January 2013 Month starts with farm piglet Maggie to the veterinarian for spay. She came here in September but we must wait until she is around 100 lbs. to be spayed. She recovers from surgery with her best friend by her side, Lucy. New volunteers to start. Cold days and nights with frozen water, extra hay to the beds for warmth and lazy snacking. Potbellied pig Fern to the veterinarian for urgent need of eye care. Fern to house for follow-up care and assessment. A new volunteer comes for the first time with a bounty of apples to give the pigs. Yeah. Call comes and arrangements made to get a piglet from medical research. We are sad to learn the pig will be "used for procedures" instead. We have a cold snap of 20° weather which means the ground is frozen enough for trucks to deliver gravel. Two loads brought in and two tons of extra hay to the pigs. After numerous resumes and many interviews we have a new manager for Vegan Haven - Pigs Peace Sanctuary's vegan store in Seattle. Demarie Werth will start as Vegan Haven's new manager January 21st. She comes with great management experience and an amazing passion for the vegan message of compassion to all animals. Sahale Nuts donates a bounty of nuts for the pigs. A wonderful tasty treat for cold drab winter days. The pigs are thrilled! Numerous calls come all month from people who no longer want their pig with many different reasons. The most common is that the pig is biting family and friends. Aggression is almost guaranteed in a single pig home. We can't take all who ask. A sad fact of a sanctuary. We are limited in resources. Month ends with a rain downpour of 2" in 24 hours -the mud puddles are mud lakes!! February 2013 Month starts with potbellied pig Fern getting a great follow-up veterinarian visit for her eye ulcer. Fern is so happy to join her pig friends on a beautiful sunny day. Piglet Maggie limping with no weight on her front leg. Veterinary x-ray reveals no damage and no fracture. Maggie will be in medical observation status with limited mobility to assist with decreasing inflammation. This month we say goodbye to Doh Driver as the manager of the sanctuary's vegan store in Seattle, Vegan Haven. Doh has been an outstanding friend to the sanctuary, setting a very high standard managing and growing the store. She is loved by many and she will be missed. Many days are spent hauling and pounding posts and putting up fencing to expand a very large area for a special group of handicapped pigs. When we are done they are joy filled exploring every place. A work group a week later plants 11 trees to provide shade in the future in the new open field. Senior dog Max dies after an extended battle with cancer. A day doesn't go by that I don't think of him. The day after Max dies senior dog Ben is rushed to the veterinarian after he collapsed in the yard. After many tests we learn Ben has advanced cancer in his liver and spleen. He comes home with a poor prognosis. A very sad time at the sanctuary. Our dogs are such valued part of life here. Welcoming new afraid animals, guarding the sanctuary from intruders with a gentle watchful eye. Our cold blowing heater is fixed for warmth again, yeah! Farm insurance inspection completed. Judy Woods consults with sanctuaries in the UK and India regarding behavior problems with their pigs. Many calls requesting help with peacocks, roosters, pigs of course and cats who pee. We do the best we can but cannot help all. University of Washington animal studies class visits. Sixty bales of hay put out for added hay beds as winter continues wet and cold in the Pacific Northwest. Potbellied senior pig Piggy Girl moved to yard for observation and assessment. She quickly makes friends with other seniors who enjoy the quieter yard living. March 2013 March starts with a rare sunny day enjoyed by all. Call comes with a request for help regarding 7 pigs in a barn fire. All owned by a breeder who wants to "get rid" of the older unsold unsocial pigs. These 7 pigs are safe and unharmed and the mention of a "fire" is a manipulation for me to take them. We are full with a waiting list. It is our reality. Call comes from a woman who "loves" her pig but wants me to take it because it needs hoof trimming and she doesn't want to pay for it! My vet bills are tough to pay sometimes. She is referred to the veterinarian for payment options. This month we plant 30 assorted trees in the field with fencing around each small tree to safely establish growing without the llama or sheep eating them. The vision is shade on sunny days for animals in future summers. Ben the dog continues in crisis with end stage cancer. Some days are better than others. His spirit stays strong and gentle. A potbellied pig is staggering in the large group of healthy pigs. Bella is a timid, people shy girl from the "California Bunch". She is assisted to a medical observation stall close to her friends and started on emergency meds after a call to the veterinarian. After 20 years and thousands of medical issues with pigs and much knowledge on my part I still call the veterinarian with each new medical need. This is part of a trusted relationship with our veterinarians. Call comes from someone who "bought a mini piglet in August" and 6 months later it is bigger than was promised. Would we take it? UGH!! We start a giant project of fencing 5 additional acres to expand the pigs' area. This job will be done in sections as time and weather allows. Farm Yorkshire piglet Maggie is back with the group of pigs after confinement and treatment for a leg abscess. Early spring cleaning and planting of the vegetable garden. Potbellied pig Maurice here from another rescue organization. Maurice has been aggressive with unpredictable behavior issues the entire time they had him. He has been on the waiting list to come here since Fall. He starts life here as all pigs do in the 'yard', close to the house, with much contact for continuous observation and assessment. Maurice's behave here as a perfect gentleman with all. Commonly, an extremely aggressive pig will be gentle when living with other pigs and boundaries of acceptable interaction behavior are clear. Pigs are loved here, but naughty behavior is not. The same day Maurice came here a call comes from a woman who rescued 3 farm piglets in December and now must bring them back immediately! This is a huge hardship for us to take back 3 now bigger farm pigs. They are "butcher age" at 6 months. If we don't take them their fate is dim. April 2013 Month starts with two great volunteers who help make a difference. One put a real door to our education center. For years we had a plywood door with a teaspoon as a lock. Our non-running old 1959 tractor was fixed. Yeah. This wet month volunteers planted over 20 trees to the handicapped pigs field. The vegetable garden was planted. A wayward dog was found wandering on the road. No response to ads placed. Finally the owner was found and agreed this dog would live his life at the sanctuary. He helps with dog Tibbet's grief as she loses her best dog friend Ben to cancer. Ben died after the battle with cancer was lost. I HATE cancer! Volunteer arranged work party here for a day to help. We pick up a van-load of donated nuts for the pigs. Yum on wet days! Six senior pigs to the vet for dental care and hoof trims. Old pig Ernie died. Many, many calls this month come from people requesting that I "take their pig" including from a "donor" who is upset that I do not automatically have room "because he has donated in the past." His anger is upsetting as I can NOT take all pigs. I live with this fact every day and every phone call. I must focus on my responsibility to those in my care. Every request to take a pig does not come with a guarantee of financial assistance to cover what it takes to give lifetime care to the animal, day after day, year after year. The "rescue" is the easy part. I do the best I can to help, but I am only one person. Sanctuary dog Tibbet has an eye injury that requires urgent medical care and she will live as a cone-head for many weeks with continuous care to help the eye heal. A successful weekend bake sale in Seattle at Vegan Haven benefitting the sanctuary is a huge help to pay for medical care for the animals. Senior sanctuary cat Misty to the vet for an abscess injury treatment. She recovers with much TLC but continues in the house with ongoing treatment, sick with cancer. May 2013 Request comes from someone asking for a pig to "kiss the principal" for a school fundraiser. Sorry, we never supply this as a service. Dog Tibbet continues vet need weekly for her injured eye. Potbellied pig Bella continues in yard observation and care status for her unstable gait / balance. She slightly improves but is not recovering. Nine pigs in TLC group go to the vet for yearly needs. Sadly pig Fred dies. We have serious trouble with our well pump with a lack of water pressure. A new pump solved the problem. An unexpected expense. A week later the water heater died completely and required replacement. UGH! Our dead lawnmower needed replacement after many repair attempts failed. Sadly, one of our "barn" cats dies as well as senior cat Misty. Both will be missed. A feral Tom cat shows up eating food here. He is trapped and neutered, released to continue his life and welcomed to eat meals here. We take in 11 week old piglet Jeffery and place him into a new home of someone with acres of land and a history of having 2 pigs for their lifetimes. She understands the care and needs. A rare home find. Many people "want a piglet" but do not realize what it involves for their 20 year lifespan. It is a commitment of love for the pig. New volunteer here to help with arrangement of our onsite education center. As the weather dries out we are able to mow the fast growing grass in the fields. A nice thing for the smaller potbellied pigs to be able to see. Our field grass may grow to be 3 feet without mowing. Judy Woods assists people with consults of medical and housing concerns. A new to the area vet visits with offers of wanting to help. Out of state visitors here. June 2013 Month starts with sanctuary dog Tibbet finally getting a completely healed checkup of her injured eye and the cone-head can be off. Yeah. Her daily treatment worked! Pigs Peace Sanctuary "Vegan Living" booklet completed at printers and ready for our onsite Education room. Many people schedule for summer visiting. Our time fills up fast. It is always great to introduce people to our amazing pigs and the need for this sanctuary to continue. Calls come every month with requests to take pigs. I do the best I can. Often when people understand what will happen to their pigs when they Craigslist it they realize that they would do better to keep their pig and give it the home they promised when they bought it. Sometimes they care so much they agree to get their pig a friend. This is rare, but very satisfying. Pigs do need other pigs to be happy. Demarie, the manager of Vegan Haven, our vegan store in Seattle, visits the sanctuary. We take in two 7½ week old kittens. They were born in a stump with a feral mom. They were trapped and cared for by a loving couple and after the mom cat was spayed and released the tiny kitten, who was not eating or growing well, was veterinarian examined and diagnosed with a congenital defect. This kitten will die without surgery. He has a messed up body inside that prevents him from breathing well or getting enough food. With surgery he has a hope of a normal life. We take this bonded pair and surgery is scheduled within days. Little Henry weighed less than one pound going in to surgery. His recovery will take several weeks as he must have a body cast on. Full recovery will give him a full life of no problems. All he knows is he can breath and finally eat normally. His sister is helping support. Judy Woods traps a feral mom cat and releases her after surgery with a conversation with a man of the closest house to the woods the cat lives in. He agrees to help with feeding and trapping the kittens of this mom. We will work in partnership to make a tiny dent in a feral cat need. A university student comes to start volunteering for a school project. July 2013 New volunteers start, Yeah. Call comes that a woman died and family does not want her pig. We help with placement. Kitten Henry to the veterinary for suture tightening. One of our feral cats "Slasher Kitty" is very sick and to the veterinary. She recovers well. TLC barn washed down and repainted. Visitors scheduled numerous days every week this month. Kitten Henry has complication from surgery, recover requires hospitalization and recovers soon. Posts, fencing and gates delivered for BIG project of fencing and cross fencing with gates. 68 bales of hay delivered. Very full loft in barn is cleaned out. Everything to the yard and sorted. With a weekend full of visitors we have NO WATER!! Judy must drive van to fill up 5 gallon containers over and over again to fill ponds pigs. Exhausting work! We rent excavator to find the well 1/4 mile into the woods! Pig Will into medical observation for large bump on face between nose and eyes. Once feral cat Grayboy to veterinary for foot abscess. Safe traps set and very wild feral cats and kittens caught who were living in the woods. All are spayed and neutered. Month ends with the death of Fern, the potbellied pig Judy Woods got 22 years ago who was the foundation to the sanctuary. Great sadness with grief. August 2013 Sahale Nuts in Seattle donates product to the pigs. Yum Yum. 1500 lb. Another week of no water this month. A horrible ordeal! Kitten Henry to veterinary for final removal of stitches and body brace. Pig Gingersnap died. This is a pig we rescued years ago who someone set free in the woods after being in a gunny sack at a tavern for 3 days! Pig Will with face bump back to the main group to live with continued medical observation. This month is busy with the most visitors ever! Building supplies delivered and walls and ceiling built for barn loft. 20 acres of grass mowed for better visibility for pigs. Education Center wall painted. Water pump problem again!! New volunteers start. Farrier here for equine hoof trimming. September 2013 Month starts with a visit here here from another sanctuary to make life better for their pigs. We are always happy to share information and assistance. Pigs Peace Sanctuary is known as the premiere pig sanctuary for pigs! Six dump truck loads of wood chips delivered to spread as we must start in the summer to prep the pigs walkways before fall and winter. Fencing project continues with need of more fencing and gates to install for increased housing areas for aging pigs. This is a project that takes months. Our tractor needs maintenance work and repair and then we get a back hoe for the tractor! A giant need for years and now we have help with giant digging! Veterinarian to do tusk trim on several pigs, plus 3 barn feral cats trapped and to veterinary for routine medical check. Printing posters completed for our Visitor Education room. 26 truck loads of gravel delivered for extended 'parking lot' for 'wet months' and school bus parking. Lumber delivered for barn repair work. Chimney repair work completed on sanctuary house for safety with fires. Trees cut that are encroaching on power lines. An amazing volunteer delivers our printed materials to Portland for VegFest. Call comes from "Josh-The-Vegan caterer" who volunteers to do a fundraiser for Pigs Peace -WOW! What a generous spirit! Two volunteers dismantle and bring us a greenhouse that is donated to the sanctuary. Yeah, we can grow earlier produce for the pigs. Judy receives ongoing complaints regarding a piglet at a Seattle preschool. Judy makes site visit and calls the owner about concerns. Excavator and driver here for a day's work to clear sanctuary's fence line for continued assessment. Senior pigs to veterinarian for dentals and hoof trimmings. Pig Gladys died peacefully. Many visitors this month! A few celebrate birthdays here! Vegan Haven in Seattle had fundraising Bake Sale for the pigs! Thank you! Month ends with death of kitten Henry and audit notice the same day!! October 2013 Large farm pig Arlo to medical stall for tumor mass on neck. Veterinarian here and biopsy sent. Call comes from real estate agent who sold a house and, after closing, the sellers "set their pigs free" when they moved to new house! The abandonment is reported to authorities. Our barns are painted for maintenance needs. Work party painters came! New volunteers to start after they visited this past summer. Demolition of wall started at Vegan Haven in Seattle as we prepare for expansion of the store to double the space and give us a storage room. This is a big move for this non-profit store in hopes of added revenue to help cover the cost. Judy must go to store at end of evening to fill the sanctuary van for dump loads of remodel mess many, many times. Our first school group of the year comes this month from Seattle. Hay delivered and stacked, wood chips here for winter prep. Many visitors continue weekly. Propane heat installed in Education Room, room is very cold without heat. Senior pig Abigale died from liver failure. Countless calls from people wanting me to take their pigs. "They bought it from a breeder and after a few short months" can't keep it. The only one who benefits is the breeder! This is incredibly frustrating as the calls never stop. Pigs live 20 years and require care. Rarely do people give lifetime great homes. Pigs Peace Sanctuary hosts healing retreat for animal rescuers in our Education Room with facilitator Jo Lombordi. A wonderful day of sharing and learning. November 2013 Month starts with volunteers doing amazing work by procuring ex-halloween pumpkins from stores in Bellingham. The sanctuary receives over 600 pumpkins! A glorious seasonal treat for the pigs over several weeks. Vegan spirituality group from Olympia visit. Remodel of Vegan Haven continues as the store must stay open while workers remodel in evening after closing. All have full time jobs! This is a true labor of love. New freezers and refrigerators bought for the store expansion. "Best Friends" staff from Utah visit us and volunteer and learn and talk about everything pigs. Insurance inspection completed. New signs completed and up at Vegan Haven. Calls to visit continue, visiting is limited now with less daylight and much that must be accomplished daily. Judy speaks at fundraising dinner held for Pigs Peace Sanctuary in Portland thanks to the Vegan Caterer - Yahoo - funds to help!! Thank you Josh and Stephanie!! Calls come from California, Idaho, Florida and Pennsylvania asking if we would take their pigs. They "will transport and we give lifetime care." We have limited room and must say no daily. A sad fact of people unprepared for what happens if they get a pig and can't keep it. Good sanctuaries are full-full-full plus there are many horrible places that call themselves sanctuaries. Do not believe websites -people must check out where the animal goes. Audit completed with accountant -all is good. Spring bulbs planted for flowers to greet all with spring color. Senior pigs to veterinarian for routine and required dental care and hoof trims. December 2013 Call comes from man who has exotic birds. He got a pig who now lives isolated with the chickens. Tries to bite people all the time and charges his wife. Wants us to take it. Next day call comes from someone who has piglet now locked in laundry room because it attacks the children. Both are common calls from people with single pigs living without another pig. Call comes from Hospice worker, a woman's dying last wish is to see and touch a pig. She has loved them since she was a young girl. We help. Pallet of V-Dog delivered and we move 100+ bags! Email sent asking for help with need of hay for pigs. We can't keep up. We add more through this winter than any other winter in the past. Every 2 weeks we are 'out of hay'. Gravel delivered for continued need. Snow means more need for hay! Calls come asking Judy for advice for sick and ailing pigs. We always refer medical needs to skilled pig veterinarians. I am appalled at the people who give and take medical advice based on opinion on the internet. Often animals suffer delayed proper care. People call to visit and are not happy when we request that they visit during visiting season. It is very difficult to care for 200+ animals in the colder months with limited daylight and seasonal needs. We must be closed to visiting for the best care of the animals. On Christmas eve, pig Mary Lou died and a white dove to the sanctuary for the entire day. We have never seen a dove at the sanctuary. |