Phoebe’s Memorial

POT-BELLIED PIG

• From: San Diego, California

• Adopted: 2012

• Crossed the Rainbow Bridge: 2022

In 2012, we rescued Phoebe, a young pig from a San Diego mobile petting zoo. They no longer wanted her because she was not a good breeder. At about 1.5 years old, she produced only one piglet for them. And that was enough reason for them to get rid of her. 😡 We were originally there to only pick up the sheep, but we took her as well.

Phoebe was obese when we took her in. But after several weeks, she slimmed down and no longer had a saggy belly. But then, much to our surprise, Phoebe's belly began to grow!

She was pregnant! 😳

At the end of July in 2012, Phoebe gave birth to many piglets, but unfortunately several of them passed away a few days after birth. It was our first experience of life and death at the ranch. We had just moved out to the countryside the year before.

We named the surviving piglets: Hamlet, Portia, Meatball, Chorizo, Pork Chop, and Dumpling. And for 10 years, they got to live with their momma. We were adamant on keeping the herd together.

She was a great momma pig. Her kids grew to be 2 to 3 times larger than her.

What we didn't realize was that her piglets could impregnate her as early as 11 weeks old. And in early February of 2013, Phoebe gave birth to another litter of piglets!

Because they were inbred, many of the piglets were stillborn. We named the 3 surviving piglets: Bubbles, Squeaks and Bangers. Unfortunately, we lost the two females after just a couple of years. But Bangers is still with us. He is much smaller than his siblings.

Unfortunately, we lost Phoebe last year. She had an extreme sensitivity to anesthesia and we could not get her spayed without risking her life. She eventually developed a uterine tumor and we had her humanely euthanized when it affected her breathing.

We miss our small and sweet little momma. Phoebe was the one who started our love for pigs, but her 7 kids are still with us. 🥰