Wednesday, October 19, 2022

A Bit About Us

This location of this B.C Sanctuary was purchased in 2009 at a cost of $526,000 for just under three acres. Land is so expensive in Western Canada it would cost almost double to buy this now I started in a rental and worked a deal with the owner . This is where I found my First pig Willy as a stray in 1993 and started bringing more pigs home in the year 2000 . In the move after the owner/partner wanted out and after being flooded i found this acreage on higher ground. $20,000 was spent on perimeter fencing here , housing and paddocks . Three days after arriving the pump on the well went which was $3000.00 and don’t get me started on the trucks transmission , then motor then a total used truck replacement it all adds up . None of this was done by donation and I am still paying down the mortgage at what I can afford on disability now. The pigs live in separate housing spread out over 20 paddocks. Most of you know I started this 21 years ago in Maple Ridge and many of the pigs came in as adults , of various sizes and ages. It could be dangerous to house them all together due to age and needs of these individuals . The paddocks are huge and housing is determined by breed and sizes of the bonded families here. The paddocks take up approx 1/3 of the acreage leaving a very large pasture and forested , wild grass and bushy areas for pigs to graze , explore and stretch their legs if they choose too. All the pigs get out of there paddocks for enrichment and stimulation just not all at the same time . Many of the pigs are seniors and no match for the young big strong farm pigs they challenge for hierarchy here. It seems all that are small are mighty and feisty such are the pot bellied pigs. They start the fights with the bigger ones as size doesn’t seem to matter to these guys . However a fight with a big pig could cause serious injuries to these little pigs. When meals are being fed the pigs are returned to their own paddocks so they are able to eat without worry or stress from the others . I wanted to share that with you as from time to time you will see pictures of pigs behind gates but they all get to be out and about and I keep a calendar so no one gets cheated of that . This may also help you understand why we manage the Sanctuary and its residents the way we do as we are not on 50 plus acres here and the reason why ;o))

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Pig Magic

https://youtu.be/nO2N3UamPhI

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Home

Knowing pigs for over 28 years has shown me how sensitive they are and how much they need and deserve our love. During the day when I am busy working in the house pigs will seek me out to come and be with me . Telling me where they been with pig chatter , saying hello and wanting me to touch them . Everyone of the pigs here especially love it when I tell them how soft their bristles are , how beautiful there tail is or how perfect their ears are and on both sides. You know your animal family and how they respond to your voice and your touch , its not complicated to see they love you right back. This home I have created for them brings me great pleasure when I see they feel safe to lay in an open area to feel the sun on their tummy . To watch the greetings between them when they have gone separate ways here and then join up later. How when given a choice they go to their designated houses as it provides the same feeling of peace and safety as it is to us when we come home. Home … familiar smells , sounds , our stuff , our family .. our room a place we have come to depend on as our own. Home… The calls and emails regarding pigs who have been family members for years now not worth the trouble it would take to find a place with them, build a ramp for them, order a shed to house them , provide a corner for them to sleep in, Oh the kids have moved out now so we don’t want the ‘beloved “ pig anymore as we downsized as if this justifies the lack of loyalty and responsibility. Love ,,,what happened to LOVE . I wrote someone back the night before that I couldn’t take any pigs right now until I have a solid team, more support , more money and someone to take this over if something should happened to me. I typed , deleted , typed deleted because my anger rises from such a deep sorrow for these pigs who were safe in their room one day and no longer wanted the next . I ended up just deleting the email telling myself that’s what I should do but I didn’t and when I let the email go begging them to keep her I cried . I cried as these pigs have a bigger chance of being slaughtered , abused , used as hunters bait or dog fights then they do at finding a good home if I don’t take them. Would you please open your heart for a pig who needs you? I must reach out to people who have never experienced the love of a pig in order to help more and have you educate others as I do today. There is no place for them go , they need you now. .

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Pretty In Pink

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT Hi everyone !! Let me introduce you to our new T shirt Available in Medium. Large and Extra Large due to the availability of the unique pink color at this time. This T shirt is FREE with every $45.00 donation with shipping included to most parts of the world.!! I wore mine yesterday to town and it is so soft and has a real nice relaxed feel, unlike most t shirts on the market today. PLease help us keep our residents safe by donating today!!

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Pig Detective or Whistle Blower

Over ten years ago the pig rescue community was a tight nit group and although we were spread all over the United States with a handful here in Canada we all knew each other. Back then i was one of the firsts on Facebook and was about 10-12 years behind the leaders who created out of need " pig sanctauries". After finding my first pig Willy and getting on line with those rescuers during reserach for that pig i came accross a name ,one i found to be respected in the pig communtiy. She was well known for her vast veterinayr knowledge due to her late husband who was a vet and for her large contrutions to the usa recuers. The fact i would later learn was her knowlesge came from dispicable actions, as well as her money. In fact i had reached out to her when i needed help for Willy and spoke to her on the phone. I remember her telling me she was a breeder and had over 200 pot bellied pigs. The years went by and there were pig shows , huge educational pig events , pig get togthers and the thought came to me one day that i had never heard of anyone having one of this breeders pigs. What the hell did she do as a breeder with over 200 pigs? In the USA a pig registry formed and a medcal data base in order to follow blood lines , to register purebred pot bellied pigs and to share medical knowledge. One day i spotted an ad in our paper looking to sell a family of pet pigs. A mom pig and her three babies were for sale and the ad stated they were purbred. Knowing only one registered breeder in Canada at the time i needed to get those pigs to safty and then find out if that breeder had shipped a pregnunt mom pig accross Canada for profit . This act of shipping a pregnunt pig was also against the guidlines of this newly formed registry. It also disgusted me as no one needed to be shipping pigs anywhere as there were plenty of them in trouble where we were already. I also had to aquire the papers for those pigs in the sale for proof of where they came from . When reading those documents i recognized the name of one of those male pigs to be one 'rescued" by a Sanctaury in Wisconisn. Over time i had also come to realize this rescuer was also friends to this New York breeder with over 200 pigs . Were these guys all in cahoots?? The mom and her babies were safe now and away from the buyer who had also killed a teeny baby for being agressive and who wondered as she spoke to me what they tasted like. I fired off a letter in anger to that Ontario breeder , my gawed did she sell to just anyone? Then after some research and questionable links I requested documents from the USDA , under the freedom of infomation act for the shipping documents of pigs being moved from the address of the New York breeder. An Ontario Breeder and a Wisconsin sanctuary were breeding a rescued registered male pig and selling litters. The Wisonsin rescue kept showing us pictures of these beautiful babies telling us she saved them from the local market . We could tell the offspring had the same markings of that rescued boar so it wasn't hard to put two and two toether and now I had proof. I also noted she was freinds with that New York breeder who i found out to be shipping 200 pigs at a time to China to be used in medical reserch labs. It took a year to get those docuemnts and they went public. The respect was lost for all of them and it tore both rescuers and breeders apart not wanting to believe what they were all doing to our precious pigs. I was no one , i had about a dozen rescue pigs at the time , way up here in Canada but uncovered so many wrong doings by shear gut instinct and then proved it with documentation. It was a scary time but i did what had to be done. None of them deserved our respect and to think they were profitting from the breeding of rescues and then another shipping them to China where they would be tortured to death. If something doesn't look right or feel right it is up to you to act on it. This crazy notion based on some unwritten golden rule that if we interfere it will only hurt the animals could be the differnce in life and death for all of them. Look at the countless petting zoos who ship there animals at season end no longer wanted. EARTH the Sancturary made famous for its founder singing to a very sick little blind pig, That little movie went viral , she was also rseponsible for the death of over 600 rescued animals left in her care. Thousnads and thousnads of dollars of donations received . Defunct Sanctuaries leaving behind 100's of pigs in Texas, 400 pigs at a defunct Florida rescue were gassed to death , over 200 farm animals starving at another and one in Mexico had all of hers shot by the police until rescue stepped in. She sent me pictures of them doing it while it was happening. Dead pigs laying about , rifles sticking out of windows . And i had actually warned a friend in the states about this rescue that somenthing was not right but no one expected this . Its on and on ... open your eyes people as all of these rescues had visitors and facebook pages and even if authorities can't touch them rescuers can and will step in. Question actions if they are asking for money, its your right to get answers and if they have nothing to hide they will provide the anwsers and prove it to you. As a rescuer and a charity it is my duty to be transparent in all that i do . As a professional rescue in all that is pig for over 25 years now , i see red flags. A shout out to the ill exeperinced or wanna be heroes who support wrong doing and close your eyes when someone like me speaks up on what is right in front of you, well the shame is on you and so will there lingering deaths.

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Festive Fun D Raiser

🌺Happy Holidays🌺 to all our supporters. Each of our pigs has hung up a stocking and it will take $100 total to fill each one of their stockings. We have 38 pig residents and you can choose any pig to donate in their name, any amount helps to fill their stocking $5, $8, $12 we are grateful for every donation. We will keep you updated so you how all the pigs are doing! The funds raised goes towards their daily care such as food, bedding, veterinary care , maintenance and of course treats. 🎀🎁⛄️🎀🎁⛄️ Please mention in the donation for which resident (by their name) you are donating for. You can follow their collective progress as we will update every few days. Please find the direct link to Canada Helps where they issue you a tax receipt, you can also do a PayPal transfer, E-Transfer or mail a cheque. Thank you very much for supporting Hearts On Noses this season, we couldn't do it without you. 🎀🎁⛄️ Please donate here by clicking on the Canada Helps here 🎀🎁️ https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/8120 Or PayPal here https://www.paypal.com/donate... Or Etrasnfer us using account Heartsonnoses@shaw.ca Thank you everyone , lets have some fun!!! Comments
tSachponsoSrefld ·

Friday, September 6, 2019

NICE SHOES

💚❤️💚 NICE SHOES💚❤️💚 has launched exciting footwear named after our 🐽pigs🐽 at Hearts On Noses , both 🐖Cooke and Abby🐖!!
So very kind as owners of Nice Shoe Joanne Chang and Glenn Gaetz always looking for a way to help us and if your lucky enough to buy a pair of these fab boots we will get a portion of the sale!!! Cruelty free Vegan!!!!!!!!!!
PLEASE SHOP AND SUPPORT as its a WINWIN for all of us !!!

https://niceshoes.ca/ Look for Abby's boots


https://niceshoes.ca/ Look for Cookie's boots

Glenn said...
Here are the links directly to the boots.

Abby: https://niceshoes.ca/catalog/product/abby-hearts-noses-b42-black

Cookie (black): https://niceshoes.ca/catalog/product/cookie-hearts-noses-16r-black
Cookie (brown): https://niceshoes.ca/catalog/product/cookie-hearts-noses-16r-brown



Monday, March 25, 2019

We Will Do Everything We Can

Scotch one of our senior guys has been having issues with what we and the vet assume to be a tumor or damaged bone from a bump in the past between his eyes and nose. . It's a nightmare and will bleed terribly then stop and he will look like nothing is the matter except for a bit of swelling. Not sure what I am to do with this in the summer but without medical support I am left and he to our own demise. There is no university here with a state of the art veterinary program and the fact is there are only three of those in all of Canada unlike our neighbors who have one in every state.
Scotch stopped eating and I thought oh man here we go , I'm going to lose him now too. But I will never let anyone go without a fight so on the second night of no eating I gave him a shot hoping that he might of just picked up an infection. . Medicam or Meloxiam can cause heat stroke so changing the pain med was the second thing i did.
The next thing to do is cook savory meals to temp a sick pig and nothing is off limits when i have a sick pig. 36 hours after treatment Scotch ate two peanut butter sandwiches, with the crusts cut off of course. He is now out in the sun rooting around the dinner area looking for let over's , I'm soo happy.
The moral of the story is never give up, try something else and go grocery shopping for anything your patient might want to eat.

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Hearts On Noses Sanctuary says Jana reported in today after hosting our event table and we are thrilled to report a positive experience!! Our donation tin was filled and happy vegans chatted to Jana about volunteering and she was able to fill them in and tell them all about Hearts On Noses Sanctuary. Jana has been with us for five years and we are grateful for her commitment to the pigs and helping above and beyond for them. Thank you so much Daniela and Bernie for your art work and arrangements . A HUGE thank you to everyone at The Vegan Night Market .and of course the Waldorf and all the great volunteers who made this event possible. The pigs would also like to say THOINKS for loving them and sharing that love with them here !!