Dudley came to us with so much to say. This big, but very SKINNY, American Yorkshire arrived at our sanctuary in October last year. And he has been chatting away ever since!
It All Starts With the Call
Like so many rescues before him, Dudley’s story started with a call. Could we help?
Dudley and his companion, Cupcake, were living in rural East Tennessee and needed a new home. An older gentleman had rescued the pair from laboratory testing a couple of years earlier, giving them a chance at life beyond the laboratory. Now, as he was getting older, caring for two very large pigs was becoming too difficult.
We advocate for BIG pigs and specialize in their care. When we received a call about Dudley, we wanted to know how we could help.
Breaking Down Fences-Literally
Just a quick pickup? Not so fast!
Our caregivers and a volunteer hit the road with equipment to help Dudley and Cupcake. We weren’t sure what we would find, so we came prepared.
Sharing a Barn With Horses
Upon arrival, we found Dudley and Cupcake sharing a barn with four horses. We needed to remove fences and create a safe route to the trailer, keeping the pigs and horses apart. The next morning, we moved the horses out to pasture before guiding Dudley and Cupcake toward the trailer.
First Stop: Care and Quarantine
As with all our new intakes, a trip to the University of Tennessee was the first step to becoming a Sanctuary Babe. Dudley had been neutered in his previous life as a laboratory test animal, but he still needed vaccinations, lab work and a microchip.
He weighed 556 pounds, very underweight for a male American Yorkshire pig of his size.
Now we had to figure out why he was so thin.
All our new Sanctuary Babes spend their first 30 days in quarantine to help protect our other residents from communicable diseases.
In quarantine, they are offered four-star accommodations with round-the-clock room service! More importantly, quarantine gives them time to decompress after a major transition. Moving to a new place can be scary and stressful, and these 30 days give them time to settle in and begin feeling safe.
The housing offers privacy, but is close enough for new residents to see some of our routines and people. This time also gives our caregivers an opportunity to observe and learn about each new resident’s personality and behavior.
In Dudley’s case, we soon noticed that he was yielding to his companion, Cupcake, at mealtimes. She was the more assertive of the two, and she wanted the food!
The solution was simple: we fed Dudley separately in his own stall, without interruption. He began putting on weight almost immediately, gaining 100 pounds in about four months to reach a healthy 656 pounds.
Quarantine also gave us time to get to know Dudley’s mischievous side. Once he had the freedom to roam with the wider pig community, he settled in beautifully.
Home is Where the Heart Is
Winter is not the best time to introduce new pigs to the wider pig community. We prefer summer introductions, when there is more flexibility if the pigs need some time apart.
New pigs often have a few scuffles as everyone figures out who belongs where. Sometimes a new pig will even choose to sleep outside while things settle down. That’s not a good option in the middle of winter! Pigs need a warm indoor space, plenty of bedding, and lots of snuggling.
There was a perfectly good house that wasn’t being used in our Garden House Neighborhood. For whatever reason, the pigs preferred the older of the two houses. We could move Dudley and Cupcake into the new house and let them get to know the others through a fence before joining them for supervised outings.
Dudley and Cupcake moved into the Garden Houses in November 2025, joining Mama Rosy, Papa Roy and Maple. The introductions went as well as could be expected. Cupcake and Dudley were very food motivated and began supervised outings into the wider pig community.
Talking and Teaching
Dudley’s a TALKER. He starts chatting the moment he sees us and will grunt happily through tummy rubs. He talks and talks. He especially enjoys talking about snackies!
He is also a very gentle giant. This young man had never had a tusk trim. Male pigs can grow long, pointed tusks that can cause injuries during a greeting or a disagreement, so regular trimming is part of his care.
The best option for Dudley was “snare trimming.” This is where a rope is placed in a loop in a pig’s mouth around their snout and secured to a post. This prevents them from moving and hurting themselves or others.
Our caregivers didn’t know how Dudley would react, but he turned out to be an absolute dream. He stood calmly and cooperatively, as if he’d done this many times before. Dudley, it seems, had more confidence in the team than they had in themselves!
Losing a Friend
For a while, life with Dudley and Cupcake seemed headed for a storybook ending. Then came a heartbreaking loss.
In early December, our caregivers noticed Cupcake favoring her front leg. We immediately took her back to the University of Tennessee for testing. The veterinary team found a rare infection. Because of her size, amputation was not a viable option, and we made the tough but necessary decision to let Cupcake go.
Just like people, pigs can mourn the loss of someone they are bonded to. Dudley was no exception.
It took some time, but Dudley eventually began seeking comfort from Maple and Marsha. These days, he most often sleeps beside Marsha, who has taken a liking to this sweet boy.
The Sweetest Boy
Dudley came to us a little bit unknown and very much a mystery. We knew he was mischievous. We knew he was very skinny. We didn’t yet know the sweet, gentle personality hiding underneath.
With a little time, patience, good food, and a lot of love, Dudley has shown us exactly who he is.
A sweet, gentle boy with SO MUCH to say.
