It’s been a long six months for Theo, since being found roaming free along the Fraser Highway in Langley to finding his forever home at A Home For Hooves in the Cowichan Valley.
Theo, the 800-pound Yorkshire pig, can finally rest. And he has. After a good long nap, “Theo is now safe at home and getting to know his new girlfriend,” A Home for Hooves owner Michelle Singleton confirmed.
Last week Theo was transferred from the Langley Animal Protection Society, via BC Ferries, to the Sahtlam-area farm animal sanctuary. Singleton says he’s settling in nicely.
SEE RELATED: Theo, the 800-lb. pig, takes ferry to new home in Duncan
The Vancouver Island sanctuary was chosen from more than 50 applications due to its proximity to Langley, Singleton’s experience and the companionship opportunities available for Theo. Offers to take the massive animal came from as far away as Texas, Ohio, Maryland and Prince Edward Island. Pigs of Theo’s type typically don’t survive long enough to get so large, as they’re used for meat,
Now Theo can live out his life in a facility full of goats, chicken, ducks, sheep and pigs — including another new resident, a Berkshire pig named Lilian who is similar in size to Theo, who also needed a forever home.
Eventually the pair will move in together but for now they’ve got their own spaces.
“They are getting along really well but will be sharing a fence line for a few weeks,” Singleton said.
Volunteers put it into overdrive in the days leading up to first Lilian and then Theo’s arrivals so both giant pigs were greeted with new pens, freshly constructed shelters, a lot of love, and well, a lot of food, too.
“They both have weight to lose but they are getting 32 cups of grain a day total plus vegetables,” between the two of them, Singleton noted.
There’s still a lot to be done at the sanctuary, as it’s been growing at a pace that’s exceeded Singleton’s expectations.
With the animals and their humans happy and settled in, work is set to begin on a number of projects, details of which can be found on the A Home For Hooves website.
Donations are gratefully accepted through the website as well.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
