Can you say Happy Birthday?

I've written before about how much courage I think it takes to run a sanctuary. The endless hours of heavy work, the frustration at the never ending requests from people unable or unwilling to keep their animals for life, the fear when a loved animal resident becomes ill, the worry about where the money for vets and feed and property maintenance will come from, the difficulty recruiting and keeping reliable volunteers.

Hard work?? But we're so CUTE! 

And I KNOW that most of my readers get it - most of you came here to follow stories of the critters because you, too, are animal lovers. And, as animal lovers, you probably recall that a few weeks ago the Cowichan and District SPCA had 24 potbellied pigs surrendered to them, several of which were pregnant.  Sadly, finding homes for potbellied pigs is next to impossible - hence the massive numbers that end up in farm animal sanctuaries, and specifically pot bellied pig sanctuaries, across North America.

And yet, you'll also know how intelligent and funny and strong-willed and loving pot bellied pigs are. At least, you'll know that if you followed the stories I wrote way back at the beginning of this blog when I fostered two, then twelve, potbellied pigs for Hearts on Noses Sanctuary, a not-for-profit registered charity now located in Mission, BC.

Did foster mama bring us some treats?

A month ago, I wrote about transporting three of the SPCA pigs to Hearts on Noses.  Janice Gillett, who runs the sanctuary had kindly agreed to take them in.  She named the mama Rainbow, and the two babies Plumb and Tierra.

Rainbow in transit

Janice welcomes Tierra and Plumb

She took them in even though she has forty pigs there already and  struggles financially. She took them in even though she has a heart condition and needs heart surgery pretty damn soon. She took them in even though slogging through rain and snow and mud and blazing sun to feed all those pigs, to make sure they all get turns in the pasture, to scoop their poop and fix their houses and bring them straw for their beds and water for their dishes and feed for their bellies is hard work - darn hard work!

She took them in even though she knew she was somehow going to have to raise at least $1500 for their spays, in addition to the monthly costs of feeding three more mouths.

I hope this place has enough food for us!

One anonymous donor offered to pay for one spay. Several others have donated to raise another approximately $500 online at For the Love of Pigs, on Fundrazr.

In another month or two, the babes (and their mama, who is barely more than a babe herself)  will be ready for spaying, and we still need to raise at least another $500 - preferably more, as there are always more costs....medicine, unexpected emergencies, ongoing costs for growing piglets, alterations to the shelter and fencing.

An adorable house sits by the edge of Hearts on Noses' driveway,
waiting to be moved and fenced for the new piggy residents

And I know you get tired of being asked for money. Many of you are facing challenging financial times yourself. But if your good friend was celebrating a birthday, would you find a couple of bucks for a card? Maybe even buy them a cup of coffee, or spend a few dollars more on a gift, or a dinner, or a bottle of wine?  Would you?

Birthdays are meant to be CELEBRATED! 

Well, today is Janice's birthday!  If you appreciate the hard work she does for the animals, if you are thankful that there is a place piggies can go to live out their lives, knowing they are safe from abuse and neglect and abandonment,  perhaps you might think of her as a friend. So take that money you'd spend for a card and stamp, that money for the drink or the fancy cupcake you might buy her, and instead donate it to Rainbow, Plumb, and Tierra's spay fund.  Let's see that figure rise as the birthday wishes pour in.

Rainbow, Plumb and Tierra

Or go to Canada Helps and donate to Hearts on Noses there - you can add a message to specify it is for the spays of the piglets.  You'll even get a tax receipt.

Two dollars, five dollars, twenty dollars......whatever you can afford, whatever you might scrape together to wish your friend, your very courageous pig-loving friend,  a very happy birthday. Let's make this a birthday to remember - the birthday when the gifts didn't arrive in gaily coloured paper but instead arrived in the form of money for spays of three more rescued potbellied pigs.

Janice,  thank you for all you do for the pigs.  Thank you for adding Rainbow, Plumb and Tierra to your already large family.  Happy Birthday, my friend.  I'm heading to Canada Helps now.

Let's all head off to make a donation!
(Plumb front, Tierra rear) 

Again, here's the links for two ways to donate to Rainbow's, Plumb's, and Tierra's spay fund, the best birthday gift you can give our pig-loving friend:
Canada Helps
For the Love of Pigs




(Confession:  Some of the photos in this post were stolen from Janice's own page, since I'm too far away to get new photos.  I'm pretty sure she won't mind). 

The Best Part of Rescue

(Note to those waiting for other photos:  In an attempt to catch up on some overdue posts, I'm not necessarily presenting posts in chronological order.  Sometimes it is a matter of how much time I have, how many photos need editing, and how much editing I've already done on them.  So today's quick-and-easy post is about a transport I did on Monday, part of which has already appeared on the TG blog, even though there are still some earlier entries waiting in the wings.)  

The other day, a news reporter asked me, as part of an interview at the sanctuary where I volunteer, why I'm so committed to pig rescue,  and less involved in dog rescue.  At the time, I gave several valid reasons: I like the fact that the pigs are in a sanctuary that will be their permanent home, so I really get to know them well;  I like the outdoor farm-type work;  and I love the pigs' personalities which make me smile even on the muddiest, wettest, coldest volunteer shift. I ended by saying that dog rescue isn't my strength - pigs are my forte.  And that's true.

Not just pigs, but goats and donkeys and mini-horses and farmbirds
and even a 3000 lb steer! 

What I didn't say, though I wish I had, is that I love helping dog rescues in ways that fit with the strengths I do have in that arena, like doing homechecks and helping with transports.  I may not have the skills to train a dog with behavioural issues, or the strength to walk a strong puller, or the patience to foster a bouncy adolescent, but it gives me great satisfaction to know that I play a small role in connecting a dog in need of a home with the right home for that dog.  To me, that's the best part of rescue.

Just before I went over to the mainland last week, Yvette at Turtle Gardens contacted me to see if I could do just that - transport a dog who was in foster care on the mainland to Nanaimo where his new mama would meet me before taking him further north and west to his new home.

Yvette and her son Davey met me in an empty area of the parking lot at the ferry terminal, where I was immediately engulfed by Yvette's other charges:  Jillian, Sweet Pea, Stedman and Puggy Sue, as well as Frodo, the fellow I was to transport. I've met Yvette before, but knew the dogs only from her blog - and meeting them face to face was delightful.

Every friend of Turtle Gardens is familiar with its spokesdog, Puggy Sue!
On this occasion, Puggy Sue was much more interested in checking
out the parking lot that in posing for the camera. 

Jillian, on the other hand, was quite happy to show me her best side.....

...though she couldn't decide which side was her best. 

Stedman was a little reserved at first....

...but soon decided to come say hi to the camera lady. 

And then there was Sweet Pea, who melted my already mushy heart.
There's just something about her old dog face - and it was on a much bigger
body than I had thought from the website!

And then there was Frodo, freshly groomed, new collar and leash,
ready for his forever home on the island.

I slipped a harness and canine seat belt on Frodo and secured him on the back seat of the car next to Mitzi's crate.  Normally I prefer to crate dogs I transport, but on this trip I didn't have room for the large spare crates I had at home, and the suitably sized one was on loan to a friend with a new puppy.  Seat belts, however, are better than nothing, and a vest-type harness from my stash fit him perfectly.  Safety is my middle name.

Where are you taking me?

Suitably secured, we waved goodbye to Yvette and crew, and headed over to the vehicle lineup.

Bye Frodo, be a good boy!

In the lineup, Frodo looked around nervously, wondering where Mama Yvette and Uncle Davey had gone. He also discovered he had just enough freedom to be able to repeatedly put his front paws on Mitzi's crate, which did not impress my little Princess.  So I moved Mitzi's little carrier to the front seat for the ferry ride, and the Princess was content. Frodo liked having both windows to himself.

Ah hope that dog isn't coming to MY house!

Frodo looking for Yvette

Time for a close-up - I love his wiry hair!  

On the ship, I stayed in the car with the dogs, as I always do.  I had an audio book to listen to, and pretty soon Frodo decided he may as well take a nap:

Are we there yet?

Soon we were driving off the ferry and heading up the freeway to Westwood Lake Park, our rendezvous point. We had a little walk and soon met Judy, Frodo's new mama, and his new fursister Sadie.  Sadie wasn't too sure she wanted to share her mama, but was very polite about it - just making sure she got the coveted spot right next to Judy in the mandatory family photos.

Frodo is more interested in his surroundings, but Sadie hams it up for the camera!
I could swear she has a smile on her face!

Finally Frodo turns to say goodbye to me, and happily trots off with Judy and Sadie
for the last leg of his trip home.

I had a lovely email from Judy later that night to tell me they had arrived home safely, and Frodo and Sadie were getting along well.  After a hearty dinner, a few trips outside to pee, and some initial restlessness, Frodo had curled up right beside Judy on the sofa for a nice long cuddly nap.

Have a great life, Frodo.  I'm so glad you found your forever home.

Pizzas aren't for people and bananas aren't for apes

It was a good day at RASTA today.  With four volunteers showing up, it took no time at all to scoop the poop, freshen the straw, and clean the farmbirds' barn.  The day was dry and reasonably warm, so all the animals were out 'helping' us with their many vocalizations, nudges, and entertaining behaviours.

While it may have seemed like they were glad to see us, we're convinced they simply knew we had come bearing food - donations of pizza rounds (the crust part, no toppings) from the local pizza place as well as slightly ripe and slightly bruised organic bananas being cleared out by the farm market, and bags of apples and carrots.  Despite their protestations, we told them:  work first, fun later!

Hurry up!  Hurry up!
There's work to be done in here!

Houdini the cat thought too much attention was being given to the pigs and equines, so made a point of jumping onto the shoulders of volunteers whenever they walked by.  Or maybe Houdini was just being smarter than the rest of us, by hitching rides rather than slogging through the mud like the rest of us:

A wee bit muddy underfoot!

No matter the reason, he was a rather fun (if not somewhat cumbersome) hitchhiker, and was more than happy to assist with a selfie or two:

Houdini supervises the work

When the work was done, it was time for play - play for us, a feast for the animals.  We began by filling the wagon with torn up pieces of pizza rounds and bananas sliced in two.  And then we headed to the senior pigs' pen.

The lunch wagon arrives!

I'll have a slice of pizza, hold the toppings,
and a banana for dessert, please! 

The younger pigs have never got the hang of "elders first" and made their opinions known as they pressed against the fence like fans before a rock concert:

Over here!  Over here!
We're starving!

Soon they had their turn, and a higher spot of ground soon became a piggy paradise smorgasbord.

Pizza-banana fest
All for the piggies

Marley says thank you -
Or perhaps, "More please!" 

Though Theo, Romeo, Tango and Toby had also received a few pizza rounds, it wasn't long before we brought out their main treat:  apples and carrots.  Never turn your back on a hungry 3000 pound steer - Theo knows how to be pushy and has the tools with which to push.  And he loves his apples and carrots!

Yum!  That's heavenly! 

The mini donkeys and mini horse also loved their treats, without being quite as grabby.  In fact, Tango was much more interested in checking out the camera lens than pursuing the people with the bags of  food. Trying to get a good photo of  a nosy donkey is really, really, really hard.

What IS that thing in front of your face?

Still, they did get their share, and enjoyed every morsel.  They know better than to argue with a very large steer, but what they lack in size, they make up for in cuteness:

Um, excuse me Theo, I think it's MY turn! 

Sometimes the apple spills from my little mouth!

Soon the food was all gone, and the animals went back to doing whatever it is animals do when the food is finished and the volunteers go home.  Sleeping, pooping, and dreaming, no doubt.

We think we should have Pizza and Produce Parties every day!