the piglets sound like they will stay tiny for life.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Michelle Singleton, founder of A Home for Hooves Farm Sanctuary in Duncan, says the pig as a pet myth happens all to often.
“”Nine out of ten pot bellys are surrendered within the first year of their life due to their size, behavioural issues because they are bored, the lone pig or unfixed, or the home not being zoned for agriculture. ”
Pot belly pigs, just like regular pigs, grow for up to the first six years of their lives. They may not reach 1000 pounds as some hogs do, but 200 would likely be the minimum size and many have grown to up to 500 pounds.
Pigs – all types of pigs – are highly intelligent, sentient beings who respond well to loving treatment and good care. Pigs have been ranked higher in intelligence than dogs or rats and are very sensitive to family members. In other words, they know what is going on, and when they are mistreated, they realize it and are hurt and confused.
Gracie was kept in the barnyard in this case and became inconvenient to her former owners when she developed the habit of nursing from their goats. They wanted to dry out the goats to breed them and Gracie was in the way of that process, so they wanted to be rid of her.
They decided to offer her as a free giveaway and luckily, the sanctuary heard about her before they executed their “plan B” which was to shoot her. (Astonishingly, killing any animal pet that is no longer convenient to its owners is also within the law here in BC. The recent case of “Molly” who was killed “humanely” and eaten by her owners in Duncan brought this horrible truth to light.)
To transport Gracie from their farm to the sanctuary, Gracie (who by then had become terrified of humans) was hog-tied, sedated, and transported in the back of a pick-up truck (no laws against this abuse either). Not surprisingly, by the time she reached the sanctuary, Gracie had lost all her trust in human handlers and would not let anyone within 10 feet of her.
Now, many months later, Gracie is finally living in peace. Lots of love, patience and gentleness, fresh air and good food have been employed to convince Gracie that she is safe, secure and cared for, and will not be mistreated again. At 160 pounds and still growing, Gracie is far more comfortable in her farm pen where she can exhibit her natural behaviour and be free and happy. And there are enough visitors who love her to keep her happily receiving belly rubs whenever she wants them.
Gracie is now enjoying the life she deserves to live, simply by virtue of her innocent existence.
Meanwhile, many irresponsible people continue to sell piglets as pets to unsuspecting buyers who are not cognizant or thoughtful about the reality and the long-term (10-20 year) commitment required. Tiny piglets are highly intelligent and fun to play with in the living room … but what happens when these pigs reach 150 pounds a year later?
What happens next? We know that many dozens of these pigs are surrendered to the SPCA (last year the Victoria SPCA was sheltering 17 pigs at one time), others find places in sanctuaries like A Home for Hooves (the lucky ones), and many more lose their lives in horrible ways.
All are innocent. All are victims … of a society whose legal system does absolutely nothing to protect them. Surely we can do better than this.
Joy Thompson
Victoria Animal News
