Submitted by Pig Pal: Samantha Arruda | A true come back story about a blind rescue pig who despite all odds never gave up "hope."
Hope aka Pebbles the pig, has had a difficult beginning. Like so many unwanted pets, she was neglected and on the brink of the death. She spent much of her tiny new life in a shelter, where she contracted pneumonia, mange and worms. Unable to care for her, she was put on the Euthanasia list and ready to be terminated. It seemed there wasn’t much ‘hope’ left for this tiny piglet and the odds were certainly stacked against her. Literally, a few hours before she was going to be put down, an angel named Yolanda, (a member of Adopt A Pig California) saw the scraggly, pathetic little pig, pulled her from the brink of death, and took her straight to the hospital where she was kept overnight. Hope was filthy, needing to be dewormed, emaciated and unable to walk. She also had some severe neurological issues that left her blind.
After her over night stay at the vet, Yolanda took her home, gave her shots and cared for her for the next 10 days, where she regained a little strength before calling upon fellow Adopt A Pig California member, Samantha Arruda. Yolanda thought Samantha would be perfect to take her in, as Samantha, admittedly said, "I'm always the one to take in the odd, the needy and desperate animals." and she then took over fostering little baby Hope. After a couple days of syringe feeding her, slowly increasing the consistency of her food, cleaning her up and starting her medications, Hope started to stand and try to walk about. She was coming back to life. Not out of the woods yet, poor Hope started passing worms that were bigger than her tiny little body.
As time passed and she was getting more and more mobile, Samantha and her family started noticing her blindness. Hope would walk in circles, step in her water, run into things and tilt her head in odd ways. But, as we all know, pigs are very smart creatures and Hope began slowly mimicking and learning from her older pig sister Pyper.
Hope is now 8 months old, walking around, learning and doing all the piggy things normal pigs do. She still has her odd ticks, and has to wear goggles while outside (but hey they're pretty cool.) The Arruda family is saving up to get some neuro scans done to understand more behind her blindness. Samantha said, “Hope, can actually make out shapes and shadows and might be regaining some of her vision as her health improves.” In just a few short months, this little piggy once sentenced to death, has made a remarkable recovery and truly become the come back pig!
The Arruda family, who instantly loved her, and decided to fully adopt her, named her Pebbles because of her coloring and spots and because the kids love the Flintstones! Whether you know her by Pebbles or by Hope, this little piggy is a beacon of light, and inspiration. Her early life has been rough, no doubt, but she never gave up fighting and holding onto hope that she would find her forever home. Thanks to Yolanda for finding Hope and to the Arruda family, this sweet little pig got a second chance at life and now gets to truly experience love, and all the pig pampering her family can dish out.
We hope that by reading this, you help us spread the word about adopting/rescuing pigs before purchasing from a breeder. 97% of pigs will be put into a foster, shelter or a rescue waiting to be re-homed. Most of these pigs are healthy, partially if not all the way trained, and need to be given a second chance on life. Share Pebble's story with your pig pals to get the word out about adoption/rescues. If you would like more information on how to help a rescue, education on pigs or how to adopt go to www.adoptapigca.org OR reach out to us at info@oinkboxes.com and we can help get you the information you need.