Rufus was one of the 159 pigs surrendered to Odd Man Inn when we took over the Tennessee property in 2021. In the absence of any medical records, and after many weeks of playing detective on social media, we realized that Rufus had siblings on the property…Reta, Ruby, and Rhonda. We believe they were all rescued as a result of a cruelty case in Florida.
Although Rufus arrived at the sanctuary as a young boy, by the time we arrived, he could only stand with assistance—and just barely. It’s bad news when pigs choose to potty on themselves because standing is too painful. We gave Rufus the dignity of being able to walk himself in to get professional veterinary care. He had the luxury of multiple experienced doctors who assessed him kindly and gently. They did x-rays of his feet to make sure it wasn’t an isolated foot issue. They treated him with respect. He had individualized high-end healthcare that only focused on his needs. The docs thought it was his back, which is checkmate in most cases for the big guys. There’s really only one humane option. This one we triaged as a rare “black”…and there was nothing we could do to fix it.
Rufus was in a good deal of pain, and we helped ease that for him. The sadness we feel is mirrored by relief that we could end his pain with dignity and respect. It’s our responsibility to meet their needs at every stage of their life.