A Bad week for Pigs.

The Liverpool shelter has lost one of their old pigs,Fred was found dead this morning, I know the staff will all be upset.Most Pigs do not get much appreciation  unless they are being devoured off a plate but  at both Freshfields shelters we are very fond of our piggy residents.What most people fail to realise is that they are intelligent and sensitive creatures, so sensitive in fact that even a change to their sleeping quarters can cause immense stress and trying to relocate them can be almost as stressful to the staff caring for them, than the pigs themselves.They simply hate any change to their routine(pigs not  staff!)

We too are faced with losing our two pigs, both are extremely arthritic and old. Pink Pig,especially has too many bad days where she cannot get up and walk and I feel it is time for them to leave us though I have been putting off the dreaded moment for the past few weeks. I wish they could go in their sleep like dear old Fred , Anyhow the Liverpool shelter are taking in two more needy piggies after hearing of the plight of a group of pigs being neglected by their owner who had stopped looking after them. I gather the band of ten Kune Kunes include elderly females and pregnant ones too!
One of my readers has a pig sanctuary in Canada and I love reading her blog, it is such a  treat to know of someone who sees the intelligence and the personalities of these animals. I always thought I would make a good partner for the lovely George Clooney whose girlfriends never seemed to appreciate his pet  potbellied pig. If only I had mixed in the same circles, I'm sure we would have got on brilliantly and that he would have fallen madly in love with me!  Mind you , I thought the same about Richard Gere who is a Buddhist and another one with whom I had something in common.One can but dream!

Now back to reality, we have had torrential rain here all; day and no electricity since nine this morning.Workmen have been replacing telegraph wires in the back field so there has been a great upheaval all day and it has caused some stress to some of the animals , especially Callie and Freddy who would not come in for their evening meal and that is so very unlike these two who really love their food. Poor Mei was calling them from the field for at least half an hour and was getting thoroughly soaked to the skin in the process. I think the vehicles, the noise and the strange men(they were actually very pleasant) all  added to their nervousness. Horses are so easily spooked by anything new and it is not uncommon for a horse to refuse to walk past the tractor if it has been left in  a different place than usual. Even an old jumper left hanging over the fence can give a fright. Anyhow they are all in their warm stables now and  the scary events of the day forgotten as they munch away happily at their hay.(I love that sound) Above pic is of one of the scaredy cats(or rather equines) Freddie.His name was originally Freddie Kruger after the scary character in the horror film.When Freddie first arived from Jersey, he was extremely nervous and rather wild.Nowadays he remains shy and will not enjoy attention like some of the others but nobody is scared of him as  some of the girls were who worked here at the time.
Many animals are nervous when they arrive, some  have been through a great deal in their lives and understandably have little or no trust in humans but nearly all will eventually respond to kindness .A secure home goes a long way to achieve this.

Tomorrow I am taking Dodger and Nancy (left), the two middle aged Jack Russells who are living in the house with me, to a friends house to see if they would be likely to settle there. Sue lived in the same road as me when we were children and has recently moved to this area and she can't wait to have a dog.Whether these two are the right ones for her remains to be seen. More of this in next blog entry.