Mister Lee came to OMI when his family was relocated overseas because of military obligations. Change of life circumstances is the number one reason we receive requests for intake of pigs. It doesn’t happen with dogs and cats nearly as often, but it happens a lot with pigs. They’re simply not given the same level of consideration. Divorce. Relocation. New baby. Change of heart. There are a million ways that life changes for us all, and pigs are always the first to go.
Mister Lee is partnered with a big handsome Guinea Hog named Biscuits, and for a brief time period the two boys were adopted out together to a woman we knew in Washington state. When she became gravely ill, OMI took the two boys back under our care. Adoptions are very tricky when it comes to farmed animals who are typically seen as “food animals.” We were able to do it very successfully in the Pacific Northwest by requiring adoption applications and mandatory home visits. We mentored hundreds of people through adoptions of chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, donkeys, geese and even pigs. We charged no fees at all. The only requirement was that the person provided a safe home and promised to return the animal should anything change in their life circumstances. The most difficult part of any adoption process is the long term commitment required by the adoptive family. Pigs are notoriously the most challenging of all species to find safe homes that can make a lifelong commitment. We have found very few of them in the years we have been in operation.
