Bitsy was just a piglet when several siblings purchased her and a group of pigs to raise for meat. For reasons unknown, though, her guardian changed his mind. Maybe she won him over. Regardless, she was never slaughtered.

For three years, Bitsy was this man’s companion animal. When he passed away, however, Bitsy’s survival was up in the air again. She wasn’t in danger from his siblings––they didn’t feel comfortable killing pigs for meat anymore. They all wanted to honor his wish to let Bitsy live and have a good home. However, they couldn’t keep her. And if they sent her to a farm, she’d be slaughtered.

Bitsy’s life was in their hands again.

So within hours of their brother’s death, the family called Farm Sanctuary. Since they’re local to our New York shelter, we sent out a team to assess the situation.

Typically, placement takes a lot more planning—particularly for pigs. They can be very territorial and often fight during herd integration. For this reason, we have nine different groups for 52 pigs, just at our New York Sanctuary alone. We’d need to confirm that we had room for Bitsy—whether in a temporary space while we looked for an adoptive home or with one of our established herds.

Pig care and food can also be costly. Pigs are also prone to severe medical issues, like hoof infection and skeletal deterioration, because of industrial breeding and farming.

Fortunately, Bitsy appeared to be in good health—and good spirits. And because her case was so urgent, we agreed to take her home with us. We’d settle her future living situation from there. Ultimately, we decided that Bitsy would stay at our New York shelter.

Following a mandatory quarantine to ensure that she was healthy, we moved Bitsy in with a docile group at our West Campus pig barn. As they are more mild-mannered, we felt that gentle Bitsy would get along well and without risk of getting hurt by more dominant personalities.

Shortly after, we sent Bitsy to our veterinarians at Cornell University’s Nemo Farm Animal Hospital for a routine spay procedure. (While our male pigs are neutered before they join a herd, female pigs are prone to reproductive cancers. Spaying can enhance and prolong their lives.)

Pigs can live for more than a decade when provided proper care—and when people treat them as individuals, not food. They are smart, playful, and expressive beings. In fact, researchers compare them to chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants in terms of intelligence and sentience. They form lifelong, loving bonds with their families—just as we do with our pets, and vice versa. Why not offer pigs the same level of care as we do our companion animals?

Bitsy and our other Sanctuary residents serve as ambassadors for their species. It’s our hope that in getting to know farm animals like her, more farms will phase out of animal agriculture—and more people will leave animals off their plates.

As Bitsy is only four years old, she has a full life ahead of her. She’s sweet, friendly, funny, and kind—qualities that aren’t rare in pigs but that people rarely get to see––and is slowly fitting in with her new herd.

Bitsy also loves to chat with our caregivers—treating us to happy grunts whenever we come to say “hello,” or have a tasty apple on hand! We feel grateful that her family gave her a chance and that she’ll help create compassion for other pigs like her.