Pro's and Con's

Burnaby Pathfinders returned to the Sanctuary Saturday morning and took care of the animals in so many ways. The girls took turns at chores like raking manure , scrubbing out water tubs , moving brush and even replaced a tire on one of the wheel barrows. I can't say enough about the girls and the team leaders here as they attack every project with a smile on there face and nothing is too much for them to handle. I see a bright future for these girls as the life skills they learn with this organization is clearly building a solid foundation for there tomorrows. Just before they must leave time is set aside to spend with the animals too. Treats and love shared with everyone and watching two little girls tossing treats over there backs to keep big Rose off of there's is an image that makes me smile and one i won't ever forget.

Community Service has sent me someone new and Nick tackled my wood pile and got almost all of it organized out front and that eye sore out of the way. Now everything is separated , easy to get too and i know what i have under that pile.

My sister was here and she did the barn and raked the pasture of manure! Then a surprise visit by both Carolyne our bunny girl, and Alex who arrived with her dog little dog Sophie. They finished up the last two piggy paddocks , thank goodness !! And what a treat it was to just sit around after and visit in the sun, and then take little Sophie for a walk around the acreage.

B.C. Corrections has a work program for low profile offenders and i have hired about ten guys and they have been down here every day since last Wednesday. They removed all the salmon berry brush that was climbing over the 8ft fence line on the acreage out back. Posts and wire needs to be replaced and we will reuse what we can. I also needed boards put down on the bottom of the entire fence line to keep snouties from rooting under and ending up at my neighbors for dinner. This will also bring safety to the animals here and not make it so easy for black bears to climb over. When you look out back you see the forest now and we have added some square footage too as the fence is being moved back about 40-50 ft in some places. This gives the pigs some natural habitat to explore and shade for my horses.

I do let out some of the pigs when the guys are here and of course Buddy and some of my more professional moochers set up camp around the cook as he prepares lunch for the crew. What they did in life to have them end up where they are is none of my business but i will tell you they are polite, respectful and mindful of me and the animals here. Sharing there lunch and left overs , petting pigs and horses is a common sight. And my dog Buddy is exhausted when they leave. ;o)

So this morning Mom has baked two large apple pies and she will arrive with her gift for our working crew this morning. A small diversion from prison life with a token of our appreciation , what could be better but a slice of Moms apple pie.

The pigs we placed are doing well in there new homes and have spoken to both families. Polly and Anna's Mom called worried because one of the pigs wouldn't eat dinner one night. The following morning that pig got up and headed out with new Mom tailing her. And that took her right to the shed where the chicken feed is kept and lead her to the bag she had got into the day before.

Daphne the over fed girl is learning all about love and trust at her new home as the fat has left her blind and deaf. Pretty scary for a pig to be moved some where new and not having sight to see where she landed. But her new family is proving to her she is safe now and she can root to her content if she wants too.

Lugar ( 3 legged Shepard) is still missing on the island and now another dog( boxer) is missing in Langley who needs medication.

Following these stories and the pet rabbit slaughter at the Victoria University and then watching the CBC footage taken at a Calgary horse slaughter plant is enough to make any one sick. If one of those horses or rabbits was in your back yard you would be facing Animal Cruelty charges. But animal production plants and government agencies are clearly above the law. A handful of us in this cesspool of sickness has me wondering if we will ever evolve into a compassionate society.

An up close shot of our cute Panda Man and new guy Sherman checking out where he has moved too.

We are grateful to all of you who have helped me create Sanctuary, where our residents are safe and surrounded by love here.

The Three Pigs

Over a month ago a gal contacted me who had just moved into a rental property in Langley. Two pigs had been left behind and in a matter of weeks her call regarding care went to i might keep them to i have to get rid of them. I assured her i would take care of them to just give me some time to try and find them a home. Her life also fell apart as did her marriage and the pigs were abandoned once again. Enter Karen who adopted two of our pigs a few years ago jumps to my emergencies for transport agreed to foster them for a confident two weeks max. Just how many pigs can i take care of by myself during the week, i have 40 here now? Miracles do happen and an email came in from our out reach and networking, these two pigs were wanted by a family outside of Kelowna. Home check and vet references aced , Karen transported the kids on monday to there forever home. These two girls have some pretty nice artwork in there heated house complete with automatic water stations and hay nesting materials.


About two months ago a family contacted me from Kamloops. They had a 4 year old female house pig who was tying them down. They could never go any where because of there pig. Not only was this pig over fed she was massive thanks to the hog grower she was fed. Fat blind and huge i didn't think i would ever find her a home and wondered where i would put her here. Its hard enough to find good homes for pot bellied pigs here never mind a huge one. Her one and only picture supplied by her family is one of a fat depressed pig. Awwwww but the wonders of technology and face book i posted that picture and met many new pig friends. Daphene arrived with her frying pan for a dinner dish and her blankets to her new forever home in Sorrento on Monday. This fat blind cranky pig wasn't allowed on the grass at her old place and she doesn't know it yet but she has been transported to paradise. There she goes with her little step brother in pursuit on grass like any pig needs.

What to feed?

Every once in a while a conversation about feed comes into play. I have addressed the issue on my website and it really needs to be updated. The topic makes me crazy and on my website i have basically said:

"Pigs are just that, pigs. You would not feed cat food to your dog nor should you feed dog food to your pig. People way smarter then us have scientifically developed feed which contain the correct nutritional value , minerals and vitamins they need.
Over feeding or feeding the wrong food can cause so many medical problems I can't begin to address them all here.
Pigs who develop too much fat around the head causes blindness as the fat closes in over their eyes. They will also go deaf as the fat smothers everything.

Too little feed or the incorrect one will not keep your pig small, it will just cause development problems and you will have a starving pig in varied stages of malnutrition. "

Sadly many still think they are doing right as they have followed advise from the feed stores and they may be the biggest problem here. Some people take there jobs seriously and educated themselves so they can represent the product they merchandise on behalf of the animals they stock food for, some do not. I think some merchandisers will sell you anything to make the sale for various reasons. Maybe they don't bring the correct feed in, they can't be bothered too or they make more money selling you a bag of cheap rabbit pellets then they would on a bag of specialized feed.

The base for many of the grazing farm animal feeds is the same, for example it maybe hay based or alfalfa based. It will have added selenium,vitamins and minerals for example to support the species it is being milled for. What i am saying here is that you may see many of the same things listed on your feed bags from one animal to the next. However the ratios for different species is totally different , these feeds are NOT the same or good enough.

I can't get my head around how people can buy hog grower , horse pellets , rabbit pellets or chicken feed for there pigs. The key clue here is what it is being milled for and states that right on the bag. It is being formulated for that specific species ONLY.

Your pigs need the correct nutritional value and the ratio of food , vitamin and mineral content to keep your animal healthy. Everything you eat or you feed your animal should be about optimum health for long life. This equals good skeleton growth to organs and what the feed is formulated to do.

A low protein diet formulated for rabbits for example is the wrong feed ratio requirements for a pig.

Hog Grower is milled to

increase speed growth

for these doomed pigs to ready for slaughter. Do not ever feed your pet pot bellied pigs this formula.

Rabbit food is high protein do not be fooled that thinking a 12% protein designed for rabbits is a low protein diet for pigs because it is only 12%. Same as horse, chicken or big pig feed. These percentages are calculated ratios for the specific breed. Rabbit feed is too high of a protein no matter what percentage it is as that percentage is calculated by what is required for rabbits not pigs. Not only will this add fat it will cause liver and kidneys to work harder to filter /process incorrect feed ratios.

Also i will point out here that pot bellied pigs are prone to kidney stones and the feed has additives to help alleviate the probability of your pigs getting them. Male pigs die from blocked urinary tracts every day , it is why feeding the correct food and protein levels for the correct species is so important.

Please buy your pot bellied pig feed that is being milled for pot bellied pigs. It took years for scientists, professors , nutritionists , behaviorists and veterinarians to come up with the right formula to keep your pot bellied pigs at optimum health.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Leading up to Saturday our join up for volunteers wasn't looking too promising. In fact after 9;00 am that morning and looking out side with the rain coming down i feared no one was coming. I couldn't of been more wrong and surprised. Two new friends Clare and Jenn arrived with gloves and rubber boots and proceeded with doing all the dishes and doing waters. Kelly who is a long time piggy friend rounded up three friends and attacked the pasture, the barn and took out a fence that opened the acreage up even more. Mitch who is doing community hours is a a HUGE help and while i do one lane of the piggy paddocks he is doing all the rest. Alex and Sophie( pooch) arrive and even more gets done! By 1;00 we were all soaked, dirty, proud and happy!!

The pigs were spoiled with gifts of peanuts, raisins, grapes, carrots, apples , and celery. So they had breakfast, snacks and lunch!! lol

Meanwhile Marty was busy putting the finishing touches on Pandas paddock and our little fat man worked off some calories pacing and chewing on his new digs. Just so you all know one pigs paddock cost the Sanctuary over $2000.00. His impeding neuter will be another 600.00. Thank goodness Marty got the shed Panda called home since he arrived renovated and moved or that would of been another added expense.

Jane a new friend and teacher arrived with a BIG surprise a few weeks ago. With Tory starting his journey to Heaven i am only now catching up. Thankfully Panda has been sponsored by her Div 3 class at Harry Sayers Elementary School who put on an Easter egg( plastic eggs) hunt to benefit Elizabeth's Wildlife Center and us! How cool is that and i am looking forward to there visit here in the near future!

Alex and I came in the house and looked up some remedies for her pooch and alone at 4 i finally did three nights of dishes. Cheryl arrived 20 minutes into them with a case of vegan dog biscuits for Buddy and the pigs. A visit lead her into helping me feed the pigs and by 8 i was alone and starving.

I love it when people ask me what i do with my time...every day i work for the pigs ..every minute of every day.

Two pigs left behind in Langley were rounded up by Karen who has two of our pigs and helps me with transport all the time. And our good fortune carry's on with receiving an email from someone wonderful in Kelowna who wants to adopt them. Deb of CritterCare and CDART did the home check for us and me thinks these two pigs will be traveling to there new home on Monday.

We are still searching for a home for a pig in Kamloops and every day I worry when two girly pigs, who are on borrowed time at a California Shelter. And Lugar a missing dog who you can read about on Jeans Blog " My Life with Critters" that you can find on blogs that i follow here.

I am having problems with my system and will try pictures later ...

pigs and more pigs

Since Tortillas crossing it took me a few days to get moving again after that long struggle to try and keep Tory with me longer. And poor Panda man being stuck in that shed is sucking the energy out of me everyday. I have lost track of how many guys i have had down here and the quest to get it finished is still before me.

So with Tory's paddock empty i wasn't really ready to put a pig in there but Panda wins over what i am ready for. So i got the water dish filled and raked up some of his bedding and out walked Panda into the sun. We casually walked up pasture and past the horses who were eating there hay. About 45 minutes of meandering Panda caught scent of unspayed Cassandra. It took a while to coax him around but he followed chomping and foaming at the mouth all the way. The fence fighting with his neighbor Don Juan started right away and the two of them raced back and forth up there fence lines. Panda alive with the scent of the females here was so fired up he was beside himself. Hunks of the wood on the bottom rails were ripped right off by his agitated self . He rooted his water dish and then cooled himself off by rolling in the wet soil he rooted up.

I couldn't stand to watch him and came in the house hoping he would settle down in a few hours. My sister stopped by a few hours later and when she came in the house i asked her did you see Panda Man? How could she miss him??? Then she looked out the window and said " he looks like he is in the pen next door".

Fearing a huge fight already in progress i leaped to my feet and we raced outside to get him out of there. That fat pig climbed over the fence, in his quest to get to lady Cassandra!!! Nancy and I got him out of there just in time to see Don poke his head out the door way to see what all the commotion was about. Panda followed us all the way back to his shed and i have never seen a pig more happy to be home. He tossed himself into his straw in sheer exhaustion. Pandas pen must be fortified.


I had 14 little kids visit from a Day care Centre so that was fun, cute little kids in pink, piglet t's and hand crafted piggy masks. Patsy had prepared little juice box lunches for them all so they had lunch here on the picnic tables. Casanova, Winnie and Dylan circled the camp for left overs.

Yesterday afternoon i received a call from Jeff who I met when he reached out to me to home his lone piggy. He worked long hours and is a single dad with shared custody of his daughter. At the time i was at the old place and was doing my best to not take in any more pigs and after his visit he understood and could see i already had enough on my plate and left me with a nice donation.

The reason for his call was in desperation, his home had burnt down that very day and he needed Sherman the piggy out of there. So today Sherman arrived and he wagged his tail and according to Jeff he has never seen his pig so alive!! My tears of sorrow for this little pig have been replaced by thoughts of his good
fortune at arriving here today. This little 4 1/2 year old ,one eared piggy moving into Tortillas paddock seemed so right.

Tortilla Flys

March 23,2003 is a significant date for two reasons. Willy my beloved first pig would be going to heaven, and secondly because this is the same day 9 year old Tortilla arrived.

Going back and forth from Willy to Tortilla had me ask him for a kiss too and unlike Willy’s gentle Eskimo kiss , Tory just about knocked me over. The following day Tortilla was in his house and I was sobbing over Willy and talking out loud to Tory about how I understood what it is like to loose someone you love. Tortilla’s human father had succumbed to cancer so he would be grieving too. With tears streaming down my face Tortilla came roaring out of his house towards me and me trying to get up and give him back my reaction he went flying over the water dish and got away. Welcome home Tortilla.

I tried to give Tortilla little things he had been used too when he had his family. Spending nights in the big house and getting peoples food on occasion and covering him with blankets on the couch.

Tortilla took a long time for him to accept me, and I accepted that he would always be his Dads pig but this was totally different when it came to my Mom. Tory came to life when my Mom would come over as she cooed “Tory its Grandma , your Grandma’s boy aren’t you” . His eyes would get bright and his nose would be raised to her with a waggy tail.

Tortilla’s heart also was with his horses. I have pictures and movies of him laying with them, getting nuzzled by Dior and grazing together. Last year when he was notably slower he still will walk all the way out to the pasture to be with them , if he was close to his herd he was happy. When I moved all of us here I made sure his paddock would back onto the horses fence, by the barn so he could always be near them. And when we moved Tortilla into the shed to care for him Dior would poke her head threw the opening of the top portion of the barn door. She felt the same way about him as she looked over to her friend.

Last night for his dinner I brought out ice cream and pears his favorite. Tortilla could not hold himself up and rested on his side . I hand fed orange slices and I cupped my hand under his face to catch the pieces that would fall out the other side so I could pop them back in there. We had a good rhythm going some times. And while I fed him we talked about old times.

And I told him if he could get up I would stop all of this so if he wasn’t ready he better try. But this morning he could barley swallow a sliver of a piece pizza and I found the second little piece under his cheek later .no struggle this morning to try and get it back in his mouth.


I told Tortilla that Willy told me it was like a warm rush when he flew to heaven. And that Willy said pigs do have wings and Tortilla got really still and quiet when I shared this vital information. I told him he was a good good pig and that I loved him so much . I reminded him of how perfect he is , perfect nose , perfect ears , nice bristles and a kissable snouty.

And I took off my ball cap and gave him a gentle kiss this morning. My sister and a good friend Jane surrounded him while Tortilla got sedated and I went threw what I had already told him that I would be right here as the doctor gave him something to make him all sleepy , it wouldn’t hurt and then he would fly. That he would see his Dad there , something I promised him a long time ago. You will see your Dad again Tory , your going to see your Dad.



.

My words to a friend this morning..

It will take a miracle now.. and I found a post on my blog from almost a year ago when Tory started to have trouble. My hope that meds are going to help old age or quite possible a pig full of cancer are getting dim. I couldn’t bare to turn him over yesterday..his cries are pathetic when I reposition his head for feeding. Cries from a pig who is hurting or week grumbling from a pig like all pigs who hate to be handled like this.

Last night he just about came unglued when I brought him spaghetti.. but once the food is gone is succumbs to his weakness. I helped my best dog friend down at 16 years old when she too could no longer get up.. I took her to McDonalds and she loved her ice cream and hamburger but then laid down in the truck with that glazed look in her eyes.. then we went to the vets.. I didn’t put her threw all of this perhaps this answers my self in what I am to do to day…crying…

Tory

Tortilla is no better and no worse.. tomorrow will tell much as then he would have been on all these antibiotics for at least three days. I added a new one last night... He is resting comfy on a stack of blankets in Penny's house. Between me checking on him every hour he has the close company of another pig. He is never alone...

I have gone threw the morning with the norm, Meds to Tory, jucie and apples. Carrots for all the pigs breakfast except for Panda Man i took some pellets and a cut up apple. Hopefully his pen and house will be ready for Saturday. And one of the guys is here working on that and yet it feels so quiet here . I have reponded to emails and net worked for two pigs. Did the dishes and handed a extra carrot to Mouse. I talked to Wayne my shed guy on the phone for a little bit too and Mouse is now oofing behind me. The sun is out , the birds are singing and the water fall in the pond creates a ripple in the water, There is movement, sound and light.

I went down stairs and got the fly masks for the horses and gave them a good brush. No need for halters and lead ropes , my two girls stand in a row waiting for me to love on them. Brushing there beautiful mane and tails out, with a reward of alflafa for being so good after.

And as i went threw all of these rituals if you will today , it felt like i did them all in a trance. My heart is heavy with worry for Tortilla and even though with all this going on around me my decisions regarding him are mine and it can be quite lonely.

This is Good Exercise

Thursday morning breakfast ends at Tortillas paddock, a 16 1/2 year old who needs help getting up sometimes. I gave him a lift but he weebled and bobbed and then crashed to ground. Unlike a cat or dog who might just lay there a pig screams out in panic.. unable to get up i hoisted him up and repeated this about ten times. Unable to leave him..what am i to do? Thankfully Leanne arrived to do trim horse's hooves and she helped me load Tortilla into the lower section of a crate and onto a wheel cart. We then rolled him into Penny's big shed and got him bedded down. Exhausted he fell to sleep. Tortilla is a healthy weight at oh about 170 lbs.

What can you do for a senior pig who looses the ability to use his hind end? Well a few calls to the vet and correspondence to a friend who is a vet in the states and an email to another friend who is a homeopathic. I covered every approach here ..

Two days of diet change, one night of pain killers and on going homeopathic remedies. This mornings shock was finding Tortilla laying in a pool of blood and urine soaked cement. How he got out of his confines , but he did get up too poop and then that is when all hell broke loose for him. Thankfully the blood was a cut foot not something internal.. poor guy. What luck this would occur on a Saturday morning when help would arrive and help me get this big boy cleaned up, cozy and securely penned.

The rest of the day pretty well went the same way. A new guy doing community hours with farm experience was a blessing as he got started on the big pigs paddocks and pretty well did them all. Alex and Cesar arrived and could only stay and hour driving all this way from Surrey to rake poop too. Melissa and Sue came to help for the day and for the first time so got to work on the waters after they helped me with Tortilla until the well stopped providing us with water.

On the phone with the well repair guy i see Rose charge Mouse, enter my racing after a farm pig with one boot on and one boot off. Telephone flying in the air and falling to pieces and my well guy is still on the phone after i retrieve it and put it back together. lol.

Two guys i hired to start bush whacking started yesterday at 10am. I had to go get groceries so confirmed with them they would be here when i got back so i left pigs out and the house open. I got home at 3 , no guys, pigs out , house open, tools everywhere. No note , no call..but a brand new pitch fork bent beyond repair and tucked behind the other .. they arrive at 11:30 today to commence work. ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME?????????

My sister worked with Sterling who has one more day left here doing the barn and the pasture work for the horses.

Oh and did i mention Panda man chewed a hole in the shed and ripped a few boards off so he could see what was going on here? I went out there with boards when i was ready to collapse and then realized his window had a wire fence wall in front of it. Fine leave it then until a few hours later when i saw him sticking his foot threw it so then i went and grabbed my hammer.

During which time Scotch who is in love with my horses has been chased out of the pasture three times. The carpenter arrived to look over the pen work i need done for Wilbe and comments "that's good exercise". Yea..okay like i need more exercise. But he is a good guy and unbelievable he knows what he is talking about!! They will be back tomorrow with materials and reinforcements!!

I got in at 4, took a break which was networking to try and find homes for two more pigs , ate bread, then went back out to start to feed at 6 and I am back in the house at 8 telling you all how my day went.. no the last few days..wait last week was crazy too..um i don't think the week before was any different.

With out words and what we are saying..

I don't have a degree in animal behavior but what i do have, as any one would who loves animals is an understanding of them from our own personal experiences. I also believe when our life force becomes interwoven with them we heighten our empathic abilities. There fore the opposite will be true too, the more we connect with them works both ways.

My belief is that animals use verbal and telepathic skills to communicate and there basic survival skills are honed by watching body language whether they are prey or predator. We do too, perhaps on a more unconscious level.

I bet there isn't a person reading this who hasn't said in conversation something like "she knew exactly what i was saying" or "he knew i was getting the bath water ready for him". How do they know from filling the tub up for us one night to filling it up for them on another ? We didn't say anything out loud yet... but they know as soon as we turn the water on. Because they are watching us and they master our moves, our reactions and our feelings as it is instinctual to them to do so. Emotionally setting ourselves up to wash a dog who doesn't like to get in the bath triggers emotions, excited energy -they see and feel that.

I felt a need to share this as a subtle reminder occurred over the last week or so. Don Juan, a pig i have had over a year had suddenly got angry with me before we all moved here and just after selling the acreage. I was an emotional mess , crying and stressed. I know this is why he acted like he was going to bite my foot that day and the fight was on. How he perceived my weakness and how it effected him emotionally was yet to be learned.

Tusker's is an unaltered male pig because of medical reasons. His tusks grow thick and fast and i have to wire trim them about every 1 1/2 years. He is a timid pig and every time i do this it sets us back again a little as trust is lost between us. I trapped him in his safe place, his house. And then grab him so he is sitting on his bottom and my helper being Jane this time sawed the tusks off. I hate scaring them this way and put it off as long as i can.

I do procrastinate when it comes to scaring my pigs.. and doing tusks and hooves will do that too them so I appreciated Jane having the guts to help and the push I needed to do it. Tusker's looks ten years younger to me and seems happier but isn't that how i feel because its done and i don't have to worry about it anymore? I thought of it every time I was near him and that is no good for him or me. He feels better because I feel better, harmony restored between us and he can feel secure gain. He will no longer feel my worry when i see him and he sees me.

Its really stupid of me not to realize this as well as the obvious physical need. How or what we do, think or feel will effect our charges, because we portray our emotions physically and emotionally.

Its really common sense, isn’t it? If we were around some one sad day after day , that would consume us too. It would effect us, it would be hard to be around it and we might want to escape from it. How we would deal with that on an emotional level is uncertain,we might want to push it away and get angry. I am thinking of Don Juan now. My sadness and stress , the feelings of uncertainty triggered the same emotions in him. His reaction, was distrust and instability so to protect himself he wanted the weak link in the herd out. That was me.

My lesson learned is if i am putting something off that needs to be done isn't helping me or my charges.. get it done I will feel better and so will they.

And how i feel can be interpreted so many ways by the animals or people around me when instincts to survive kick in. They are as complex as us emotionally but have fine tuned and heightened their sixth sense.

Rose my big pig could be trusted around the little pigs until last month. Penny was out enjoying her day and Rose and i met her around back during a little walk. Warning Rose to not touch her and a flash picture of her charging her in my mind is exactly what happened next. I was so mad at her i chased her home, but did i in fact show her to do that in my minds eye with what i thought and pictured? Why didn't she listen to my words??? Because I spoke to her using her language.. one not of words.