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Newsletters - Jan '06

NO LITTLE PIGGIES WENT TO MARKET

This Christmas we certainly received a surprise present - 8 of them, actually - in the form of a beautiful litter of multicoloured, newborn piglets.

Dumped in a cardboard box that had become sodden we found the babies shivering in the thick snow. One was already dead, the others were icy cold, hungry, lost and alone. Catching the tiny little mites was easy and we quickly had them warming by the radiator indoors. Soon their little bodies responded to the heat and in no time they snuggled in a warm, tired heap and feel into a deep sleep.

Sadly, another baby died quite soon but 7 of our little Christmas presents survived and have grown into the most beautiful little pigs.

It took a day or two to establish them on the bottle which is always a worrying time. But, once they’d got the taste, there really was no stopping them. Feeding 8 piglets with 2 bottles is easier said than done and the experience left you feeling like you’d just been in the film Gremlins!!!

The piglets tale was eagerly taken up by the media and some of you may have seen their story in the Sunday People. Others may have seen the little devils rampaging around the This Morning TV studio with Philip Schofield in hot pursuit. Oh, the joy of live television, we brought the place to a standstill!!!

It’s interesting to see the reaction that piglets evoke in people and we were crowded when word got out (or they heard the racket) that piglets were in the studio. The “oooh’s” and “ahhh’s” were coming from all directions and they had their photo’s taken a million times snuggling up to celebrities.

It was a fun day out and my greatest hope is that seeing those lovely, joyful babies will remind people of what they consider to be food.
I was interested to learn from the This Morning vet that pigs have been identified as the 5th most intelligent species of all mammals.
Yes, these babies are happy, growing well, safe and very, very expensive to rear.

They are consuming about 20 pints of milk every day which is costing a fortune. We have just had the 5 boys castrated leaving us with a bill of £170 and one of the little girls had a potentially life threatening condition requiring an operation. She’s doing well now but veterinary treatment is expensive. Without your help we cannot help more animals. Please remember us.

Needless to say, the remaining 7 piglets are all well, getting big and strong and looking just fine. We are very proud of the most special and unusual Christmas present that anyone could ask for.

Thank you once again for helping us to help them. xx