Yankee Wilbur is one of the many huge Yorkshire pigs under our care, and he was one of the 159 pigs surrendered to OMI when we moved to Tennessee and took over the herd in 2021.
He was born the runt of his litter, which is often how animals end up in rescue. The runts are considered unworthy of the effort to get them healthy, and they’re disposed of in a variety of different ways. The most compassionate way is to help them get to people who will help them. He’s now a massive boy who is a classic example of how selective breeding hurts the longevity of an animal’s life. His body is failing him much faster than his mind or his spirit. Arthritis is the primary culprit as large pigs age, and it’s not something that can be fixed for them. One of the reasons we obsess about keeping their routines calm and easy is because the only way we can fight arthritis is to try and discourage it. Injuries, sprains, strains and overuse cause inflammation in any animal, including humans, and inflammation causes arthritic changes. Large animals like Yankee Wilbur have very few options to help with mobility as they age, and pigs don’t usually take kindly to any sort of apparatus like wheelchairs, slings, or hoists. It is one of our core beliefs that animals deserve the highest quality of life possible, and that becomes very difficult to achieve when a large pig becomes immobile.
Though our time is limited with Yankee Wilbur and many of our older pigs here, we do our very best to help them enjoy the things they love best. Family. Food. Comfort. It’s no different in any species. We want our final days to be as pleasant as possible.
