Charity Plant Sale

Charity Plant Sale

Saturday June 6th
&
Sunday June 7th

10:00 am to 6:00 pm both days

PERENNIALS: anemone, daylily, tiger lily, lupin, cranesbill varieties, columbine, astile, solomon’s seal, cornflower (bachelor’s button), rudbeckia, hens & chicks, white garden phlox, pink escollonia, foxglove, blue statice, lady’s mantle, lemon balm, lily of the valley, sedum, siberian iris, red flag iris, purple iris, rhubarb, small pine and fir trees, yucca,
Shasta daisy, bergenia, hosta varieties, campanula (bells) and others

in front of Tisol Pet Supply Store http://www.tisol.ca/index.asp
at
11th Ave. and Arbutus, Vancouver

Reasonable prices with all proceeds to animal rescue groups in BC to pay for veterinary and other medical expenses for rescued animals



The Kensington Foundation For Animals In Crisis
a registered Canadian charity: #865086748RR0001
604 765 2938
http://www.kensingtonfoundation.ca/

Pigs are Pets too, TWO !!!!!

Visitors to the sanctuary often ask if the pigs know there names. Of course they do!! Another common question is, how do i tell them apart?? I answer this with my response to the kids who come here. Do you know lots of kids at school and how do you tell them apart?? They always answer with "they look different!!" well so do pigs!

Pigs have special harness's you can order just for them, clothes, rain jackets or fuzzy winter coats. Special food, conditioners, shampoo ,brushes, vitamins, supplements and all the health care needs you would find for a cat or a dog, just not in Canada. In the USA there are magazines, clubs, chat lists, and shows.

Pigs can be taught tricks in about 15 minutes and will learn to let you know they want out and when they want back in. Pigs shed once a year and when neutered have no scent at all. Girly pigs should be spayed but do not have the alluring scent( musky) a boy pig will have until he is neutered.

Pigs like to be brushed, kissed, scratched and love it when you rub gently on there eyes, behind there front legs, behind there ears and on there tummies. Pigs love it when you whisper into there ears and tell them they are wonderful and oh so smart.

Pigs can trot , lope and run full out when you call them for dinner or out of sheer happiness . They get the zoomies too!!! They will spin and buck in joy too! They all know where they live, where there paddock or house is and stand at attention waiting for rewards. I took this little video today to show you !!

Swine Flu Song

Bits & Peices

With all the wonderful weather the acreage is starting to look like the place i love again.

In fact i have been working from dawn to dusk every day it seems and so much is getting done. New floor in Comets house, few hinge repairs , the carport looks back to normal with out hay stacked in it and all the pigs of course got fresh bedding.

A friend brought over a ton of bread and i have spent countless hours turning it over in my driveway on the other side of the gates trying to dry it out so it won't mould. My house smells like bread as i have every container you can think of full in here and i may not eat another sandwich again.

Short post , dinner is ready but i wanted to share some pictures i took today of Soda before and after wading in the wallow.

"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.

Pigs in a Row

I woke up this morning with a big back problem, unable to work here today as i could hardly take a deep breath . I was going to soak in the bath but once i got down the hallway and stood over it i didn't think i would even be able to get in lol. Well not funny cause the work here even at feed time requires me to be fit. I couldn't remember hurting myself yesterday as everything I did was pretty well normal work. Pushed a few over filled wheel barrows up the manure pile or was it when i grabbed the 50 lbs of feed out of the bin? I figured it out after i mixed the pelleted feed for the pigs tonight and went to lift the garbage pail i mix it in to pour into the buckets. I really need either a portable cement mixer or a grain silo . My neighbor has an unused one next door, i wonder what he would want to part with it. Of course then i would have acquire a recipe for the feed, some one to mill it and then deliver . Why does everything have to be a can of worms?? A few pictures of tonight and a movie of Soda's herd. Oh and of course that is my Rose with her little pink scooper open expecting treats not me taking pictures.

A Mothers Day

This morning, a photographer and her boy friend arrived to take pictures of both Rose and Roscoe. She was entering a contest and her subject matter was animals we consume. Roscoe did his best but Rose stole the morning with her eating my flowers and adding a little color to the shot. Hopefully I will get some of those pictures she promised me .

Mom arrived for our noon departure and we headed out to my sisters to pick her up and then onward to our adventure. We had decided to pack a picnic lunch and then find a perfect spot for the dogs and our blanket. We really didn't have a destination as we wanted to stay away from crowds so we drove until we found it. And in Derouche we found a perfect place with a creek and a large open but fenced in area at an old community center. The pasture was actully a large ball field but it had the look of not been used in years.

The dogs had a blast while we ate our lunch and they had treats and then we topped it off with a nice cup of coffee. The pictures you don't see here are the ones I packed my camera for, brought extra batteries and then left the darn card in my computor at home. Thankfully Mom brought hers and we got some good shots of her as well as the dogs resting in lush green grass littered with bright yellow dandilions. However i will have to wait until she developes them and then learn how to use my scanner .

For those of you who have never been here before we are on two acres with an added acre of my neighbors which is also fenced in for the pigs as well. The pig village bascially wraps around my house so it is effecient for me to feed. This leaves open pasture all around the outside of my home as well as the front and back yard for the pigs to explore.

When i left i told Soda's herd if i got home early enough I would let them out when i got back so to be good while i was gone. So as soon as i pulled in and closed the gates i opened theres and off they went all to the back yard to under the bird feeders and beyond.

A few hours later i called them all in and Tom was way up front in Marios property and he high tailed it home, as did every one except Scotch. Last i saw him he was showing off to one of the horses again out back at the barn. And as i spoke out loud to the herd I said "now where is Scotch?" . Soda strutted out of the pen and took off at a pace with clearly something on her mind. She was heading back out to pasture leading to the barn. "SODA Where are you going???" i watched her walking out there and the females are priceless as they all walk with the swagger of a hussy showing off there curves. Now the barn is a fairley good walk and a pig leaving while i was setting up dinner trays is also perplexing. I added this old shot to show you the barn and the distance it is as that picture is from the back of my house and her paddock is out front of mine. I closed the gate on the babies to keep them in and i started to feed the rest of the pigs. These guys are at the end of my loop and i would go get him if he wasn't home by the time i got back to there area.

No sooner did i round the last few paddocks did I meet up with Soda. She was leading the way with Scotch following like a drunkin sailor who had just been pulled from the bar by an angry wife. Now i have had pigs in my life for going on about 16 years and i have never ever had a pig go out and bring one home especially when the food is about to be delivered.

Soda truly is the matriarch of this herd and as cute as a button.

Just Rewards

First of all let me bring to your attention to the top right corner of my blog. I have been awarded this by woofgang and you can read all about them by simply clicking onto that award. Its a fun way of receiving something pretty for my ramblings and an awesome way to connect to other fellow animal lovers and there blogs. In honor of my receiving this, it is now my duty to award it to my favs so here i go. ( for those of you who need help with posting your award on your blog email me and i will send you the directions I had to ask for. lol)

http://blindhorsesings.com
http://lesleysanimalshelter.blogspot.com
http://mylifewiththecritters.blogspot.com
http://pikecountyhs.blogspot.com
http://pigatopia.blogspot.com
http://trescanis.blogspot.com

The opening of the art show was wonderful, and Diana will be hosting her work of art from May 6th until May 24th in Fort Langley. I was particularly moved by one painting that had three pigs looking up and titled "Listening" . Painted in a Zebra stripe and with a subtle aura around them. Here these pigs hide from mankind but she captures the wonderment of all pigs in her work.
http://dianadurrand.myartchannel.com/about
Diana has so generously offered us 50% of the proceeds from her beautiful cards and people were buying them up. Mom went with me and we had a wonderful time sharing wine and cheese with animal lovers of all kinds.

Today we didn't have too many volunteers but for the ones who did come they did awesome. Joe and Dustin worked on the front fence, a shrub removal, a post replaced , shored up the corner of the new pen and then worked in the pasture picking manure. My sister Nancy was here too and took care of the horses, the barn and the surrounding area.

I left them to attend the Antique Road Show and try and help out where i could with customer's ect. I however am like a bull in a china shop and while admiring all these little boxes of precious stones i sent one flying. Okay that was an accident and i felt pretty stupid as i picked up all these tiny pieces of ..ahem..fools gold. Eric provided lunch and after a bit of a traffic jam and sending off my Mom and sister who brought in there treasures to be appraised I leaned back in the chair and crushed a night light on display. By that time my feet were throbbing and feeling so totally inadequate i cowered out the door. The fee for each appraisal is to be divided by four local rescues. How wonderful of Dreamscapes to put this on year after year. I however doubt he will ever ask me to help him again. lol

The pigs are all doing well and this morning i felt so bad for not being able to let them out so i brought every one hay to munch away the day. Carrots for breakfast too so there bellies would be happy. Scotch and Soda were yapping away to Roscoe after dinner tonight as i sat in the front of the red shed and loved on RobRoy. I have added two more dishes so when i feed there is 12 serving plates now, equal opportuny i tell them as i line them in a row. Then they all had peanuts in shell for desert with me calling out to them saying "I told you there would still be good food here and all the treats you grew to love". "A promise is a promise I told them. Scotch looked at me sideways crunching away with a waggy tail.

ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW SATURDAY MAY 9TH

Dreamscapes Gift Gallery
ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW

Dreamscapes Gift Gallery is organizing its 7th
Antiques Road Show to raise funds for: J&M ACRES HORSE RESCUE a horse rehabilitation centre that rescues animals destined to be slaughtered and finds good homes for them; KATIE’S PLACE well known for its much-needed volunteer work in rescuing, spaying and neutering abandoned pets; HEARTS ON NOSES pet pig rescue and shelter and S.A.I.N.T.S. a hospice for senior and special needs animals.
Al Bowen well-known museum and estate appraiser is again generously donating his expert services.

THE ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW WILL BE HELD ON

SATURDAY, MAY 9TH, 2009
FROM 11:00 A.M. TILL 3:00 P.M. AT
DREAMSCAPES GIFT GALLERY,
11987-224TH ST. IN MAPLE RIDGE
TEL.604-466-9991

This store is a Pot Pourri of beautiful gifts , perhaps you will find something for Mom for Mothers Day too!


NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY.
The appraisal fee for each item is only $5.00
Bring as many as you want, with a limit of 3 items in line
at a time. Large items such as furniture can also be
appraised if you bring clear pictures

The Seeds We Plant

Tuesday night was a booked appointment with a group of 4H kids visiting the Sanctuary. I had a really good time and they were more then generous and the pigs of course were awesome. One little girls big smile is remembered and it is no doubt when she went home she would be asking her Mom if she could have a pig.

One of the kids asked me how I taught the pigs the tricks they do. I told them unlike dogs who we are more accustomed to see spinning around, or shaking a paw i told them i simply talked to the pigs. That the pigs understand everything we say. The little girl looked at me with disbelief written all over her face. I had just opened the gate to let Winnie and Casanova out and the pigs were surrounded by the crowd. Casa had straw all over his face and i called out to him "Casa, shake it off" and within seconds of saying it Casanova did indeed shake the straw from his face. This was not a trick but the response of a sentient being who understands everything we are saying and then acknowledged it.

As a little girl growing up in the city the PNE every year's high light for me was the barns. I remember Mom talking about the girls sobbing over the cow they had named, brushed , loved and cared for would now be entering a ring to be priced and valued by the beef industry by its weight . They would never see there cherished pet again and one day they would in fact end up on someones plate.
This form of education really bothers me. That we teach the young to care for , name and love with the end result being betrayal , fear and then slaughter for the animals.

Mom and i attended a flea market out here and we came into the fair ground barns and i saw two rabbits in a cage who huddled as close together as they could. The sign above them had a price on there little heads if i remember it was 15.00 each. Saddened that these animals who clung to each other who's world went from some pen to cages surrounded by noise and confusion were now being marketed with out a care and i called out to one of the girls and said" how can you separate them they are bonded to each other"? Her reply was " oh ,they aren't' that bonded" .. she did not see because her education lacked in this regard. I felt bad for the rabbits and I shook my head in disappointment as this is what the 4h is teaching these kids. Or rather , not teaching them. Of course i am generalizing here as there are exceptions to the rule and the club that visited just may be one of them.

Love is a powerful thing and if we are teaching kids to care for , name and love an animal and then it is okay to sell for profit, breed or slaughter how does this cross over to relationships they will have with there counterparts one day ?

The picture is from a friend in the States who also does rescue. It is one taken just after the hatch on her truck opened mysteriously
and then was closed by her. The pigs responsible for its opening are standing by.

Odds & Ends

Yesterday I was urged to get out side by Sodas herd who are pretty good singers and were demanding there breakfast out there with wee's of starvation . So out i went to start my routine of filling the bird feeders , then the farm pigs and then out to the barn to take care of the horses. I then come back with a pail and fulfil the pot bellies needs.

Not more then an hour later i looked out front to see a wave of pigs heading out with Scotch in the lead. That stupid gate i had paid those guys to build is a joke and Scotch had no problem rooting it until the bungee cord broke i had added to the bottom and the herd was free. I had the truck loaded with wood pieces from left over projects and broken down pallets and was ready to go to the dump but delayed my plans. No sense in trying to round everyone up now i will let them be for an hour so i found something else to work on in the mean time. Stephanie was here helping me and no sooner did i hear her yelling PIG FIGHT. Did someone gate get popped open i thought as i ran towards her calls?? And then me yelling back RUN IN BETWEEN them while i raced there as fast as i could. Scotch had now broken into one of the other pens by breaking the wire free from there fence line then leaped in and was taking on a much younger Scout and they were going at it pretty good by the time i got in between them.

We got them separated and then i fixed the fence and the gate and got everyone back home and its only 11;00 an i am exhausted . Scotch is asserting his position in the herd that lives here and that is normal but i have never had a pig break threw a fence to get into someones yard to fight before. Scotch is one tough pig!! Scout now the head of his herd had both ears marked by Scotches teeth.

And the wild thing is that one day these pigs might be best of friends and Scotch would never be a threat to me, or you or any once else it is just the way of pigs. However i will run Sodas herd on there own when they are out it is much more peaceful that way. lol The sorting out of hierarchy can be brutal and it is something i am to let them sort out amongst themselves.. there are some pigs that will be no match for Scotch and visa versa . That however all can wait until the new herd gets how things work around here.

This morning when i looked outside he was at the gate again trying to work his way out of there as he had before. Once they find the weakness they learn pretty fast and will work that area that set them free. The thing that worries me is that he is teaching the young ones as they watch him and his ways. I nailed a 2 x 12 inch board 10ft long down the inside of the gate so there will be no getting in and out for anyone that way until it is replaced.


The day before yesterday on my arrival home from only being away from here for a hour or so i noticed some holly clippings set aside of my driveway. These were not there before and it appears who ever had been here went threw what they cut off my tree around back of my home and then left what they didn't want for me to clean up out front. This happens every year but normally around Christmas time as i find the tell tale signs and it must be some one in the neighborhood. And not any one who has ever met me and asked if it would alright to do what they are doing.

A few months ago volunteers were here and for some reason there wasn't enough manure forks to go around. That's funny cause i had quite a few as i had to find a place for them all to stack neatly. Two new ones i had bought were never picked as they had aluminium handles, a tad heavier and the handle longer. Both of them are gone.

I don't know if a padlock on my front gates will change anything but someone is helping themselves around here and it angers me to no end as i work hard for my money as do the people who donate to help the animals here.

The image i am sharing tonight is one from a girlfreind who supports us here from Ontario and also does rescue. These are two of her kids saved from the plate but i wnated you to see the love and closeness these pigs share with each other.

Can My Pet Catch Swine Flu?

This is a read from the ASPCA website and i ahve simply copied it and pasted it here.






Can My Pet Catch Swine Flu?


Don't worry, pet parents! The recent, rapid outbreak of the H1N1 virus, previously known as swine flu, appears to present little risk of infecting our furry friends. In the past few weeks, only humans have been affected by the new virus, and it's still unknown how the virus will impact other species.

"Currently there's no data demonstrating any risk of dogs and cats contracting this strain of the virus," says Dr. Louise Murray, Director of Medicine at the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Hospital in New York City. "However, owners of pet pigs, as well as farmers, should monitor their animals' health more closely and take steps to limit transmission from humans to pigs and vice versa."

If you do count a pet pig as your animal companion, please consult with your veterinarian about a Type A influenza vaccine, which is available and recommended for all healthy swine.

Dr. Miranda Spindel, Director of ASPCA Veterinary Outreach, adds: "Swine influenza or swine flu is one of the leading causes of respiratory disease in swine throughout the world. Like most influenza A viruses, swine flu generally causes high levels of illness in pigs, but fatalities are uncommon."

For the latest information about the outbreak and your pet's health, please visit the Center for Disease Control (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu). If you suspect your pet is ill or if he exhibits any sudden changes in behavior, please contact your veterinarian immediately.

Read the ASPCA's official statement on swine flu.

Dinner time!!!

Short write tonight, dinner is almost ready.. for me!!