A Plethora of Pigs

Last May,  I mentioned the huge intake of potbellied pigs our local SPCA had received - over two dozen,  mostly very young, of which  two were nursing mamas, and 8 or 9 more were pregnant.

Just one of many since born to the young pregnant mamas

I've posted various photos and updates on Facebook since that time but neglected to update my "blog-only" readers. Busy, tired, and dealing with the heat, I feel like this piggy looks:

One of the pregnant young pigs enjoys
a rest in the sun.

But that doesn't mean all those pigs suddenly went away. Some did - to other homes, sanctuaries and rescues. Many are still in need of adoption.

Yes we are!  We's waitin' fer you! 

Hearts on Noses Sanctuary in Mission BC took on one nursing mama and her babies. I transported them over there and follow along on their progress through photos Janice, the sanctuary owner,  posts on Facebook.    Rainbow, Plumb, and Tierra will live out their lives at the sanctuary, loved and cared for by Janice and her volunteers:

Top:  Transport Day - arrival at Hearts on Noses
Bottom:  Rainbow, Plumb and Tierra enjoying their new life
(Thanks to Janice Gillett for the lower photo)

Two pregnant mamas were fostered and later adopted by RASTA sanctuary in Chemainus BC.  They each had their babies there, and both families will live out their lives at that sanctuary, loved and cared for by Lucie and her volunteers.

Mama Sophie nursing her babes at RASTA,
where they will live out their lives.

Piglets are so cute and photogenic.
But these babes will grow to be 120-200 pounds, on average.
They, with their mama Emma, have a permanent home at RASTA. 

Another mama, who gave birth the morning after arriving at the SPCA shelter, went with her babies to Broken Promises Rescue in Victoria BC.  Broken Promises carefully screens potential adopters before placing the animals in forever homes.

Mama with babes, one day after arriving at the SPCA.
Care and rehoming taken on by Broken Promises Rescue

Piglets and mama pig at Broken Promises Rescue
this July.  

The four  adult and young male pigs in the original group immediately went to Nanaimo SPCA. Pigs become sexually mature at 3-4 months, and no way were they taking chances on any more pregnancies! The remaining pigs, mostly pregnant ones who at about six months old were themselves little more than babies, went into foster care on the properties of generous and caring local residents. Babies were born,  and once spayed or neutered, are being put up for adoption. I got to transport six babies from a foster home to one of the few island vet clinics that performs this surgery on potbellied pigs.

Mama Barbara leads the babies to the barn

They weren't too keen on being crated for transport

In fact, they were darn hard to corral.

They did laps around the barn for awhile!
Once pigs are scared, sometimes all you can do is sit quietly and wait.
Good thing we allowed lots of time. Eventually they all made it into the two crates for transport.

Three of the six on the way back to foster care post surgery

Some pigs and their litters have since returned from other foster homes to the shelter, and some of those have found their forever homes too. ALL of the pigs who came into the SPCA's care at the start, as well as those born since arrival, will be spayed and neutered - those living out their lives at sanctuaries, and those going on to forever homes. Pigs are prolific breeders, with females cycling every 21 days, and piglets reaching sexual maturity at 2-4 months of age. That so many six month old piglets were pregnant - all inbred -  with a typical litter size of 5-7, meant that the 28 or so pigs that came into the SPCA's care had the potential to become 50-70 within weeks of their arrival.  I'm not sure what the final tally was  but I do know the SPCA still has many to be be placed.

We can be kinda timid at first.....

But the kind volunteers at the SPCA are helping us become brave! 

There are challenges to finding forever homes for companion potbellied pigs. Firstly, many municipalities have zoning bylaws that forbid keeping them in cities, or that limit them to acreages of a certain size.  This is not a bad thing - pigs need lots of outdoor space to root around, and can become quite destructive when this need is not met.

Pssst!  Wanna go root up the garden?

Secondly, the massively misleading and unethical marketing of so called micro or teacup pigs has led to so much misinformation that many potential adopters have very unrealistic ideas of what  a pet pig's needs and behaviours will be like. Stories and images of the mythical 'micro' or 'teacup' pig, with claims it will only reach 20 -30 pounds,  have already led to hundreds of pigs being abandoned or surrendered in this province - and thousands across North America - when they outgrew the size the breeder claimed it would reach, were less suitable to an indoor existence than the buyer presumed, or simply lost their appeal to someone who simply wanted the latest in trendy pets and didn't bother to do any research.

I'll get big!

Us too!

I'm gonna get soooooo big!

Let's just get one thing straight: there is no such thing as a micro or teacup pig.  Mini pigs - potbellied pigs and a few other breeds of small pigs - are called mini because over the 4-5 years that it takes to grow to their full size, they will reach, on average, about 120-200 pounds. This is very small compared to their commercially raised farm cousins who, if allowed to fully mature (most are slaughtered young), grow to 700-1000 pounds.  Breeders sometimes mislead prospective buyers by showing off the parent pigs along with the babies and leading the buyer to believe that is as big as they will get.  In human society, we equate 'parent' with 'adult'. In reality, those parent pigs may only be 6 -9 months old themselves, and nearly always are under two years old - not even half their adult size yet.

I'm only six months old and pregnant!
I won't be full grown for another 4 or more years!

So.....if you or someone you know is considering a pig as a companion animal, and if you have the zoning, space, shelter, fencing, time, and other resources necessary......

I'm waiting for you!  Or one or more of my many siblings and half-siblings are!

If you have done your homework by learning from reliable sources such as sanctuaries and rescues rather than from breeders with only cutesy photos accompanied by ridiculous claims on their websites.....

We is cute....but we is challenging!
We is very different from dogs and cats!

If you are prepared to meet their needs for an appropriate mini-pig diet which may need to be specially ordered, their need to root, their need for protection from predators, their need for companionship, their need for hoof trims and tusk trims, their need for a mud wallow to keep cool (pigs don't sweat, despite the old saying 'sweating like a pig' and need mud or water to cool their bodies).....

I won't be able to use this dishpan fer a bath much longer!

If you are prepared for their incredible intelligence which enables them to figure out how to open fridges, escape poorly designed pens, empty cupboards, turn over garbage cans, and get into all sorts of mischief......

Are you sayin' we can be brats?

Ha ha ha!  That's silly!  We are angels!

Okay we might help ourselves to food sometimes....

If you are prepared for all these things, and have a loving heart and a strong sense of commitment, then please adopt .... and hang on for the ride of your life!

We can be taught manners - we're very food motivated!
(Okay, sometimes we forgets our manners too. We can be pushy. Very pushy.  Ms Piggy Pushy). 

They are fun, loving, and very loyal animals who do best with another pig or five for companionship.

We're happy and easier to manage with a piggy friend or two or five. 

Sibling love

 ---------------------------------

For further information on adoption, contact the Cowichan and District Branch of the BC SPCA. 

For further reading, check out this comprehensive and well-balanced source of further information on mini-pigs and their care, including videos on how to trim hooves: 
www.minipiginfo.com
They also have a facebook page which is well worth following: https://www.facebook.com/minipiginfo/ .

-------------------------------

  

Whatcha Up to this weekend?

It's the giant Annual Cowichan and District SPCA garage sale at the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds on Hwy 1 just north of Duncan BC.  Sixteen thousand square feet of incredible deals, all well organized and all clean and priced.  This is not your average garage sale - last year we, the volunteers, raised over $40,000 for our local shelter via this sale, and credit must also go to the wonderful community of supporters who donated goods and of course who then attend and shop, shop, shop.

Some of the things in the furniture section this year

I was not on the core team this year, as I have been for several years past - the team that accepts the donations for months in advance, sorts them, prices them, boxes them, stores them. Instead, I opted to enjoy my spring, do some gardening, go on some Elder college day courses, explore some new areas.  I just helped unload trucks and open boxes on Thursday, and set up the toys and games tables today, and I'll be there floating around helping where I'm needed all weekend.  And I'm already tired, so I can only imagine how exhausted the core team is.

Part of the Toys and Games section I set up today

Please, if you live anywhere nearby, or want a great weekend trip further afield, do come support us.  If you think you might buy ANYTHING other than groceries in the next year - then we have something you need!  As for the food - Bob's Burgers will be whipping up your lunch, and Darlene has been baking like crazy to tempt your sweet tooth. The biggest and best garage sale on the island, if not in the whole province, will be open 8:30 - 3:00 both Saturday and Sunday.

Yes, we even have plants and lots of garden stuff!

And puzzles and pet stuff  and seasonal and kitchen
(oh do we have kitchen stuff!)
and crafts and linens and books and jewelry
and miscellaneous other stuff too!

Oh, and did I mention sports and tools too?
Camping gear, fitness stuff,,
you name it, we got it!

And clothes!  Fill a bag for just a few dollars!

So come.  Look.  Buy.  All proceeds go directly to the support the animals in our local shelter!

(But please leave your dogs at home - the weather is far too warm to leave them in your car even if you should find one of the very rare shady spots to park, and while dogs are allowed in the hall, the crowds and new environment are enough to make even the most laid back dog anxious.)

Mitzi:  Yeah, I'd much rather spend the day
snoozing on Mama Jean's bed!
Tee hee!

Just touching base

When my mom was alive and was still able to use the phone, she would sometimes start her call to me with "Just thought I'd touch base with you".  In my infrequent emails to my daughter, I often find myself starting with "Just a note to touch base".  So after not blogging for three weeks, but not being motivated to write or post much, I figured I should at least "just touch base" with my readers.

The SPCA garage sale was a huge success - we raised a total of $42,800, all for our local animals.

16,000 square feet of gently used merchandise!

I still have done nothing about fixing the computer I spilled coffee on.  So I still access email by remote, can't do all the stuff with my photos that I'd like to do, and don't have my writing programs on this laptop.

But that's okay, because weekend before last I had a horrific case of bursitis in my shoulder - something I've not had before - and ended up in emergency unable to move my arm one iota.  A cortisone shot, some tylonel 3s and several days later, I can type again, but I'm limiting it to a few minutes a day - pretty much just checking email and facebook. It is, of course, my RIGHT arm, so while it was immobilized I compensated with my left arm and now have a back ache too. And, of course, my garden is still not finished.

I did paint the shed door I built
before my shoulder gave out!  

But that's okay, because I have more pressing matters on my mind - my Sweet Shiloh has been very sick. She has internal bleeding for which the vets have been unable to find the cause despite my emptying my savings account into their office coffers. I've decided not to put Shiloh through any more tests and we are just taking it a day at a time.

Ah hope ah get some sym-pa-thy!  

And therefore tonight I cancelled the vacation I was supposed to take next week - my annual camping trip with my friends on the mainland.  It wouldn't be fair to leave a petsitter with the responsibility of making life-and-death decisions for Shiloh.

So... please excuse me if I continue to not blog for a while.  It's all a little overwhelming.

I make no promises about posting for the rest of this month, but this I will say:   On July 1st, I will publish my annual Canada Day post featuring my best photos of the last 12 months.  Or at least up to a few months ago when I spilled coffee on the ones I hadn't backed up.  But whatever I can salvage, I'm sure the post will celebrate our nation in true Life with the Critters style.

Sunrise from my back yard

Meanwhile, please keep Shiloh in your thoughts.

Jean

I'll be back.....

A couple of days ago, I dumped a large mug of coffee right into my primary computer (a laptop) and it is fried.  Fortunately, I have another laptop that my nephew gave me a while back and which I've been using for some bits and pieces to save space on my very-full-and-on-its-last-legs primary unit.  Unfortunately, I don't have the same programs on it and I'm a little lost. Also unfortunately, I lost all my email addresses and a considerable number of photos, and my external hard drive automatic backup on my primary computer hasn't been working since January.  Shoot, I knew I should have taken care of this soon.  Oh well, mustn't cry over spilled coffee.  At least I am now forced to upgrade, back up, seek professional help.

With the big SPCA garage sale this weekend and my next four days completely booked with that, I won't be doing anything about finding a techy to try to retrieve the coffee-laden hard drive nor to set up this one with my photo editing and writing programs until later next week.  Time for a little vacation from blogging.

Meanwhile, see you at the Cowichan Exhibition grounds for the biggest and best garage sale the island has ever seen!

Sunshine comes in many forms

As the dogs and I sit staring morosely through the windows at the rain, I can't help but reflect that the good mood I feel when the sun shines is also kindled by many non-solar events.

Now, I bet you’re thinking I’m about to tell you how my dogs make me laugh, or the cat warms my heart, or the flowers on my patio still bloom in rain.

Nope. 

I’m going to tell you about the sunshine that supporters of animal rescues and shelters provide. 

As many readers know, I volunteer at our local Cowichan and District SPCA.  We have the best staff, the best volunteer dog walkers and cat lovers, the best animals. 

We do!
The Very Best Dogs!

And we have the best annual garage sale in the whole of Canada.

I’m part of a core team of 6-8 people who begin in January to accept donations, sort them, research them, price them, box them, stash them in every available nook and cranny around the shelter, and place some high value or very large items online.  

Pack 'em tight
and stack 'em high!

Come garage sale time, we are joined by another 30 or so volunteers who transport them to the Cowichan Exhibition grounds, unpack them, display them, and sell them.  It is the cleanest, best organized, best attended garage sale event you will ever find.  Last year, all that was left in the previously-packed 16,000 square foot hall was a couple of passenger van loads and a utility trailer of stuff, which a local thrift store took away for us, and a profit of over $30,000 in the shelter’s coffers.  

We achieve this by being picky – only clean, good quality, unbroken items are sold – and by pricing low enough to attract buyers but high enough to maximize the benefit to the animals.  The total we raise annually speaks for itself.

But back to my original theme – sunshine.  Despite the fact that those of us on the core team become bone weary long before the actual sale, sometimes frustrated by dirty, broken, musty and even rat-and-mice-feces-covered items that the ‘donors’ should have taken to the dump (and which we have to pay to dump),  there are many moments when the generosity of our supporters brings sunshine to our lives. 

Generous donors are like a beautiful sunrise

Some of the donations we receive are amazing – like the three framed prints by famous artists we’ve received so far this year that are each valued at over $600;  like the clean, barely used furniture a care home donated;  like the quality clothing, the nearly new tools,  or the brand new set of golf clubs someone won and didn’t need.

And like the van load of goodies that came in on Thursday.  A supporter who is moving out of the country donated container after container of quality goods, all spotlessly clean, all carefully packed, all organized – tools and garden items in new or like-new condition in their original boxes with instructions;  beautiful kitchenware that would be coveted by any cook who knows his/her saucepans;  clean, popular, near-new books; small appliances without a scrape or dent or spot of grease on them.  Her donation will bring hundreds, if not thousands,  of dollars to our sale, to our shelter, for our animals.  It was like Christmas morning, opening those containers, oohing and aahing over the contents.

Not everyone has a houseful of goods to donate, or quality like-new items they no longer need.  But sunshine comes in little rays too: the colourful lego set a child has decided to part with;  the ‘oops what was I thinking!’  shirt with tags still attached;  the ‘time to get rid of these’ unused boxes of craft supplies for that hobby you never really got into; or  the ‘what the heck will we need these for in our new condo?’ shiny gardening tools. 

And of course there are things donated with a few tears – the orthopedic dog bed that a beloved pet only used for a short while before passing away; the family heirloom that sat on a recently deceased parent’s shelf for years but none of the relatives really want; the bedroom suite of the youngest child who has long since been out on her own.  

Every time we receive a donation of clean, quality, well cared for items, we smile. 

And sunshine pours into our lives.  Even when the weather outside is rainy.

Thanks, supporters.  You are the best.

 ----------- 

Cowichan and District SPCA Annual Garage Sale

May 31 – June 1 at the Cowichan Exhibition Grounds

Clean, quality donations gratefully accepted at the shelter on Bell McKinnon Rd until May 15^th.  Please phone ahead if you wish to donate furniture.  We respectfully retain the right to decline items we know we cannot sell, like television sets and most other electronics, skiis,  old kitchen plastic ware, and items in poor or dirty condition.

THIS POST IS FOR MAJOR BO....

And Deli (now Ruby) and Hubbard and Zuke and Nugget and Summer and Acorn and Patti and Peanut and Pumpkin - aka The Butternut Squash Kids (or Lucy Loo's pups).

HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY!  

Major had to send me an email to remind me he is three years old today - shame on me for not remembering!  And he is in training with his dad as a St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog, preparing to bring happiness to people in assisted living situations.  What a great vocation for an SPCA alumni.

Wow - three years since those little tiny wiggle butts appeared courtesy of their butternut squash mama. What a fostering experience THAT was! If you missed those posts, here's the post of the day they were born  (well, actually the day after, as the day of their birth was rather - um - busy!), and here's the post the day they left.

And this one is Major Bo's own very, very, very special story. Have your kleenex ready. It is quite possibly my favourite story on the whole blog.

I smile every time I think of those pups, and I hope they are all doing well - and Lucy too, of course!

Lucy, two weeks before delivery -
the shape of a Butternut Squash

Pups on their Birth Day.

Major Bo at about six weeks old
(c) Jean Ballard 2010

Major Bo January 2013
(c) Jean Ballard 2013

They are always in my heart.

Excuse Me While I Sleep...

It was an exhausting weekend.  An exhausting week.  Heck, an exhausting month!  And this weekend we went from this:

Saturday morning

 To this:

End of Saturday

To this:

Sunday afternoon, beginning of pack up

 Until we sent the last few items to a thrift store

Good bye, leftovers!

And locked the doors

And counted the money

MORE THAN $28,000 worth of it!!!!!

I'd say it was time and energy well spent, wouldn't you?  

(Note to SPCA volunteers:  There are many more photos, and I will edit and make them available for you to view over the next couple of days.  I don't post photos of identifiable individuals on my blog without their permission - I'll get Gail to send out an email to all volunteers to tell you how/where to access them).