From the president
March 2024
Dear Supporter,
Well, now we know what it is like to live in Oregon. The Atmospheric River storms that caused so much damage in California have come our way this winter. Thankfully not nearly as intense as was seen by our neighbors. Today, as I write this letter, we are experiencing a full day of rain, wet and cold but not a downpour. Everything has turned green and it is beautiful here.
However, this wet winter has presented its own challenges. Have I ever mentioned that caring for 670 pigs, plus or minus, is a challenge? On a day like today the fields are empty. Not a pig in sight. They have a day of fasting and I have a day to write to you. All sanctuaries across the country handle their inclement weather differently. Here, since most of our worst weather is dealing with the extreme heat of the summer, we have a different approach to winter weather than most areas of the country. Our fields are dotted with over 450 shelters, a few small barns, and a number of low shelters that many pigs will snuggle into together. We fill those shelters with all your donated blankets and cover the entrances with carpet. They double up or even squeeze three or four into a small shelter to be warm and cozy.
When rain is on the way, we make sure all the blankets are tucked well into their shelters and all carpet doors are down and secure. However, as one would expect, many of those blankets are pulled out of the shelters as the pigs exit and the blankets get soaking wet in the rain. When it rains, pens will be full of water and need to be bailed. So the day following a rain, and this year there have been many days following the rain, is the arduous task of pulling out and hanging wet blankets from all the shelters. In addition, we load up the ATVs with dry blankets and begin distributing them to shelters that need them. Later, when the hanging blankets have dried, we bring them into dry storage for the next round of hanging and distributing. We are all tired and our backs are sore from bailing water and bending to pull and hang heavy, wet blankets. Our system here is high maintenance for sure during the rains, but it works well for us for the vast majority of the year. In the days ahead, the sun will come out to dry the mud and the pigs will be dragging their blankets out of their shelters to bask in the sun. It is green and beautiful from the rains and the pigs will dig big holes in the mud. What is more fun for a pig than rooting and making big holes and nobody scolding them!
Thank you so much for your support and for all the donated blankets that get us through the winter months to keep the pigs warm. I hope you enjoyed learning more about how the sanctuary operates from the inside and what it takes to care for so many pigs during the cold, rainy weather. We so appreciate all that you do for the pigs.
Sincerely,
Mary Schanz, President & CoFounder
