ironwood pig sanctuary

IRONWOODIRONWOOD

PIG SANCTUARY

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Scotty

IRONWOOD PIG SANCTUARY Issue 32

Ironwood Pig SanctuaryPost Office Box 35490

Tucson, AZ 85740January 2010

Dear Supporter,

Happy New Year and thank you from all of us here at Ironwood, including the piggies. To our new supporterswelcome, and to those of you who have been with us for so many years we offer our deepest and most sinceregratitude.

Life at Ironwood is a hub of activity. I wish I could make a video for you so you could see all that goes on eachday in the process of caring for all of our pigs. People often say they would like to know how much of theirdonation goes to the actual care of the pigs. I can say without hesitation, all of it. Feeding and watering, whichtakes about 20 person hours a day, is but a small part of what has to be done. If you were here you would see andhear the buzz sound of saws making new shelters, T-poles being pounded in to make new fields or feeding pens,staff driving ATVs around putting out grain and hay at feeding stations or bringing pigs in from fields for medicalcare. Our truck, now filled with pig poops from raking many acres of fields, would be tarped tight and heading forthe dump.

Others would be repairing shade ramadas that provide shade for our pigs or cutting carpets for shelters and stuffingblankets in them to provide warmth for our pigs. You might hear a pig in distress because Tim and Donna weretrimming hooves and tusks. I might be walking with some of the staff to do medical rounds and on our way wemay pass Donna who is taking pictures for all the sponsors. Others would be inside making meds for the over 100pigs each day who require meds. Volunteers and a staff member could be found outside cutting up a truckload ofdonated produce to feed the fields and save some for the special pigs who need extra treats. Some might beloading pigs to transport to the vet or Ben and I might be loading pigs to go to their new home. Or we might be inworking on the Newsletter! Or writing thank you notes or justifying the books, or shopping for all the specialfoods for the older or special needs pigs.

Life at the sanctuary is always packed with activity and the work is never ever done. So whether we are buyinggrain to directly feed the pigs or building shelters, paying utility and fuel bills, doing maintenance on our vehicles,or doing office work it is all for and about the pigs. To provide for them is the only reason we are all here in thishub of activity.

Sincerely,

Mary SchanzPresident & ÇoFounder

PS: We thank you so very much and we thank our staff andvolunteers, and those at our Annex and our satellites. All parts of thispuzzle are necessary but most of all your generous support, becausewithout that the activity would end and the pigs would have no homeand Ironwood would be silent.

Mary & Ellie

www.ironwoodpigs.org [email protected]

Issue 32 IRONWOOD PIG SANCTUARY

first met Tulley inSeptember of 2008when I came to work at

Ironwood. At the time he wasliving in our special needsfield and I thought that he wasone of the cutest pigs I’d everseen. I would try to pet himand give him attention, but hemade it clear that he wasusually not in the mood forthat.

Every morning at feedingtime we would open the gateso he could eat outside of thefield. He’s a very slow eaterand would not have been ableto compete with the other pigsin the field. He was very lame bythat time and it seemed thatgetting up to eat was all that hehad strength for. After a couple ofmonths passed we realized thatthe effort it took for him to walkfrom the shelter to his feedingspot was too much for him as wascompeting with the other pigs forshelter and wallows. He wasmoved to his own pen where he

didn’t have to compete foranything and he was just a fewfeet from his food bowl.

Within a few days he became ahappier and more relaxed pig.One morning when I went in toclean his pen he looked up at meand I could see that he wantedattention. I started to pet his headand he rolled right over for a belly

rub. It’s been over a yearsince he was moved tohis pen and we’re stillbest friends. Every dayafter work and on mydays off I always setaside some “Tulleytime” when I sit withhim and pet his head andrub his belly and talk tohim while he getscomfortable and fallsasleep.

He is still one of our specialneeds pigs and does requireextra attention. In the morningshe gets special soft food that iseasier for him to eat than thedry grain, in addition tomedication to control hisepileptic seizures and helpwith his arthritis.

During the winter when thenighttime temperatures candrop as low as the 20’s and30’s, he needs to be bundled upwith plenty of blankets andmake sure that his bedding isclean and dry. During thesummer months when the

temperatures reach the 100’s it’scrucial to check on him severaltimes a day to make sure that hiswallow is full of water and that

he’s not stressed from the heat.Tulley is a very sweet and specialpig. Every day when I get up Ilook forward to taking care of himand “Tulley time” is always thehigh point of my day.

---Tressie

Tulley TimeI



have always loved JohnDenver’s music. The lyricsto one of his songs, Back

Home Again sort of wraps up howI feel.

Hey, it’s good to be back home again, yes it is

Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend

Yes ‘n’ hey it’s good to be back home again.

This sanctuary feels like a friendto me. It wasn’t that long ago thatI was writing an article for theJuly 2009 newsletter about peoplelosing their homes to foreclosuresor being forced to downsize. Andnow, it’s happened to me.

Because of the economy and thebreak-up of my marriage, Ifound myself dealing withthe reality that I could nolonger afford my home.My main concern was notfor myself but for my 37animals. I had rescuedthese animals over theyears, promising to providea safe home to them and itwas breaking my heart tothink I may have to give them up.

Many of you know that I used tolive at Ironwood as the manager.

Well, now I am back home again.Ben and Mary “rescued” me andmy animals. They were kindenough to open their doors to meand allow me to bring all of myanimals with me. I have avariety of cats, dogs,chickens, sheep, goats,turkeys and of course, the

15 pigs. It wasno small task tomake this movebut I had thehelp of the staffof Ironwood, theA u s t i n s(neighbors of thesanctuary), someof my trimming clients,

friends and members of mychurch. I thank God every day for

the opportunity to be living backhere at the sanctuary. I know I amone of the lucky ones.

As I sit here writing this articlewith a cat in my lap and a dog atmy feet, I can glance out mywindow and see Cocoa the sheepgrazing on hay with Navajo thepig napping nearby. I can hearSonny, my cute little rooster,crowing. My home is closeenough to the field where my“kids” live that I can hear the pigschatting and the goats baaing. Iam now in a position to be able to

financially take care of myselfand the animals on my own. Eventhough I had continued to be a

part of Ironwood whileliving elsewhere, it feels as ifI have come back to a longlost friend. I feel that byliving here, I will be able tocontribute even more to theplace, the people and thepigs that have given me somuch.

---Donna

IHome, Sweet Home!

Emmylou - Cocoa - Dale Jr.

Hailey - Harriet

Thomas Earl

Jennifer - Vanessa - Aussie - Hank



Blankets & More Blanketsfew months ago we gotan e-mail from CrystalKimHan in Las Vegas

who is a great advocate for pigs inher area. She places pigs,transports pigs, works onregulations and ordinances and allother manner or work for piggies.

The Sahara Hotel and Casino wasreplacing all of their blankets andbedspreads and they were offeringall the old blankets andbedspreads to the organizationwho could write the mostcompelling letter. Crystal wrote aletter for the pigs and won thecompetition!!!

What followed was a heroic efforton Crystal’s part to see that all thesanctuaries in the surroundingthree states; California, Colorado,and Arizona got blankets for thewinter season. She was buried inthousands of blankets andbedspreads and spent untold hours

calling folks and e-mailing tomake arrangements to move themout.

We got the largest share of 1,200to 1,500 blankets, almost all ofwhich we used immediately.There are hundreds of pigs aroundthe western states that are warmthis winter because of her efforts

and the generous donation of theSahara Hotel and Casino. PS: Westill need blankets and always willso don’t think we have enough, wenever do.

We thought you would enjoyseeing some pictures of the pigsand their blankets.

ASahara Hotel & Casino

in Las Vegas

I love all the people that work here

to keep us safe and fed! My hope

is for all of them to stay here

forever and take care of us piggies.

My sister and I were attacked by dogs atour old home. Now we live at Ironwoodand never have to worry about stuff likethat happening to us again. So my hopeis that all pigs everywhere will be livingin a safe protected place.


TinaMiglet

Peaches

My wish is for each and every pig at

Ironwood to have a sponsor. I’ve been

waiting for five long years…..hint,

hint! Rather than counting sheep to

fall asleep, I’ve been counting

sponsors.

SSSS pppp oooo nnnn ssss oooo rrrr aaaa SSSS pp ee cc ii aa ll PP ii gg !!

Carmela

My wish is for the economy to turn

around. Too many pigs, people and

pets are suffering the effects. We all

need some help to get through to

better times! Maybe someone is

willing to help me?

I hope that all of my friends stay healthythis coming year. My herd is getting oldand it’s hard to watch them suffer theaches and pains of growing older. Sohere’s to good health!

Well, my hope for this year is that the foodsupply never runs out. It would be awfulif there were no more pellets. Gee, maybeI should start stockpiling pellets under myblanket!

I wish that all the pigs were ascute as ME! The world would bea better place filled with cute littlesnouties like mine! What? .....Oh,was I supposed to be serious andsolemn?…..oops, sorry.

My dream for 2010 is for all pigs

everywhere to have warm,

snuggly homes like we have here.

I’m an old man and I do

appreciate having a roof over my

head and a nice cuddly blanket ona cold night.


JOIN OUR FAMILY OF SPONSORSThese pigs are sharing their hopes and dreams for 2010. My

hope is that all of you remain safe, secure and well fedduring the coming year. That is also my wish for our pigs.

You can help make that wish come true by becoming asponsor. For a $30 monthly donation you can provide for a

pig’s food, shelter, healthcare and their share ofsanctuary expenses. Youmay pick one picturedhere or I can choose

another for you. I willsend you a letter and

pictures with a history ofyour pig as well asperiodic updates

throughout the year.Please join our family of

sponsors! --- DonnaDonna & Jesse

Roo

SSSS pppp eeee cccc iiii aaaa llll PPPP iiii gggg !!!!

Pinky

My wish is for the economy to turn

around. Too many pigs, people and

pets are suffering the effects. We all

need some help to get through to

better times! Maybe someone is

willing to help me?

I hope that all of my friends stay healthythis coming year. My herd is getting oldand it’s hard to watch them suffer theaches and pains of growing older. Sohere’s to good health!

Marilyn

Buckwheat

Become a Sanctuary SustainerBy joining as a Sanctuary Sustainer, a monthly contribution, be it $5, $10, $25, $100, or anyamount you choose, can be charged to your credit or debit card each month . The amount, whichis determined by you, will be there each month to care for the Piggies. Or if you prefer to makeyour donation by check, we will be glad to send you a supply of self-addressed return envelopesfor your convenience. You can also go to the Support page of our web site and make yourdonation with your credit card using PayPal.

Ironwood’s Sustainer program will benefit our wonderful pigs by providing a regular monthlyincome that will go directly to where it is needed most at the Sanctuary.

To sign up, just fill out the form on the enclosed reply envelope andindicate your monthly contribution or go to the Support page of ourweb site

The costs involved in maintaining a safe and healthy pot-bellied pigsanctuary are significant. Food and hay, medicines, medical care,supplements for arthritis and other ailments, shelter and fencing, andmaintaining living areas are but some of the costs.

Thank You For Caring.



We Couldn’t Do It Without You!

Remember the Sanctuary in your WillWe have been the recipient of bequests from a number of supporters. These donors felt thatthey needed their assets during their lifetime, but decided to link themselves forever with theongoing life of the Sanctuary by making bequests through their estate plans.

Bequests can be a percentage of the estate or a specific dollar amount, a particular stock, bondor mutual fund, real estate, or naming the Sanctuary as remainderman of the estate afterproviding for family and friends, or stipulating that the Sanctuary will benefit from a portion

of the estate if certain beneficiaries predecease the donor.

You can make secure donations to the Sanctuary with PayPal using your credit cardby going to the SUPPORT or SPONSOR page of our web site at www.ironwoodpigs.org.

We acceptdonationswith the

fourshowncredit

cards foryour con-venience.

he phone call that wedread came oneafternoon. A lady in the

Phoenix area had two rescuedpigs. Ellie had been badlyattacked by one of her dogs andthis was not the first time. Bothpigs had been attacked on threedifferent occasions. Peaches hadthe right side of her face rippedopen and the scars remain. Onthis final attack on Ellie one earhad been completely severed andthe other one nearly ripped off.

Her vet had sewed her up withover 100 stitches but after acouple of days at Ironwood itbecame obvious that she neededmore treatment. We took herquickly to Dr. Page and extensiverepairs were made to her injuries.

The lady who had rescued Ellieand Peaches meant well. Shepurchased the pigs from adrunken man along the highwayon a hot AZ day. Ellie andPeaches were very young and hewas waving these poor babies inthe air trying to “hawk” them fora few bucks. She said she stoppedand bought them because she

Ellie and PeachesIssue 32 IRONWOOD PIG SANCTUARY


T could not stand to see these poorhot babies foaming at the mouth.That was over two years ago.

There is a very important lessonto be learned here. A wellmeaning person who rescues dogsand cats herself rescued two pigswho were later subjected to thehorrors of several attacks by herrescued dogs. Dogs are predatorsand pigs are prey animals. It is assimple as that. Our vets get aboutone call a week, more if youinclude attacks on goats, where apig or goat has been attacked by adog. They said about 50% areattacks by dogs who live in thesame household as the pigs. Mostpeople who adopt from us havedogs. When we tell them one ofour requirements is a safe placefor the pigs to be away from thedogs when they are not present weoften meet a lot of resistance.They know their dog or dogswould never hurt a fly. Please donot be too smug.

We have dogs here at thesanctuary. They belong to ourlive-in staff and some come tovisit for the day with staff. They

get along well with the pigs andwe have had no incidents. But weare always watchful for any signsof aggression. We have even hadtwo dogs here that make it theirbusiness to break up any fights thepigs get into with each other andhave been a huge help to us whenwe release new pigs to one of ourlarge fields. So we are not here tocry wolf and say pigs and dogs arealways incompatible, but NEVER

let your guard down. In one shortmoment your pig or OURS, if heor she was adopted from us, couldbe gravely injured. Please don’tlet this happen. Look at sweetEllie and Peaches, who arefeatured in our sponsor page, bythe way, and know that you mustbe cautious with dogs.

Ellie and Peaches were recentlyspayed and will soon be releasedto one of our large fields wherethey can run free and never worryabout being attacked by a dogagain. Even though they havesuffered a great amount of painand fear they are still bothwonderful sweet pigs.

---Mary

Ellie

Peaches & Ellie

Ellie



COVERScotty and Gwen and five of their adorable babies arrived at Ironwood on 3/1/09from the Humane Society in Yuma. Scotty and Gwen, AKA Mom and Dad, wererescued as strays in the desert in Yuma and their babies were born at the shelter on1/19/09. Since there are few to no vets in the Yuma area who spay/neuter pigsScotty was neutered by a farm vet and he arrived at Ironwood bleeding and withno stitches. We took him to our Humane Society the next day and they repairedthe damage and he has recovered well. As you see he is a beautiful pig but veryshy of humans, with good reason, so he will remain a sanctuary pig. Glenn, whofeeds the field where Scotty lives, has made it his project to be able to pet Scotty.

Our Wish List

IRONWOOD

PIG SANCTUARY

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Scotty

* Large or Giant Igloo Shelters or LargeDog Houses

* Gift Card to Fry’s, Home Depot, Lowes,Office Max, Office Depot,Walgreens or Target

* Used Blankets are Always Welcome

* Glucosamine Chondroitin +MSMBest value is from Puritan’s Pride

* Flax Seed CapsulesBest value is from Puritan’s Pride

* Postage Stamps (44, 28, 17 cents)* Box Cutters

Hoof &Tusk

TrimmingPig owners in the Tucson,Phoenix and surroundingareas can contact DonnaNorton for tusk and hooftrimming. Donna is anexperienced trimmer,having lived on site atIronwood for over fouryears. Donna providesweekend house calls forpig and goat trims.Please call 520-780-8832 or [email protected] set up an appointment.

Dear Mary and the Staff at Ironwood,

Thank you very much for making room for Serendipity. I am so grateful to all ofyou and really appreciate the work that you do. Serendipity has had quite ajourney and I am glad that she is in a home with other pigs and people who carefor her.

My part in her journey began back in September when my two dogs discoveredher under a bush where the Arizona desert meets the Colorado River. Somebodyhad dumped her, left her to die. It took longer than it should have to get the localanimal control to respond-about three and a half weeks. Unfortunately, pot belliedpigs are not legal within the Bullhead City city limits so Animal Control hadneither the facilities nor the medical personnel to care for a pig but, as with anyanimal they pick up, they had to hold her for four days. Sunday, October 11, thefourth day, I was relaying the story to several of my customers at the bar (I am abartender and a student) and one older gentleman claimed that he wanted her.With my little knowledge of pigs, I informed him that she would need medicalcare and lots of attention because pigs are social and very intelligent; he wasundeterred, he wanted that pig. I continued to make plans to transport Serendipityto Ironwood. The man picked her up at Animal Control Monday morning. Thisturned out to be unfortunate for both Serendipity and myself. He is not the rightperson for a pig. I have been trying every week since then to convince him to giveher to me so that I could bring her to your sanctuary. Finally!

I wish that I was in a place where I could take her but since I cannot I would liketo participate in her care as a sponsor.

Thank you again. Many Blessings! Sarah Russell

MISSION STATEMENTThe Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is dedicated to eliminating the suffering of pot-bellied pigs by

promoting spaying and neutering, assisting owners and other sanctuaries, and providing apermanent home in a safe, nurturing environment for those that are abandoned, abused,

neglected, or unwanted.

**** Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is accredited by the American Sanctuary Association.

**** The Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your donations are tax deductible.



I R O N W O O D P I G S A N C T U A R Y N E W S

IRONWOOD PIG SANCTUARYPOST OFFICE BOX 35490TUCSON, AZ [email protected]


NON PROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE

PAIDTUCSON, AZ

PERMIT NO. 2216

Return Service RequestedPublished at the above address regularly.

JANUARY 2010ISSUE 32

Neil, Tank & Sabra

ironwood pig sanctuary

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