An Amazing Pig Have you ever met someone with a personality so special, so perfect that you just wanted to be like them? We have. Her name was Mrs Peaches. Well actually it was just Peaches when we first met her. She was one of 46 little piglets who were thrown a lifeline, leaving the factory farm in which they had been born to play Wilbur in the movie Charlotte’s Web. At the movie’s end, Paramount Pictures enlisted the help of Animals Australia to find homes for their stars. Peaches found a home but it wasn’t ours, however after some years due to what was considered a life-threatening condition, her future appeared to be looking bleak and our assistance was sought. Realising that if Peaches was to pull through she was going to need some pretty special TLC along with expert veterinary care, something that Edgar’s Mission could provide, and so we readily agreed to take Peaches into our care. Despite another lifeline thrown to this most affable pig we had a problem. A certain very special ginger rabbit named Peaches already called Edgar’s Mission home and knowing how smart both rabbits and pigs are, we decided to prefix Peaches the pig’s name with ‘Mrs’ to avoid any confusion. Mrs Peaches impressed us from the very first moment we met her, a more personable pig would be hard to find and she quickly found a special place in the hearts of many, including Marieke Hardy. Marieke was required for a photo shoot, along with some pigs, so naturally Edgar’s Mission was the decided location. And true to form Mrs Peaches proved not only a marvel and a myth buster but also a muse as so touched was Marieke by the magic of Mrs P that she was inspired to create the wildly successful Women of Letters. However Marieke was not the only one whose heart was touched by this gentle sow. Pam was often overheard saying, ‘If only we could bottle Mrs Peaches, everyone would be moved by her magic.’ It is hard to define just what made Mrs Peaches so special, but right up there would have to be her nonchalant and non-judgemental way of greeting visitors to the farm. She loved everyone and everyone loved her and there was never a bad word you would hear against her - she was just the pig everyone loved to be around. While many at first were taken aback by her formidable form, her sweet and endearing piggy grunts reeled them in, causing many to touch a pig for the very first time in their life. And it wasn’t only their hands that felt the big girl’s love. We lost count of the number of times people walked away from Mrs Peaches swearing to never again eat pork, ham or bacon. Several years into Mrs Peaches’ life here at Edgar’s Mission saw us face another life or death crisis. A small growth appeared on her eye lid that at first was rather benign but suddenly took on a most aggressive and angry form. Had she of remained in her factory farm existence (you could not call it a life) the call to cull would have been cold and quick, but this was Mrs Peaches our beloved friend and so our dedicated veterinary team dug deep into their porcine books and determined to skilfully remove the offending growth. And so another life line was thrown to our friend and she quickly returned to her adorable self, taking her rightful place and in her paddock with her buddies Burpy and Mary. One of our most treasured memories of Mrs P was the sight of this very large sow ‘woof woofing’ up the paddock when you called her name, all the while ‘toing and froing’ her rear end and bucking in delight; clearly engulfed in her own little ‘joie de vivre’. But inevitably all good things must come to an end and sadly in the case of factory farmed pigs, this end arrives all too soon even if they do find good outcomes at loving animal sanctuaries. That a tribute to a pig contains many words generally used to describe humans is not anthropomorphic in the least. Those who are able to look at these creatures and see them as more than simply a means to an end will readily know that the qualities we humans possess are also ever-present in porcines; it’s just that so few people take the time to truly see them or have the opportunity to do so. We will always remember the line in the movie Mrs Peaches helped make famous, ‘But I want to live.’ They were uttered by dear ‘Wilbur’ when he learned he was about to be killed for Christmas dinner and it just didn’t make sense to him. He had so much he wanted to experience, friends he wanted to grow old with and he didn’t understand why anyone would want to hurt him. But he was a lucky pig as his friends rallied around to save him and to make people realise what truly remarkable animals pigs really are. Mrs Peaches was indeed a case of life imitating art because she made so many people realise what truly ‘terrific’, ‘radiant’ and ‘humble’ animals pigs really are, ‘some pig’ indeed and we will miss her so. While Mrs Peaches enjoyed the most amazing life with us, full of happy piggy wallows, special friends, tummy rubs and yummy treats, in recent times she had sadly succumbed to the perils of her factory farmed form. And despite all the love in the world and the best veterinary care possible, we could find no more life lines to throw. As such we could no longer provide her with the quality of life she so richly deserved. Left with no other option than one final act of mercy, we accepted that ultimate decision that all animal lovers dread; a life of suffering is no life at all. The last time we saw Mrs Peaches, we sat one final time in the straw with her, we stroked her portly belly that had seen many a kindly hand as, choking back the tears we gently whispered in her ear not the word, ‘Goodbye,’ but, ‘Farewell.’ For we know that with our passing will come the next meeting with all of our dear animal friends who have gone before us and what a procession of kindness it will be. Farewell our lovely farewell, until we meet again. Mrs Peaches, an amazing pig! edgarsmission.org.au/animals/mrs-peaches/
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:36:15 +0000