Recently near Sacramento, California witnesses on Highway 50 saw a pig take a big leap of faith to get out of a poorly constructed cage from a moving vehicle. Luckily the pig was able to land in grass and walk away virtually unscathed. When animal control officers caught the pig they took her to a local cat and dog shelter where she soon gave birth to fourteen little piglets. Unfortunately because of unknown reasons five of the piglets did not survive. That still left nine surviving piglets that Animal Place was hoping to rescue alone with their mother. However, state law requires a waiting period for the owner to claim lost animals. Unfortunately, this includes animals that were meant for slaughter as well.
After, Sacramento County Animal Shelter waited the required time for the owner to come and claim the pig, that is now being referred to as Rita the shelter then released them to be rescued by Animal Place. Since being taken to the Animal Place Rita is slowly warming up to her rescuers being around her and her piglets. She especially enjoys grapes and cantaloupe as a snack.
During the night the piglet enjoy being under their special heat lamp and are thriving with Rita taking gentle care of them. They have also been enjoying their outside space where they get to run and prance freely about without fear of the chopping block.
To prevent others from breeding the rescued animals the rescue center spays and neuters all of their pigs, this will also prevent accidental litters because they could not possibly care for every litter. This procedure also lowers the potential for being aggressive towards other pigs and people both. Spaying will also decrease the chances the female pigs have to get mammary cancer and uterine infections.
Full grown domestic pigs can weigh anywhere from six hundred to eight hundred pounds for a sow and one thousand to one thousand five hundred pounds for a boar. Even though many pigs are omnivores and will eat most anything that is given to them that is still a lot of food to provide for ten pigs once the piglets grow into adulthood. This would be especially difficult for a rescue considering most of them operate on donations and personal finances of the operators.
Currently Animal Place is waiting for the piglets to become old enough to ween from their mother. At that point they will be moved into other sanctuaries that are already lined up to take in the little piggies, to help take on providing for and protecting this lucky pig family. This is will help keep Animal Place's cost down instead of trying to raise and protect ten full sized hogs when they are grown up.
When it is all over each of the piglets and Miss Rita are going to be fat and happy living safe lives in places that are happy to love and spoil them without the desire to turn them into bacon and sausage patties for someone's breakfast. Rita took the ultimate leap of faith by diving from a moving vehicle on a highway risking life and limb quite possibly to save the lives of her unborn piglets. This put her in the best place she could have ever ended up all on a single leap.