Pond Wars

When I first came to look at this place i saw the pond and noticed the few gold fish still alive in it. I worried as the past seller must of left them behind and was the current renter feeding them ? This was too be the beginning of my emotional attachment as even when i returned for a second look in desperation to find a place i had bought fish flakes to ride along with my Realtor.

When i bought i knew i had several more responsibilities in the way of fish and bought only the best fish food and learned about winter and summer feeding.

A few weeks ago i also learned about this weird creepy bugs attached to some of my bulrushes were empty shells of the pond bugs who emerged as beautiful dragon flies. A magic pond ..

And my seven large fish, turned into 14 large fish and and so on. Last week i stopped counting at 39 babies swimming around. This brought a new dilemma of how big my pond was, and how many fish it could adequately support. And as a rescuer this only means i will eventually need to find good homes for some of these fish. Everything I do is reflected from my work with animals as clearly as the fish in the water. And my mind filters threw the process of adoption such as who hangs out with each other, is there pond sufficient and is it protected from predators?

My little pond is very close to the house and surrounded by all these pigs. I smugly thought we were safe here.

Several years ago gathering up and sorting donations for an upcoming garage sale, I pulled out two decoy ducks. Ducks which will lure other ducks in , who will see there mates and join them at what must be a good food source only to be blasted out of the sky. These ducks would be retired to my Moms garden until last week-end.

Mom arrived on Thursday to spend the night and brought the ducks with her and we released them into the pond. We smiled in delight watching the ducks sail away threw the grass in my little pond.

Monday morning i was sitting at my desk and happened to see the flash of large white wings at my pond. Flying out there in bare feet i scared the large crane and it jolted my biggest gold fish out of his mouth. Screaming "you killed my big one" i cupped the big fish in my hands. She MOVED so i put her back in the pond and thanked God for her life and hoped she would survive her ordeal.

My heart pounding i sprang into action to get a make shift scare crow out there and searched the Internet for ideas on how to protect my fish. I was sick about it, and with them all in hiding the days before me would tell me how many that big bird swallowed before i saw her. The whole ordeal knocked the wind out of me and i mourned as i would for any of my friends in trouble or killed all day. I never left this window and and that bird came back as i saw her shadow overhead and saw her pattern change in flight when she saw my scarecrow first and then me running back out there. At 6:30 that same day a heron flew in and i just happened to look up from the tv and scared her away.

Why now!!!!!!!!!!! Why after all these months are these birds flying in here!!!!!!!! THE DARN DECOY DUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMDAWG """"DECOY"""". These big birds flying over head did see these plastic bills and seeking out good fishing saw two in my pond doing just that. Sick that i did this to my fish i got them the hell out of there.

Yesterday I spent all morning putting chicken wire around the edge of the pond. As both these big birds landed and then walked in. I also flew into town to the pond supply place to buy what ever i needed but they were closed. I ended up going to a few Loonie Stores to buy some whirly things i had seen before. Hoping the movement of these things would keep these birds at bay.


My big fish was laying at the bottom of the pond this morning and i can see torn scales on her from where that big bird's beak had a grip on her. An hour later she is swimming again and i should be working on my grant right now. But i do love them all and my fish are as dear to me as any of the animals here and i pray she makes it.

Sheep Wag Tails too

The only thing different is how we treat them...

Jack Of Hearts

Hearts On Noses goes to various events trying to raise awareness of there work and ultimately funds to support it. I have always worked full time and am currently looking again after moving and now must as my insurance has run out. When I attend these events it takes a huge sacrifice and adds to the work load to pull it off. There is is only so many hours in two days off and when the first day off is catching up on routine piggy paddock clean up the second day is left for buying what ever is required for the work week ahead. Not any different from any body else except my extended family who must be cared for consists of 45 large animals. It will take truck loads of groceries , truck loads of hay and of course i will also have to put it all away.

Now in between I will fit in my own groceries, if there is room in the truck or return to town again for me after. Like any one else i will do a little clean up as things go in the fridge , things will be tossed and this goes for my feed room too. Most will take a garbage bag out, I will fill up my pick up truck after i tear down the cardboard boxes and gather up all the empty feed bags, tie it down or tarp as required by the tipping station.

Some say " well i do some of that after work at night". I feed 45 animals when i get home from work at night. There also will always be someone here who needs special care, special food and several who will need meds or supplements. The amount of time can suck up 2 1/2 hours every night.

I am also running the charity here which consumes the same amount of time as any small business would with paperwork, accounting , filing and customer service for people and pigs in need.

Now where am i going with all of this well when i do an event and it sucks up all the time i need to do everything else it has to be done after work at night. So for a week or so after work I am picking up hay and then putting it away and apologizing to every animal here who is weeing, whinnying, meowing and whining for there dinner. Everything will be set back and it will be a peanut butter sandwich for dinner for a few nights for me.

One of those nights after such a week-end event i left work and headed to the grocery store and planned on the way home to feed first and then put groceries away.

I pulled in the driveway and when i got out of my truck I heard a pig oofing very excitably to my left. This was the voice of a little pig not one of my big pigs who live in that direction so my first thought was "who got out"? All the pigs are safe in paddocks when i am not home.

Out from behind the house emerged one very excited little piglet and one I did not know. Gone are the days of emotions like panic as when your doing rescue your life is full of constant surprises. So when it registered this was a new pig i hoped when i went to grab a bag of apples to entice him with that he had arrived here alone.

This baby boy pig was not neutered and in a state of excitement having landed in a place full of girly pigs , some who weren't spayed due to age or health reasons. He was literally "foaming at the mouth" and racing from one paddock to another! He didn't want my apple offering, it was girls he wanted!!!

His capture on the two acres would require some help and thankfully back then i had a good volunteer who brought her husband along for the fun. We got this little pig corralled in a corner while he made advances at one of the girls . Tacked up a sheet of plywood to keep him there and then went and got a crate. Once in the crate with no empty pens i went to the barn and prepared water, food and a hay nest for the little tyke. The horse's would have to eat outside for a few weeks until i could get him neutered, accommodations, a house and a pen.

Once we got him settled in and some space between him and his desires , Jack Of Hearts was welcomed home. 2 hours have gone by and i still have to put groceries away and i have another mouth to feed.

I never found out who dropped him off here or what his story was but he is one of the Noses now.

And events i still try to fit in, but catch up is brutal.

Tea Cup Pig

Four years ago a family wrote me after they had visited friends who were raising pigs for slaughter. They left after there visit with the runt of the litter fearing he would get trampled to death by the other pigs in his pen. They brought him home to there suburban home and fixed him a cozy place in the kids play house and then looked for a home for him and emailed me.

And what luck for this little pig as i actually had a great family who wanted to adopt a pot belly pig and were keen on a farm pig too. They visited the Sanctuary a few times and with pre-adotpion approved I did the home check too. I made several recommendations on the pen and care and little baby Roscoe would surely move there. In fact the night before his arrival i supplied the hay , the water dishes and a baby portable pen to be used.. He was just a baby and still only Tea Cup size ;o))

Contracts signed with a promise from the family to have him neutered before 3 months old as these pigs grow up fast and he was too teeny at this time. Two months later i began my phone calls at about every two weeks urging them to get him done. My last call just prior to Christmas was met with a strong promise from the family that i wouldn't need to worry, that baby Roscoe would be taken care of.

A few months later i was on the road and realized i was driving right by where Roscoe lived. A hot sunny day i pulled over and jumped out of the truck and me with no treats grabbed hand fulls of lush grass and walked up towards his enclosure on this 5 acre property.

The family was outside and the women seeing my arm full of grass asked me "do pigs like grass"? This was a HUGE red flag for me as that comment alone told me many things about how this pig was living. Gads them not knowing if he liked grass meant they never gave him hay at least to sleep on because then they would know he would eat it all and this also told me he never got out of the pen. Because if he was out on this rich grass he would be eating mouth fulls of the stuff and they would see that.

And as i walked by the man i asked him if he had Roscoe neutered and his reply was a 'nope" and i felt the anger welling up in me.

Roscoe now 4 1/2 months old was laying in knee deep mud in the same small pen big enough for a pot bellied pig not an animal 3x times that size.No hay for bedding and his water trough was bone dry. He welcomed the grass i brought him and now i was really mad.

Not pulling any punches i exclaimed this pig was not living like a companion animal , " you didn't even know if he liked grass??? " and no water , this pen is too small for him and don't you ever let him out???? I was met with "well we were thinking bout getting rid of him" .. and my reply " I'll be taking care of that!!"

I got to tell you when Roscoe and I go for walks around the acreage he follows me like any good dog would. Stopping to nibble now and then and then brushing his big self next to me as if he needs to confirm I am here for him and this brings him comfort as he expresses his love . He will dash off to explore on any given day but return to me 15 minutes later to confirm i am indeed here, like a child would do with his Mom. He welcomes me each time with throaty hello's and we catch up on news from when he last left my side.

His is huge and this picture shows you just how big he is in front of my friend Karen's truck. In person however the only thing big about Roscoe to me is his inquisitive nature and the security he needs from me when his big self gently brushes my side.


Will add pix later as Blogger is giving me some grief here ..

New GEICO Commercial - Piggy

Why Do Canadian Farm Animal Sanctuary’s Struggle?

Americans gave more than $307.65 billion to their favorite causes despite the economic conditions in 2008. Total giving, when adjusted for inflation, was down 5.7 percent, the largest drop recorded since the group began keeping track of America’s charitable contributions. Many had expected a sharper decline in giving with the recession. It’s important to keep in mind that despite the downturn, giving still totaled $307 billion and individual giving continues to be in the 82 percent of total giving range.
USA as of February 2009, the United States has a total resident population of 305 million Areas: 9,161,923 SQ KM

Canadians donated a total of $10.0 billion in 2007, up from $8.9 billion in 2004. In 2007, the average donation was $437, compared with $400 in 2004. These increases were not adjusted for inflation.

As of April 1, 2009, Canada's population was an estimated 33,592,700,
Area: 9,093,507 SQ KM

The area per SQ KM is comparable; however the population base is substantially different therefore the donation base is over whelming compared to ours. This of course means more foundations, more grants , bigger industries and more people giving .
Pigs particularly have a stigma attached to them that they are dirty animals. Consider we say ‘sweat like a pig” or “messy like a pig sty” and ‘dirty or stink like a pig”. Pigs have no sweat glands and require shade or mud wallows to cool of in during the hot seasons. Pigs if given a choice will not relieve themselves where they eat or sleep. All animals are as dirty as there keeper is. And pigs have no scent at all once altered .
Even most ridged animal lovers can’t relate to pigs as companion animals and are prone to give to cat and dog rescues as that is who they can identify with the Spot or Fluffy because they have one laying on there beds. Compared to our USA counterparts and the difference in the population once again more will have pigs as pets so most Sanctuaries do quite well there.
Also Sanctuaries who also have a feline or canine population will draw the public support and quite often funds the farm animals in there care. For those of us specializing in one species such as horse’s , chickens , cows or pigs are struggling to fund there operation and are stagnant in growth and the inability to do more.
At January 1, Canadian hog producers had an estimated 11.6 million hogs on their farms. To the average person a pig is a pig, big or small.
Finally I will share a recent experience with a Brownie Leader who wanted her group the visit the Sanctuary but didn’t want her daughter to refuse pork when she left here. In her words she had enough trouble getting her to eat as it was. I have to also realize that this is not an isolated incident and that many simply do not want to face what they eat.

A Garden Rose

And where else would one find such a beautiful Rose? The last picture is a little movie if you click onto it. ;o)

Cranky Jan

I have become addicted to Face book LOL One of the gals husband i met on there calls it "Crackbook"..he may have something there.

Face book is a flurry of like minded people all doing there part for every walk of life imaginable.. of course the opposite is true too and there much shared and posted not for the sensitive soul. So many videos of under cover investigations of slaughter houses and things done to animals that belong in horror movies not in real life. Our world is a cesspool of evilness and in reality a handful of us against it. Daily posts of dogs with days to live unless a miracle occurs and its usually rescue.. some pictures haunt you.. Like the two pigs at Kern Shelter in California who killed the two pigs we were all working on and then killed another a few days later,how do you go on? You go on for the next one ..

You read articles about a barn housing 2400 pigs in it where the owner stopped feeding them until the stench of death brought the mounties. How this horrific act of cruelty will go unpunished and a petition to gain justice for these souls barley made it to 1000 signatures. I am angry that millions of people saw it and half of them complained about acts of cruelty at some time in there lives and why these scum of the earth go unpunished. Nothing happens to these sickos because we can't even get 1200 people (HALF OF THE PIGS WHO DIED) to sign it. And if everyone got the big picture here it is about ALL acts of cruelty not just about my beloved pigs.

Two more pigs 45 minutes east of me were stopped short of being slaughtered by the family who never intended on keeping them this long. The free ad on Craig List is brought to my attention and I plead with the family to give me two weeks. I ask them to take down the advertisement and I begin working for two pigs i don't know.

There as cute as a dickens and almost carbon copies of the pigs we found a home for in Kelowna last month. Thankfully Pam and Dave opened there hearts and there home to another pair of needy souls. Transport to Sorrento is being firmed up and hopefully will go down smoothly on Tuesday.

I don't think anyone is coming to help tomorrow and i have been kept busy all week with keeping the pigs cool. Wallows and pools filled with fresh water just about every day , the rain was refreshing last night. And having a truck again and getting caught up with what one needs to do to feed , bed and hay all the animals here. Every load in, is a load to the dump with empty boxes and feed bags...

The night before while watching Roscoe it occurred to me that i have built one hell of a personal petting zoo for myself here and perhaps i should throw in the towel by trying to stay righteous and start selling tickets at the gates and get some money in here. I get some really awesome surprise donations here and sponsorship is key. But i have already spent everything i have and so much still needs to be done before winter sets in . This place must be set up so i can manage it threw winter while working full time.

Cries of the Rooster

Morning arrives and the sun reaches threw the curtains of evergreens here. I hear the Roosters song, his calls fade off in the distance and his cries are haunting. Is he mourning the loss of one of his hens or is he grieving the birth of his sons whose golden presence will be removed when discovered ? He stands tall with the gentle breeze passing threw his feathers , is it our God who touches him now? He cocks his head and listens until he can hear no more and from deep within him he cries towards the sky. janice louise Gillett

George's Story

George arrived in a wire crate in the back of a van a few years ago. The women who contacted me told me a co worker needed him looked after for a few weeks when she lost her job. Story is, she never came back for him. Now this women was reaching out to me to take George and we corresponded by email a few times.

According to this women George was neutered and his house had three sides made up of pieces of leaning plywood with hay inside. My thought was "only three sides?" How did he keep warm in the winter?

To my surprise at about 5 one night a van was outside my driveway. I looked in the back of the van and saw a little pig peering up at me from his confines. I immediatly assured him he would be safe here and knowing he would smell the others I added for him not to worry that i would not let the others get him. I assured him , there was good food here. This would be very important for any pig arriving at my gates to know.

And all the while doing this i was evaluating his condition. He had the distinctive look of a boar , a pig who is not neutered doesn't have that rounded look a neutered male would have in the face. And as I blurted out "he's not neutered" his tusks caught my eyes. Anger swelling up in me i asked her if the tusk on the other side of his face was going threw his cheek too.

Mad now all i wanted to do was get that pig unloaded and crate carried to the empty paddock, and her off my property. She was not as strong as i was and this helped reach my boiling point inside as had of she let me know she was coming and couldn't do this i might of been able to have help here. I wanted that pig out of that crate and all this stop and starting was wasted energy on lifting him and setting him down and adding more stress to this pig.

Once out of the crate her added hay for his comfort must of come out of his old house and its filthy dusty condition would of provided no warmth from where he lived. A dried up french loaf of bread was tossed to him by this women and promises to send some financial support for his care. The offer of a rotten wet bale of hay was declined and i could barley speak to her at this point as she walked up my driveway and back into her van and out of our lives forever.

The following morning volunteers arrived and George rolled over for a belly rub immediately. Giving himself to us this way only hours after arriving showed such trust in his new caregivers. While laying down i fed the wire between his cheek and his tusk and ended his torment in 8 seconds. Blood gushed from his wound and the release of that pressure, the tusk was in threw his mouth almost 1 1/2 inches.

Tusks do not grow over night, this growth took between 1 and 2 years. It would of started rubbing on his cheek when he laid down. Then within a few months it would of started to put pressure on his face causing a white scuff mark up and down his cheeks as he opened and closed his mouth to eat. The pain of it pushing into his face would of started a few months later and as it grew the tusk would tear into his flesh opening the wound wider as he chewed. By the time he arrived this little pig was not able to naturally open his mouth to eat as those tusks and the pain prevented him from being able to do so.

For the first few days with me he refused carrots, every pig loves carrots! Poor George suffering from the inability to eat them , refused them because of the pain it would cause him to eat . It took 3 days for him to realized he could chew and open his mouth all the way without searing pain.

If you click on the picture in the blog it opens the size. You can see how the tusk has rubbed his cheek white from simple opening and then chewing his food. That was the better of the two sides, the other one was right threw his cheek and into his mouth. Basically speared by his own tusk. He has two deep dimples from where they penetrated his flesh. Not all tusks will grow into the cheek, you see it happen a lot with over fed pigs as well as the ones growing inward . (I keep tusks trimmed to prevent them being hung up in wire fencing . And remember when you do trim , trim so the tusks are still poking just outside of the lips and NOT to the gum line. Tusk trimmed incorrectly can cause them to grow into the face or upward into the roof of the mouth. Also NEVER EVER let anyone use breaking pliers to do tusks either. The lower tusks are part of the jaw and more pigs have died this way from hairline fractures. Infection is almost immediate and then death. Jiggley Wire saw only.)

George who comes into the house and manages the stairs only as a pig who was used to doing this at some point in his life. He likes to be covered with blankets, takes his treats so very gently and all of this again is learned from his past experiences. Someone at some point was very good to this pig , but why did they not care about his tomorrows??

Gorgeous George has been threw many experience in his life before arriving here and ones that might of left any one of us with some severe emotional baggage. George however did not loose the goodness within him and is not bitter or angry with humans who betrayed him so terribly. He was able to hold onto his gentle soul and he has flourished.

When your approach George he looks up into your heart with an innocence from his deep brown eyes. They twinkle back at you, and a soft touch to his bristles will have him almost fall over as he lays on his side for a good belly rub. He sings in a rhythmic piggy chant as he oof oof oof's in delight. As he lays all stretched out from deep inside of him a little heavenly whine every now and then in response to shear pleasure that has arrived in his life.

I am so happy your here George so the love in you is free and received with as much pleasure as it is to give it back to you.