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Winston and Stewart
A Southern California animal shelter took in a stray mama pig, along with her “boyfriend” and piglets. No one claimed the pigs and the shelter planned to auction them off to the highest bidder. Another sanctuary worked with Animal Place and other rescues to ensure that did not happen – the fate of auctioned pigs is rarely good.
While none of the rescues could intake an entire family of pigs, all of us could help with 2 pigs each. Separating a family is never ideal but, in this case, it is a far better outcome than slaughter. Winston and Stewart are the two piglets we took in and today they are thriving.
Winston is mostly all black, with white socks. His brother, Stewart, is black and white. These boys are not as large as our full-sized farm-breed pigs but they certainly think they are! They love belly rubs and cuddling with each other.
Maxwell
Maxwell is one of six piglets we welcomed from a hoarding case in Oregon. 250 pigs were left without food and water, resorting to cannibalizing each other out of sheer desperation. Out of that horror, Maxwell’s mom managed to survive with her six babies on board. After her rescue, she gave birth. We offered to take in her and her piglets but another rescue insisted on taking the mother. So we welcomed her six piglets. That was in 2019. Today, Maxwell loves to explore their pasture and spend time with their best friend and sister, Ophelia.
Maxwell is an intersex animal! The were born with both female and male reproductive organs. Maxwell was neutered and spayed. Maxwell exhibits more male characteristics.
Bernie
Bernie is one of six piglets we took in from a 250-pig hoarding case in Oregon. All surviving pigs found placement. Bernie is the smallest of the bunch and very sweet. All it takes is one gentle poke and he will flop over for a belly rub!
Ophelia
Ophelia is one of 6 piglets from a 250-pig hoarding case in Oregon. Ophelia is often shy but also enjoys gentle attention from friends. She loves to wallow in the mud and spend time with her best friends. Pigs wallow in mud as they lack sweat glands to keep them cool. Mud keeps them cool and protects them from flies and sunburn.
Beethoven
Beethoven is a real survivor! His flock was attacked by dogs, resulting in 9 sheep being killed. The farmer thought Beethoven had also died, even going so far as to put Beethoven’s body in the garage until they could bury everyone. After 36 hours, they went to take his body for burial, and he was still alive! While they did have a veterinarian come out initially, Beethoven needed a lot more intervention than the farmers could handle. We took him in and after intensive treatment, Beet did recover. His ears had been bitten off and he suffered multiple bite wounds. Beethoven’s ear canals were damaged and he is mostly deaf. The farm kindly released a female lamb so that Beethoven could have a friend during his recovery. He and Hildy are often found side by side. Beethoven LOVES Animal Care Director, Meg, and she loves him!
Prudence
Prudence is a Spanish doe who was found running loose with another animal. She was originally fostered by us and placed into a private home. She stayed there for three years but was returned for “bullying” the other goats. We always take back animals who can no longer be cared for by their adopters. She is now integrated into our herd and we have never seen her be aggressive to anyone. Prudence was born in 2008, so she is our oldest goat resident! She is well respected by the other goats.
Leon
Leon is a beautiful Flemish Giant who arrived with his best friend, Percy. He and Percy are from a private home that took terrific care of them for the first five years of their lives. When they moved, they could no longer provide them with enough space and attention. He loves attention, hay sticks, and getting brushed when he is shedding.
Sumo
Sumo is a Sumatra rooster rescued in Sonoma County in 2025. He was found with multiple other chickens. The unhoused person who cared for them was no longer able to and animal control had to come out and bring the birds to the shelter. We took in the birds for our adoption program…but Sumo is a foster failure! He is too “aggressive” (aka “opinionated”) for placement into a private home, and so now he terrorizes humans at our sanctuary. He is a noodle bird who will launch himself 10 feet in the air to kick you in the face. But he is 100% kind, gentle, and perfect to the other chickens!
Dahlia
Dahlia comes all the way from Iowa! Born a twin to a male calf, she was exposed to male hormones that left her unable to get pregnant. Dairies consider calves like Dahlia “expendable” and “surplus” because they are not valuable. A kind farm worker rescued Dahlia so that she could be a friend for our other rescued calf, Zinnia. We drove out and brought Dahlia home. She is best friends with Zinnia.