(Dated updates are at the end of each article. For the cool background on piggy's new name, scroll down to the Piggy Update — Feb. 4th article!)

On Monday, January 19th, a call came in to the sanctuary. Could we help take in an abandoned pig?

As a motorist in Bristolville was traveling down the road accompanied

First night at Happy Trails — "Where am I?"

by her daughter, they saw what appeared to be a brown truck in the distance. A dark object was ejected from the vehicle, and the truck sped away. Since both mom and daughter were involved in dog rescue, they feared that the dark object may very well be an innocent dog as so often is the case. They hurried toward the area where they saw the truck. Sure enough there was a dark mass, an animal, on the side of the road.

However, they were simply shocked to see a young baby pig, probably about three months old, on the side of the road in the snow. A call to the local authorities resulted in their assistance in the capture of the young, frightened and injured piglet. Being a good samaritan, the witness

Just his nose sticks out from underneath his pile of blankies when he eats.

took the pig home to decide what to do with it. (I am guessing here that the local police were relieved!) For the time being, he was placed in a dog crate with straw bedding and apple slices. His face was covered in blood, and his legs and left shoulder sustained road burns. Along with the good samaritans, the pig appeared to be in shock too.

That evening, three Happy Trails board members picked up the piggy at his "foster" home. The rescuers were concerned for their newly rescued friend. Would

Just his nose sticks out from underneath his pile of blankies when he eats.

we euthanize the pig? Obviously they weren't familiar with Happy Trails. If an animal is suffering greatly with no hope of recovery, we do euthanize at the suggestion and recommendation of our veterinarians. However, if there is hope for an animal to be rehabilitated and to recover, we give them every chance possible to have a healthy and happy life. The piglet, though obviously stressed with his traumatic day, appeared to have no permanent physical injuries. The emotional injuries and psychological injuries could be another story — however, many animals tend to be great examples of how we are supposed to forgive each other, and often will put their past behind them to place their trust yet another human being.

At the sanctuary, we were going to have our field service vet meet us for emergency call since we were told the rescued piggy was a farm pig. However, the instant we laid eyes on him, we knew he was a pot belly. This vet didn't work much with pot bellies, so we would assess piggy's wounds and determine if he needed emergency medical care. His wounds appeared painful yet superficial, with nothing

Uncovered! Eating warm oatmeal to start the day!

that appeared to be broken. He ate and drank and walked about, exploring his personal suite in Piggerton Estates, a barn at the sanctuary dedicated to pot belly pigs. We decided that we were not in an dire emergency situation, so would set up a regular office call for the new pig.

At this time, we are waiting for the pig to name himself, as so often happens with the rescued animals. The foster home gave him a name, but it truly is against everything we believe in to name animals after food and slaughterhouse terms. Her pig growing up was named Bacon. She decided to name this rescued pig "Ham-ilton". As a sanctuary,

Piggy's suite in Piggerton Estates — complete with heat lamp and warm blankets!

it is our belief that we give these animals a new lease on life. We offer them peace and comfort and a kind gentle hand, and they are not permitted to go back into food production. Why in the world then would we want to give them names associated with factory farming and slaughterhouses and names associated with killing and eating animals? I can't tell you the amount of people we have talked to who laughingly name their pigs rude names like Porkchop, Hammie, and Bacon. We decided to wait to see what comes to mind as we learn of new piggy's personality and likes and dislikes.

Monday night, the piglet was cold and shaking. We settled him into some warm straw underneath a heatlamp and a big ol'd pile of donated blankies. As he calmed down and went to sleep, his shaking stopped. Four of us, Cheri, Russ, Rob and myself, watched him like he was a television. Would he be alright? Could there be injuries

Natasha the goat (in the aisleway) and Radar the goat (in the next suite) are his neigbors.

that would manifest themselves later? For now he simply appeared exhausted. We left him with Natasha the goat watching guard over her newest barn resident, since she was, of course, in charge of the pig barn. Later in the evening I went out to check on the little guy. I watched him soundly sleeping in the silence of the barn until he awakened with a violent jerk — I was wondering if maybe he was reliving the earlier events of the day, and was remembering hitting the hard pavement.  I gave him a re-assuring belly rub and back to sleep he went. A kiss on his little piggy head and softly whispered "good night" was the last thing he experienced on what what hopefully the worst day of his entire life.

The next morning I woke up the sleeping baby to a breakfast of warm Cinnamon and Brown Sugar oatmeal, mixed with some pot belly pig pellets. He sleepily sat up and discovered the good smell, and happily slurped his way through the entire bowl. Body functions appeared to be in working order — he peed and pooed to start his day, and then he began

Piggerton Estates will be little piggy's recovery center.

to oink. And oink he did...he hurried around his suite, loudly oinking to all the other pigs and goats in the barn. "I arrived last night incase you didn't know," he seemed to be saying. Greetings were returned. "Calm down — you're safe now," is what I am guessing he was told, because in a short amount of time he quieted down and crawled back under his heat lamp and blankies for morning nap time.

The open wound on his shoulder where he hit the pavement was open and bloody. The skin on his ear was torn off and shredded. An auction tag was imbedded painfully in his little ear. I can only image what body parts are sore and hurt from hitting the road. His little front legs were covered with cuts and scrapes.

And as I sat looking at this fragile little creature, I wondered once again what evil possesses people to inflict such cruelty on helpless animals. Did those people get pleasure from tossing him out of their truck? Did they find joy in their actions? Did it make them better people or make them feel good or benefit our society in any way?  Many folks tend to ignore the crucial link between animal abuse and domestic violence and criminal behavior — what were these people like to other members of their families? Have they ever been arrested for other incidents?

Happy Trails is always involved in cases prosecuting animal cruelty. I would love to see this one prosecuted. If you have any information on this case, please contact us at 330-296-5914. Or if you are interested in adopting this wonderful little fellow, call us at the same number.

PIGGY UPDATE — Feb. 4th, 2009!

Baby pig now has a name! After searching the internet for unique names in different nationalities, we happened upon a name that was strangely appropriate. We try to give names to the animals that have meaning or that fit their personality.

New piggy is now named "Anselmo", which is both an Italian and a Spanish name (the German version of this name is Anselm).

Believe it or not, it means "Divine Helmet", which is exactly what we decided the little guy had to be wearing when he was cruelly thrown out of the truck, for he had landed on his head. This was obvious by the wounds and abrasions on his left ear, the side of his face, and his neck and shoulder. His front legs bore cuts and scrapes where he hit the pavement. Alsemo's "divine helmet" saved his life, and for that, we are truly grateful to Creator for having placed that on the little piggy's head!

On Tuesday, February 3rd, Anselmo had his first vet visit! He received an overall medical check-up, was neutered, had his sharp tusks trimmed, and received his baby pig vaccinations. He may be a wee bit older than what we thought, but only by a little bit — the vet is guessing Anselmo is around seven months old, and jokingly referred to him as a "smooth faced pot belly".  Cute and cuddley and social Anselmo may be what the vet referred to as a hybrid, a possible mix of a pot belly and a different breed. We used to have another piggy here at the sanctuary named Mr. Bojangles who closely resembled Anselmo, with the exact same long legs and he too stood a bit taller than a regular pot belly. Still, he didn't seem to get much bigger than a regular pot belly, he was just a bit taller.

Once back at the sanctuary after his day at the vet, Russ and Rob carefully lifted the pet porter out of the back of the van and set it down at the gate of Piggerton Estates. Anselmo cautiously exited the carrier and immediately made his way down the snow-covered path and into the warmth of the piggy barn, where I was told that he promptly dove head first between two of his favorite pig friends who were napping, snuggled up to them and went to sleep.

To make up for all the rudeness he experienced at the vet yesterday, he will once again receive his usual morning breakfast of warm Cinnamon oatmeal sprinkled with pot belly pig chow.

So Anselmo survived his trip in the Happy Trails van to the vet, and made it back the sanctuary safe and sound — all to the tune of $406.

Holy Toldeo... If anyone is interested in helping out with the expenses of the piggy youngster who was tossed out of the car, donations toward his care and medical expenses would be very much appreciated, and can be either made through PayPal or sent directly to: Happy Trails, 5623 New Milford Rd., Ravenna, Ohio 44266.

Watch for more Anselmo updates and follow his story here!