No Chemo for Pigs? Rescue Animals Face Broken Veterinary System
Published by Sentient Media.
In July of 2015, Robin Johnson drove to a backyard butcher to pick up the first resident pig for her animal sanctuary in Long Lake, Minnesota. The seller struggled to usher the pig into Johnson’s pick-up, cursing and hitting the pig with a two-by-four. He suddenly threw the plank up in the air and stormed back into his house. He shouted to Johnson that he would no longer sell the pig, but would instead shoot her and hang her from a tree.
Fortunately, Johnson and her partner Buck Weber were able to diffuse the situation and bring the pig, whom they named Libby, to Spring Farm Sanctuary. Driving back, they worried that much time would pass before Libby recovered from the trauma she had experienced and learned to trust people again. But, within hours, Libby was snuggling with Johnson and Weber. “[Libby] showed me love I have never experienced,” Johnson says. Still, an early life spent living amidst raw sewage in a junkyard had weakened Libby’s immune system, which would result in persistent health problems.
