At just a few weeks old, Heidi survived something almost no piglet survives.
She is what rescuers call a “truck jumper,” a piglet who fell or jumped from a transport truck and somehow survived. She is one of the very few lucky ones.
In the middle of June, a couple driving on a highway in southern Illinois saw something small standing in the road. They stopped and found a six-pound piglet covered in road rash.
Their veterinarian, Dr. Shawna Gerner, named her Heidi because she had been found on the HIGHway.
The truck Heidi came off was carrying her toward a life that had already been planned for her. She would have spent roughly six months growing to market weight before being loaded onto another truck destined for slaughter.
Heidi got off the truck. The others did not.
Dr. Gerner could not keep Heidi, because city ordinances did not permit it. She was offered a placement at a petting zoo that told her plainly Heidi would be sent to slaughter at the end of the season.
She refused it and kept looking.
Her search led her to Chicagoland Pig Rescue, and to their co-director, Phoebe Conner. Phoebe is the person I talked with at every stage of this, and she is the reason Heidi landed somewhere permanent instead of somewhere she would eventually have to leave again.
From there, a chain of people carried Heidi forward. Dr. Gerner fostered her and started harness training her. In mid July, Heidi was spayed and vaccinated at the University of Illinois and issued the health certificate she needed to cross state lines. A volunteer named Rochelle drove her to a foster family, where Sarah and her family cared for her while she healed and grew. Then Maureen made the long drive west to meet us.
Not one of them had to do any of it. Every one of them did.
Because of them, and this community’s support, Heidi is now settling into her forever home. She is curious, affectionate, and already showing us exactly who she is.
Getting her home was only the beginning. Heidi will need nutritious food, veterinary care, a carefully planned introduction to our other pigs, and a lifetime of care.
Heidi is home because so many people refused to look away. Your continued support will allow us to give Heidi the future she deserves. Thank you.
