Guest Blogger Michael Tuberdyke (the Sanctuary Shelter Manager) is our pig whisperer.
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for pigs ever since I was a little kid and watched Babe. The movie helped me see these smart, kind, empathetic individuals in a way, which at the time I was not fully able to understand or express until years later.
Upon coming to Unity Farm Sanctuary years and years later, for my volunteer orientation day, I was most excited to meet the pig residents. I've always avoided petting zoos, animal farms, fairs and any other event which would lead me to meet these animals because I felt that it would make me too sad to see someone whose life only was calculated by a teaspoon of sand in a large hourglass.
The very first ambassador I met during my orientation was Danny. This handsome fellow looked up at me through the fence with his deep brown eyes and smiled. I smiled back. Thinking back on it, I feel he knew that we would be having adventures and soon become friends. I then met Penny. I noticed the notches in her ears and her docked tail and I knew that she came from a place where next to no one had made it out alive. I then learned that she had found sanctuary because she was too small to grow to a market weight and the farmer was going to simply do away with her because she would never be big enough to eat.
A few months passed and as I became a staff member my relationship with the pigs grew, specifically with Penny and Danny. Both of them seemed to know the time I would arrive to work and would always be at the gate waiting for me to give them some scratches and a few treats.
I learned that Danny enjoys his belly rubbed, dandelions, and green beans. I also found it funny that very much like me he had a hankering for an after meal nap. I discovered Penny had a very high intelligence and was picky about which sticks and flowers she would use for her nest, which she liked extra fluffy during all seasons. On more than one occasion in the winter I would also be given extra straw from Penny whenever it snowed or was freezing. Pigs often give offerings of straw to their friends. I've seen Danny do this often with nearly everyone and I was happy to be considered by them one of their herd.
A year passed and we discovered Penny had skin cancer. I was devastated to learn at the time that we may only have a few months left before having to euthanize her. I would often come early or on my days off to read Charlotte's Web in her pig barn as she slept in my lap and as Danny poked his head in from the outside. As time went on Penny's cancer treatments provided by Equidoc Veterinary Clinic proved to be helpful and she began to put on a healthy weight.
We then began to take trips to Cornell University starting with Penelope and Amelia for Spays to protect them from the threat of ovarian cancer. We then did spay appointments for Pearl who found a home at a micro sanctuary, and our Kune Pigs Mirabella and Belladonna. Danny and Doug followed with dental work then finally Osa had some x-rays.
Now we are here today, to try and raise money for a pig lift. This tool will dramatically increase our animal care abilities for not only our current residents but also our future residents as well. One of the leading causes of euthansia for pigs in sanctuary is a hoof infection that leads straight to the bone. The FEET FIRST LIFT will give us an optimal 360 degree view of each of these residents' feet from their pad to their hoof wall. It will also help our residents like Penny receive occasional Chemotherapy injections from our veterinarians and help staff administer arthritis medication to Osa.
We hope you will help us take this step!