Meet Barry, the pig. Barry was taken in by good Samaritans when he lost his home. Barry had never seen a vet and these good Samaritans had their own family health issues and no place to put Barry but they built him a small pen to keep him safe. That was no way for Barry to live and they knew it so they reached out to us. I know it's difficult to tell from the pictures but Barry is huge - easily twice as big as Hamlet (our largest pig.) Despite his size, Barry has been very cooperative and easy to handle. He's never had any piggy friends but he has a much beloved basketball that he brought with him. Reminds me of Wilson, the volleyball in "Castaway."

Daisy is quite the character.   Daisy was picked up by animal control as a stray so we know nothing about her background.  She loves people and other pigs and she has always been the pig/horse ambassador.  She has been known to sleep in the shelter with the horses at night where she built herself a little nest in one of the stalls.  She might not be a classic beauty but she is undeniably adorable. 

When another sanctuary had a surprise litter of piglets and needed homes, we agreed to take the runt of the litter - Dot - and her sister, Harriet.  You can see in this picture that Dot has a big dot right on the top of her head.  Dot is no longer the runt of the pig population!  She's one of the lucky ones here who has known only love in her life so she's a happy, friendly girl who squeals when she sees you coming! 

Hamilton came to us in August, 2023 when his human mom died and he had nowhere to go.  Poor Hamilton has severe arthritis and was practically immobile when he arrived.  He was also so obese that he had fat blindness - his eyelids literally forced his eyes closed.  Old, in pain, blind, still grieving the loss of his human, Hamilton needed a lot from us.  We started with a weight reduction diet composed of healthy food, high doses of pain meds, a soft bed and lots of patience and love.  Hamilton has a long way to go before he's healthy but for as long as we can give him a pain free, pampered life, we will.  Hamilton is a very special pig.

Hamlet was rescued by a kind woman in NC when his mother rejected him at birth.  She bottle fed him, got him neutered and took excellent care of him but as he grew, he needed more than she could provide so he came to live with us here at FSFS at about 7 months old.  He is friendly, funny and a little mischievious.   

Harriet came to us along with her sister, Dot when  another sanctuary needed homes for a surprise litter of piglets.  She's pretty girl who looks black in the dark but has streaks of red that show up in the sunlight.  Just like her sister, Harriet is one of the lucky ones who has never known anything but security and love and that makes her especially friendly and happy to meet people. 

Jack is blind in one eye and his face and right ear will always bear the scars from a dog mauling prior to his rescue by Polk County Animal Control where he landed after being found wandering and injured.  He is the sweetest, most gentle pig in the world who refuses to let his tough pre-rescue life color his rosy color of the world.  He has a heart of gold.  We have no idea of age so we celebrate his birthday on the day he came to us! 

Josephine was abandoned in Sumter, SC.  A very nice lady tried to care for her but she did not have the facilities to care for a pig.  Josephine didn’t have appropriate food or shelter and was constantly escaping her make-shift enclosure to run over to the neighbor’s house who threatened to shoot her.  To her credit, the lady who had Josephine realized right away that she could not keep her safe and healthy so she immediately began looking for help.  

Josephine is about 18 months old and is understandably a little shell shocked and shy but is very sweet and seems relieved to have a big pile of straw and comfy stall to herself for the night.  She gobbled down a big bowl of pig feed with pineapple as soon as she finished checking out her new digs. 

Now, normally, I’d rather cut my own arms off than drive any distance the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend but there was some urgency to get Josephine here ASAP because she’s pregnant!  We have no idea how far along she is but the lady who was taking care of her for the past week says that she believes Josephine’s belly has about doubled in size in the past week which leads me to believe birth might be sooner rather than later so we really wanted her here and settled before that could happen. 

Laverne was our first  pig ever.  Poor Laverne was penned in a tiny little pen with no fresh water or food when animal control removed her.  Her saving grace is that she was penned up with her best friend, a tiny goat that we named Shirley.  Laverne had been fed lots of empty calories and had no room to exercise so she has a lot of weight to lose in order to be healthy and more mobile but she's on her way with Shirley right by her side.  Laverne is already getting around a little better and she absolutely loves people.  She comes running whenever she hears us coming and loves attention.  She also loves finally having a shelter with a soft bed of hay, soft green grass to run around on and healthy meals to eat on a regular basis.  And she really loves that she and Shirley will get to be together for the rest of their lives. 

Samantha is a young pig but we're not sure of her exact age.  When her owners moved out of their home and left her behind, this smart girl sought help from neighbors.  Just like a friendly stray dog showed up at their doors begging for food.  She was sweet, very talkative and nobody could say no.  Unfortunately, no one had the ability to keep her and they were worried that she could get hit by a car, attacked by dogs or suffer some other dire fate if they left her roaming free so they caught her in a large dog crate and brought her to FSFS.  We got her spayed and vaccinated and now she's safe and loved in her forever home. 

Scarlet, the pig, has some congenital deformities in her front legs which gives her a pretty profound limp when she moves around.  She’s somewhere around 6-7 years old.  Pigs are prone to arthritis anyway and given her age and her  limp,  she’s  almost certainly got some arthritic pain so we medicate her twice a day for that.  (Can’t tell by a limp like with our other pigs because she arrived with one.)  Despite all of that, Scarlet likes to roam around  the pasture and frequently naps right up by the fence, closest to our house, so that she can keep an eye on our comings and goings.  She is very outgoing and just loves people.  But, my favorite thing is how she has befriended Willow, our paraplegic pig who shares the barn pasture with her.  Sweet Willow lost the use of her back legs after being shot as a young pig.  We’ve introduced her to other pigs but, probably feeling a little defenseless, Willow tended to be a little aloof and, occasionally, snappish.  Totally understandable for a little pig who couldn’t run away if things turned ugly.  But Willow found a BFF in Scarlet and the two of them eat, sleep and lounge in the sun together.  It’s so much fun to see. 

We have a darling new resident here.  Scoots, the pig, arrived last night - all the way from Nevada,  happily traveling with his human mama.  He even stayed in a hotel (and rode on an elevator) on the way.  Unlike many of our residents, Scoots has been a beloved, pampered family member for all of his life.  He’ll be starting out in  the barn with Scarlet and Willow as he acclimates to his new life at FSFS but then we plan to let him move into the pig pasture where he’ll have lots of pig friends which will be a new experience for Scoots, who has always been an “only pig.”   Welcome Scoots! 

When sweet Willow was a young pig, someone shot her in the back, leaving her paraplegic.  She was rescued by a good samaritan and deeply loved for the next 3 years.  But as Willow got older and bigger, she needed a new home so she came to us in the fall of 2021.  Although we originally intended to get a wheelchair for Willow, it quickly became apparent that she prefers to pull herself around using her front legs and she can really scoot.  She loves hanging out in the hay with the llamas, and is a big fan of fresh fruit when it comes to snacks.  Whatever Willow lacks in mobility, she makes up for in personality! Willow found a BFF in Scarlet and the two of them eat, sleep and lounge in the sun together.  It’s so much fun to see. 

To know Willy is to love Willy.  He is the smallest, happiest pig at FSFS and he is ALWAYS happy.  Willy was picked up as a stray by animal control with lots of skin problems and entropion (an uncomfortable eyelid condition.)  He has injections, medicated baths, and minor surgery on his eyelids but nothing has ever kept him down.  He loves everyone and everything and is always thrilled to have company.