Hearts On Noses is Advertising!!

Okay i made the big leap and spent some of the pigs money on advertising for both volunteers and financial support. "Think like a business", they tell me so relying on the monthly media attention we get from our local papers for years now on everything from the flood to community support like our shed delivery. And Craig Spences novel idea, or our pigs kissing principles all over the lower mainland does not bring the pigs any really huge public support. Our ad worth thousands is a one time deal as the price we got in itself is a miracle alone so with added prayers I hope to get the help with it "we" as in the pigs and I need!

Today's third phone call generated from the first ad last Tuesday i can't return because the number left on the answering machine is not clear. ;o(( The first call wanting a couple of pigs and the second from a genuine kind man who spoke with love of the pig they once had.

With the advertising and the articles in the papers this sanctuary has generated over the years i know had i of been rescuing cats or dogs we would surely be living in the Sanctuary of our dreams. I love cats and dogs and share my life with them and help in that field when i can but NO one is helping pigs or farm animals in B.C. in a big way. And it is not for lack of trying , let me tell you!!!!!!!!!

I even wrote one of the bigger players here in B.C. who works to change the laws of animals in production but basically got the " i must be doing something wrong" letter with a list of recommendations of how to proceed. HAHA Thanks , but i am doing the job 24/7 here and by writing you i was doing just that and trying to get you see the need for this Sanctuary to succeed in B.C. We are working for the same thing. I just live with, the animals your trying to change laws for. My first pig Willy would say " humpf " here.

Yes we do get support , yes the pigs have money in the bank but we are only maintaining the current work here. We need more to expand, help more, build a medical facility , an education center, provide tours for children, young adults and seniors.

I am more then grateful for EVERY person , dollar and visitor that comes threw here . If not for YOU the animals who live here now would not be safe. But what about the ones at the auction standing there in fear , smelling the death that surrounds them. And those left behind on abandoned properties waiting for someone like me??? The little goats and mini horse's the donkeys who were kids pets now wondering why they ended up in the slaughter line. Where is the darn family who left them to die this way , I need to be here!!!!!!!! Please please help me save them, save more .. i am ready to start crying now so I need to go out to a pig now that we saved .. spread the word for this little Sanctuary.

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.

A very good Day!

Yesterday was a mix of rain , hail and howling winds. What a surprise it was to wake up and see a clear blue sky and frosty ground. Working outside would be easier now without trying to push threw mud, well not much mud.

Lots of help today , all the horses and piggy paddocks are raked to perfection, dishes and water tubs sparkling clean and an abundance of apples gave all of them a juicy lunch time snack.

My energy soars tonight as does my heart as Roscoe our 2 year old farm pig found happiness today. When he arrived he was pen bound and brain washed and lived in a hyper state in the quest for food. This is what saved his little self as a piglet though as a passerby saw this runt getting trampled as he fought for food. So they took him home and he found his way here at 6 months old , his litter mates long gone by then and in someones freezer. It took another 6 months for Roscoe to calm down long enough to go for a walk with me in the pasture. And the only time i saw his tail wag ws when he found a tender black berry root. The beginnings of his little life was so deeply imprinted on him, until today.

I have never seen him soooooooooo happy, tail was just a whipping and we played!! I went and grabbed a towel in the carport and played "where's the pig? " as i covered his face until he took off spinning and bucking in happiness with it draped over his back. He did go out and about on his own to the pastures but when he came back to the carport as he does to make sure no one was eating anything, i am also sure he was also just coming back to us. Roscoe your happiness made my day!