Things I've learned fostering and placing piglets!!
It just amazes me how every day is a new day of learning, of feeling and experiencing when it comes to life with pigs. I suppose it is no different from having children.
First we were a one pig rescue family with NO clue about pigs, or contact with any other pig people. Then some 2 - 3 years later we FINALLY meet someone else who has a pig....hence my participation with Pig Placement Network
began......fall in love with two very special rescued pigs there.......life circumstances change by no choice of our own....low and behold, two special pigs come to be part of my family. Needless to say, what we have learned over these six years with our 3 pigs goes beyond all I could have ever imagined. Figured as with anything there would always be new information I would gain, and even more experience as I continued to volunteer at Ross Mill Farm, and participate on these lists and help
PPN with rescues and adoptions, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Of course, one never quite knows what lies around that "corner" of life.
I take a trip to FL, for a pig symposium, have the privilege of watching some surgeries, and then getting to hold precious little "Country Bumpkin" after his surgery. Well talk about feeling those "twangs" of wanting to care for a piglet....sheesh...are there hormones that kick in for that???
Well, on the plane ride
home with Susan, she mentions the fact that she thinks I should consider fostering some newly born piglets from a pig rescued from Asheville, NC. (Of course, this was not the first she thought of this, but the first she mentioned it to me) Well it took me a whole two seconds to say yes to that. Next step is telling Kris...took about 5 seconds, while in the truck with Kris after he picked us up at the airport, to convince him we should do this. I must say after Susan left us, he said, what are
we getting into.
So within the week we have everything ready here at home to properly foster, socialize, and care for 4 little 5 week old piglets. So our journey begins on Sunday May 12, which happens to be Mother's Day.....how much better does life get than to bring 4 piglets home on Mother's Day!!! I do have to mention, that Susan's intentions were for us to foster for 2 to 4 weeks, for socializing purposes. It then became a joint agreement, that we would continue to foster and
place these piglets.
Rosie (pig #1) accepts these piglets into her bedroom as though she was their "Auntie", this means our first hurdle (big concern) has been cleared.
Our hearts just melted as we began to care for these four precious little pigs. This was a first for us, but they were so quick to learn the litter training, and allowed us to tuck them in to their "night, night" spot in their crate, and never made a peep after that, until they heard their
food dishes being prepared in the morning. Talk about being easier than having a human baby.
In no time they got the hang of going out to their outside pen area, where they could spend sunny days grazing, and lazying around in the sun, or their pool. Though I must say, I rarely saw them stay still for too long a period of time. During these times, they came to know Handsome and Chimes (pig #2 & #3) The piglets learned a lot about respecting other pigs, and what this
"alpha" pig thing was all about.
We had many visits from friends and their children, we were like a local petting zoo. Little did these folks realize, they were a wonderful addition to our socializing process. We also did dog sitting, and it was great to have the piglets exposed to life with several different dogs.
By this time we are enjoying all the perks with no down sides to fostering. (okay so there was a bit more work feeding and cleaning litter boxes, but
hey....that's just more pig time) I mean really, having 4 little snouts looking up at you first thing in the morning, playing outside in the pen and in the living room with four curious little creatures. Having more bellies to rub than you have hands, and "mercy" such eager little hooves climbing all over you for treats. Sheesh.....this is really tough to handle!!
At this point, we know they are on their way to being socialized little piglets and it is time to start finding
their new "forever" homes. Keeping in mind these are to be pet pigs who are welcome in the house, but also have available to them, daily outside time. Their picture gets posted, and the e-mails begin to arrive, the phone starts ringing. Applications go out, information is exchanged, educating goes on. We send lots of folks to locations closer to them, and then start getting visits from folks that are in our area.
Before a visit we get basic information, and make sure that
folks are in a position to even be considering adopting a pig as a pet. When they come for a visit, we now watch the interaction they have with pigs, we form opinions about them as we watch them with not only the pigs, but with their children, and find out what jobs they have and just get an overall sense of what kind of pig parent they would make. Also being taken into consideration is the personalities we have come to know of each of the piglets and how this will match up with the adoptive
family.
We look at pictures they provide of their home, family and animals. We show them the inside accommodations, the outside accommodations, the piggy ramps, the piggy food and harnesses, etc. See how willing they are to duplicate all of this should they adopt a pig. Talk about vet care, and all the important stuff. Big area of discussion is other animals, and how they will be separated from the pigs.
Now comes a defining moment, the adoption fee, are they willing to
"buck up", go home and prepare the proper accommodations and then make another trip back, properly prepared to transport this precious cargo. Needless to say many go home with no hope of adopting, or with changed minds, that a pig is NOT the right pet for them. Others have to think things over, just as we also have to process all we can about these prospective adoptive parents.
Cut to the chase, we decide which people can provide at least what we have to offer, with hopes of
providing much more. Now the reality sets in, that we are going to have to prepare to say good bye. Knowing all along this was our place in these piglets lives, but now feeling a real heart attachment. Our goal was to make a difference in the lives of these piglets, and pass on blessings to others, by allowing these piglets to become part of their families. Little did we realize how incredibly blessed we would be by this whole experience.
Adoption day has come and gone for two of the
piglets now. Kris and I shed tears of joy and sadness as both left us, but are thrilled to get wonderful updates and pictures. Knowing how happy these two little piglets are, to have new forever homes, has been a real reward.
We continue to work with the two piglets we have and with prospective "piggy parents". As they grow, we just enjoy their revealing more of themselves to us. We realize we are probably much tougher on or pickier about prospective homes than some people
have the opportunity to be, but understand that it has become like finding a home for any one of our own pigs.
Kris keeps saying, he doesn't think he can do long term fostering as we have chosen to do with these piglets again, because of the heart attachment. Maybe the two week fostering program PPN offers, to help with socializing, will be a better option. But when we really talk about it, if we had this to do all over again, we would in a heart beat. We have come to realize the
responsibility in placing pigs, and how your heart goes with them, and knowing you have had a hand in what kind of life they will have from here on out.
I would encourage anyone who has a heart to care for pigs, to give fostering a shot. It is such a big help to rescue organizations, and I promise you that you will be so blessed by it. As they say, "Making a difference, one pig at a time". That's what it's all about.
Blessings,
Eileen | |
