Chicory was one of six Meishan siblings who came to the property as babies. He was starving when we met him in 2021. He was blind, emaciated, and absolutely loaded with skin cancer from standing confused in the sun all day wondering how he was supposed to find enough food. His story was always a hard one to tell. We’d babied him since the day we moved to Tennessee, with extra meals, diligent sunscreen application and regular cryotherapy.
ChicChic went in for an evaluation with our vet friends at the University of Tennessee to discuss his immense amounts of skin cancer and declining mobility. When an animal resident has a precarious quality of life on their best day, we have to be very careful about putting them through too much on their worst. He was a very poor candidate for extensive medical care, and we chose to let him go.
Caring for vulnerable animals who were selectively bred for what their bodies can produce means we have a lot of Sanctuary Babes who struggle as they age. Giving Chicory an additional FIVE YEARS of life may seem like not long enough, and it’s not, but we’re very proud we helped him manage these issues for as long as possible.
Chicory was a beloved member of the Garden House Neighborhood. He will be greatly missed by all of us, his many pig friends, and his best girl, Rosy.