Story: Interspecies Communication
My Little Orphan Homie
By James Rowan (04/27/10 12:48:55)
Related animal: Pot Belly Pig
Last week the class visited Little Orphan Hammies, a pig sanctuary in Solvang, California, which deals with pot belly pigs who have grown to large for their owners to care for. It was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be, a single woman taking care of 40 or 50 hogs, each one more massive than the next. The pot belly pig has a tough lot in life in America. While cute at a young age, they keep growing and growing, their jowels getting bigger, flesh covering their eyes. Some of them had good temperments, but others just seemed pissed offed, irritable, and uncomfortable. There were, however, a few awesome animals in the mix, at least awesome in the sense that they wanted to hang out with me.
Like I've said before, I grew up on a farm and I raised pigs for years. While ultimately those relationships ended with them going to market, I still spent hours with the animals caring for them and bonding with them. Some people would say it is better not to get attached to the animals especially since they were just going to be sold for meat, but that's not as easy to do with a pig. Pigs are intelligent, like dogs are, maybe even more so. You can see intelligence in their eyes, and in the ways they respond to you. I have spent hours with them and knew that the pot bellies couldn't be all that different. I just had to find the ones who had been raised in an environment where they were not fearful or angry towards humans. Once I found them, it was easy for the communication to begin.
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By James Rowan (04/27/10 12:48:55)
Related animal: Pot Belly Pig
Last week the class visited Little Orphan Hammies, a pig sanctuary in Solvang, California, which deals with pot belly pigs who have grown to large for their owners to care for. It was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be, a single woman taking care of 40 or 50 hogs, each one more massive than the next. The pot belly pig has a tough lot in life in America. While cute at a young age, they keep growing and growing, their jowels getting bigger, flesh covering their eyes. Some of them had good temperments, but others just seemed pissed offed, irritable, and uncomfortable. There were, however, a few awesome animals in the mix, at least awesome in the sense that they wanted to hang out with me.
Like I've said before, I grew up on a farm and I raised pigs for years. While ultimately those relationships ended with them going to market, I still spent hours with the animals caring for them and bonding with them. Some people would say it is better not to get attached to the animals especially since they were just going to be sold for meat, but that's not as easy to do with a pig. Pigs are intelligent, like dogs are, maybe even more so. You can see intelligence in their eyes, and in the ways they respond to you. I have spent hours with them and knew that the pot bellies couldn't be all that different. I just had to find the ones who had been raised in an environment where they were not fearful or angry towards humans. Once I found them, it was easy for the communication to begin.
best buds at the farm. |