Sunday, December 5, 2010

Saturday Night Action


Last year i talked to a young man who had acquired a pig from his boss at work. Apparently the pig was shipped from a Texas Breeder (UGH) and became unwanted not too long after. I am sure this would of been somewhere around $1000.00 in cost after the purchase, medical records and transportation costs on top of the 30 day quarantine for one very scared little baby who had been yanked away from his mom. Note that the breeder shipped this pig unaltered. GRRRRRRRRRRR

Anyhow i do remember trying to get the breeders name out of the guy after giving him an hour of my time to help him care for this baby. He was too call me back, but never did. And he didn't want him either and the next family who took him in loved him, got him neutered and he had a real family for a little while..

Yesterday was join up for Volunteers here as it is every Saturday and only my sister arrived to help. After working outside for several hours we came inside so she could help me put plastic up on some windows in here to try and lower my heating bills here.


By 2 Nancy took off and i sat down here to catch up on emails and the phone rang. The SPCA had a pig in a eviction crises and while talking to them i saw a email from the family pleading for help.

Dec 1 late afternoon a Mom with her baby answers the door to the landlords. Facing eviction as the economy has taken the toll on this family and they are struggling to get back on there feet. The husband finally gets a job and is working 14 hour days and is not home when Mom lets the landlords in. Once she let them in they were allowed to throw her out. I wasn't there but i can imagine the mayhem that ensued from there and this is when the pig bolted out the door in the commotion and took refuge under the porch. And i spoke to both of the family members and i can tell you i cried along with both of them on the phone.

About 20 minutes from here i jumped in the truck to go to the house to see if the pig was still there as the landlords were threatening to take care of the situation in an unfavorable way. A little silver and white pig under the porch trying to keep warm in the hay and the blankets the family took over there. The family was unable to get the little traumatized friend and no where to take him they starting reaching out for help once they found help for themselves. I was able to figure out a game plan and spent a few hours back here trying to rally up help to pull rescue off. NO way could i leave this baby pig out there in this cold one night and at the risk of being eaten.

I called Carol at SAINTS and she rounded up two friends and we headed out here in the dark with flashlights , crate, hay bale string and a portable pen. I saw some fencing and some crates there we could use to pen in the porch. We would go in quiet so this little guy didn't bolt from under our trap. Quietly we placed pallets and wire pen, then secured it with the twine to the deck supports. I placed the crate where i figured the pig came and went as this is key to the way a pig travels. It is was easier to get the pig to go in a direction they know , then in one they have never been even in this situation.

Pigs are more like any feral animal when it comes to trapping them . And out of the 100 plus pigs i have known in my life not one of them will walk into a crate on there own. With or without food!!

Then two of us crawled under the 24" crawlspace and with a light broom i brought we took turns in herding the little boy as he had quite a bit of room under there to retreat too then we did. I cracked my head good on one of the supports under there and i still don't know what one of my hands sunk into. With no place to go as we were positioned well and as best as we could lying down under there he went for the crate, and with one little push we had him.

We were all back here by about an hour and a half later and the girls carried the crate into the great room here and i opened the crate door. He strutted right out tail wagging a mile a minute. He explored all over here and up down the hallway to the kitchen and back while we fed him treats and laughed about our Saturday night adventure.

All the kids needed to be fed here now and my day starting at 6:30 am unthawing a sump pump hose again ended with me starving and exhausted falling to the couch by 9.

This pig and I could really use a sponsor now if any one can help us. He will spent the winter in here as there are no empty piggy paddocks and tossing him in with any body right now is not a good option for this soft little house pig.

He is under a pile of blankets a few feet away from me and snoring every so lightly.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Janice, bless your heart for saving this little one, and in record time too! Lol! You would think you've done this a time or two before! I love that he just came marching out of the crate at your house, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He's a lucky boy, and beautiful too. Thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

oops, forgot to say who I am! It's me, Sherry! Lol~

Janice Gillett said...

Isn't that something Sherry, how many pigs do that!! Most pigs are scared to death to leave the crates and you have to take them apart and tip them out.

Jean said...

What a great pig-rescue story, Janice. So what is the new boy's name, and what does Mouse think of her new housemate? Or did Mouse decide to return to the herd?

This little pig has been fortunate to have had a loving family for at least a short part of his life. How sad that economic circumstances rip him from his home, but how wonderful that they have given him the confidence he needed to step out into your home. Welcome, piggy!

sharon mack said...

I LOST ANOTHER ONE LAST NITE TO AGE.IF I LIVED CLOSER,I WOULD TAKE HIM IN A HEARTBEAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING THERE FOR HIM. THE PIGGIE GODS THANK YOU TOO.

Janice Gillett said...

Mouse is having nothing to do with him and i swear she was standing there with a "who and what the heck is that " look on her face. LOL

His name which he knows is Bacon and that has got to change but what sounds like Bacon??

Janice Gillett said...

Oh noooooooo Sharon, I am so sorry!!!!

Jean said...

How about calling him Mason? Sounds enough like Bacon for him to recognize it, and while it originally refered to a person who does stonework, the idea that he is strong in spirit and steady as a 'rock' make the name appropriate to his personality.

Jean said...

Oh, or if you don't like Mason, what about Acorn (will someday be a mighty oak!) or Jacob? Both have the long a and hard c sound of bacon.

Misery's Fence said...

"His name which he knows is Bacon and that has got to change but what sounds like Bacon??"

How about a nice Irish name, Declan?


Miz

Misery's Fence said...

How about a good Irish name, Declan? Does sound a bit like Bacon...

Jean said...

Okay, one more comment and then I'll shut up (sorry, there doesn't seem to be a way to recapture one's comment to edit or change them!):
One of my suggestions in my earlier comment was Jacob. Jacob was one of the patriarchs of the Jewish religion. Jews don’t eat pork. There would be something ironically appropriate in giving a pig who was once named Bacon the name of an historical leader of a culture who never eats bacon!!
So I think my vote goes to Jacob. :)

Janice Gillett said...

Both good ideas, he is just a little fancy boy and had no problem chomping at a few pigs this morning !! I added a clip, turn it down lol

Jean said...

Great video, Janice! I love when the piggy gives Buddy a kiss!

And I like the name Declan, too!

See..lots of options for you. Perhaps Bacon will have his own ideas about his new name for his new life?

Janice Gillett said...

He is a smart little pig and i bet they must of said the very same thing to that pig. Although i was asking Buddy to give the kiss he responded to my words right away. They told me there Bernese Mt cross loved the pig and they slept together ;o(( the gal was crying her heart out as she was sure her dog missed the pig.. ;o(((((

Colleen said...

What a wonderfully happy ending for this wee one YAY!!

Love the video....he sure is a little cutie!