Sunday, February 7, 2010

A Squishy Pig


"Penny is a squishy pig" and as soon as the words come out of my mouth, visitors ask me "what do you mean"?

Penny arrived in a horse trailer with no straw or protection inside. Animals have no idea when your traveling if and when your going to stop. Or go into an incline , a decline in the road, or turn left or right. Think about it , one very obese short legged pot bellied pig in a horse trailer traveling for about an hour. How many times did she loose her footing and crash into the walls? If she had of laid down or went down from being unable to balance inside she would of rolled back and forth smashing into the metal walls of her confine, over and over again.

She has gone threw humans like we go threw new cars. So many humans discarded her over and over again. They fed her too much and probably everything nutritionally incorrect for her species. Poor little Penny as she emerges from her fat suit with still many serious medical problems.

Penny's eye sight is poor due to the heavy fat fold over her forehead and pushing down on her eyes. A slow weight loss i pray will allow her body to re- adjust because for many pigs , surgery is the only way to remove the fold once the weight comes off. Cosmetic surgery for a pig is done in the states by rescuers some of the time. She allows me to pull back the fat from her eyes so we can see each other and the world she lives in here.

Penny is regaining the use of muscles once weighted down by that fat. Her ears are no longer simply ornamental , she is regaining the ability to show me things now. Her ears are responding to her personality and delights as you can see when she is enjoying her soup. And as the weight comes off of her I hope more of her hearing returns that is also compromised due to the fat.

Penny is not out in a paddock in a straw filled house like the others. Eating of straw and hay has caused more problems with her constipation so that form of fiber is restricted somewhat. Her potty habits are of a fat pig who had no reason, too much pain and it took too much effort to get up. A pig who goes potty in her bed , on her carpet runners or in her water dish. Never the less she is loved and must be watched ,so Penny has her own big house for the special needs girl she is. A pig who potties where they sleep or where they eat goes against the norm , something must be the matter and for now there is.

I have had to help Penny in more ways then one over the last few months and so have two of my vets. Even Carol (SAINTS) left me a sure fire constipation relief package and i have a cupboard filled for Penny's needs. Little Penny has suffered many indignities but forgives me completely.

And no matter what time of day as i attend to her needs i can pull back a blanket and snuggle up beside her and kiss her face. And i can do that over and over again. I rub her face and fuss on her and sometimes in shear pleasure she will let out these soft rhythmic whines of contentment , and that is music to my ears. I can warm up her ears with my breath and lay right down with her and put my arm around her and snuggle her while i tuck her in. I tell her I love her and when I kiss her i tell her it is what we do when we love you so much. We kiss you and kiss you and she responds with another form of communicating "comfort" with her ah ha ah's . Yes the message comes in three's and if you were too clear your throat softly with your mouth closed that is the sound they make. Penny as do all of the pigs can answer you if you ask. And if i ask Penny is she is cozy she will answer "ah ah ah"...


She is my squishy pig.

5 comments:

dirtyduck said...

what a heartwarming post. i love penny.her story is so sad but she is still so sweet. and she has every right not to be. i cant stand it when people over feed their pets, thats not love.

Janice Gillett said...

I hear you, it is abuse as far as i am concerned.

melissa said...

That was such a lovely post... I am all teary here at my desk, at work... :)

Thank you so much for sharing.

Janice Gillett said...

She is doing really good!!!!

Unknown said...

I'm so glad that you're able to give poor Penny a second chance, she's a lovely girl. I look forward to reading many positive updates about her! :)