Aster was a sweet, shy and somewhat cheeky mature male pig, and a member of the Meishan family of six siblings. Tall with long, lean legs, Aster was all pink, except for a brown marking on the tip of his snout from 9 to 12 o’clock. He never strayed far from his brother, Chicory, as they both had difficulty seeing past their large floppy ears and deep facial creases that are characteristic of their breed. Aster loved to receive scritches from humans, and was even happy to receive the sunscreen massages he got regularly in the warmer months.
When we met Aster in 2021, he already had significant sun damage to his bright pink skin. Years of unaddressed sun exposure early in his life caused Aster to develop squamous cell carcinoma, which we began treating with cryotherapy treatments at the university hospital.
Aster was a shy boy who’d spent hours grazing to try and get his fill of food. Pigs who have trouble in huge herds need extra help to feel safe at meal time, and that’s exactly what we did for him. He became a MedBarn resident where we fed him, sun-blocked him, and put him indoors for naps during the brightest part of the day. However, the damage was pretty extensive, and Aster’s cancer continued to spread in spite of treatment.
We very sadly euthanized Aster because the cancers were so extensive. It was hard for our team to make the decision because it felt so disappointing that we couldn’t fix it, but it was the only humane option for him.
Aster is survived by a whole family of pigs, including his brother Chicory, Mama Rosy and Papa Roy. We know they will comfort each other in his absence.
