Yoda was picked up as a stray on SE 82nd Ave in Portland, Oregon amongst the throngs of used car dealerships and massage parlors. It was a strange place for the Multnomah County Animal Shelter to find a little pig, but that’s Portland! Local dog and cat shelters often carry a contract with the county for managing stray animals, but they only have facilities that are equipped for dogs and cats. It leaves farmed animals in a difficult situation, and it puts them at risk for being taken to the livestock auction. Yoda was a very fortunate little guy to end up in a sanctuary.
Yoda is living his best Sanctuary Babe life here in Tennessee with his chosen family members: Alice, Bernard, Cherry Bomb and Mr. Martini. Yoda and Alice were adopted as a pair for a very short trial period while we were still in Washington, but the adopter realized in just 48 hours she was not equipped to make the commitment. 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.
