Pigs mourn their loved ones
Alesja Daehnrich, Co-Founder, The Blind Spot Animal Sanctuary, Rougemont, N.C. says, “When pigs get to know each other, they bond. They create a family.
We once had a situation when two farm pigs clearly were best friends, and both were survivors. Rosie fell off a truck and fractured her back hip. When a mother was taking her kids to school, she noticed this injured, half-alive piglet lying beside the highway. The family scooped her up and took her to a dog and cat clinic which was not sure how to treat a farm piglet. We were contacted and got involved. Rosie received complicated orthopedic surgery from an incredible surgeon here in North Carolina. She arrived at The Blind Spot in 2018 and lived here in safety and loving care.
Alesja Daehnrich stands next to Hazel at Blind Spot Animal Sanctuary in Rougemont, N.C., in 2024.
When Hazel was rescued in 2019, she had escaped a local butcher and ended up in an animal control facility. She was in poor shape. She had lice. She had scabs all over her body. And as animal control cared for the little piglet, they started to seek placement for her. They contacted us. This is when Rosie and Hazel got to know each other. They became best friends. Over the years, Rosie developed severe arthritis on her repaired hip. We tried to keep her as comfortable as possible for weeks until she could no longer get up. My husband supported her 1,000-pound body, ensuring she could eat and drink. Hazel stood by her side the whole time. We could see that Rosie was tired of pain. Hazel was always around Rosie, and we could see how Hazel's worry grew. In 2023, we had to evaluate Rosie’s quality of life after we tried everything.
As we said goodbye, I remember a moment when the veterinarian was done with the procedure. My husband and I wanted to leave her body there for a while so the pigs could say goodbye. All the pigs came, and all of them said goodbye. When Hazel came and saw her best friend was gone, she started to make noises I've never heard before. She was hurting. Rosie was buried in her favorite spot in her pasture. Afterwards, we humans were grieving, but we could not find Hazel. When my husband came home, he said “you will not believe this. Hazel is on top of Rosie’s grave, grieving with us.” And she was there for hours, just lying on top of the grave.
It was so heartwarming, as well as heartbreaking to see Hazel fully understand what happened. It took Hazel several weeks to get over the loss. She still goes back to the grave occasionally, but she has overcome her pain and she’s back to her silly, normal self.”