Meet Pokey

This is Pokey. It was noticed that Pokey had a rather large abscess. The area around his right eye was swollen. This ended up being something that we couldn't take care of ourselves, due to the nature of the abscess and its location. Pokey was checked out by one of our veterinarians while under anesthesia. There was a hole that was visible next to his eye. She put a probe in to see where it led, it went all the way behind his eye. The abscess was located behind his eye.

She was able to drain his abscess as much as possible and then insert the catheter that you see. It goes into the hole and is attached to his forehead. This enables us here at Ironwood to flush it so that an infection does not develop.

Abscesses are VERY common here. We have a few with large abscesses right now that we must lance and drain. They are under close observation and put into our pens. These must be watched carefully for they can turn into messy infections if not taken care of and monitored. We have one girl out in our "Lifers" pens. It had been lanced and now we are just monitoring it for extra pus. It has been doing well.

If you are unsure of what an abscess is, it is basically a collection of pus that occurs when tissue gets infected. The surrounding area then gets inflammed. These are painful, especially when they occur in an area such as the mouth. You can imagine how painful eating would be.

It's also very important that we find out if swelling on a pig is an abscess or not. Sometimes it is, but sometimes it ends up being an infection, tumor or some form of cancer.

You can imagine the vet bills that Ironwood has. Abscesses are just one of the many common medical issues we have here. Without receiving the necessary attention the pigs would be in serious pain and many issues could lead to death.


Despite his current, guarded condition Pokey is still very friendly and loves being rubbed. Check out this smile!

Wallows

There are many fulfilling parts to working at Ironwood. I especially find filling and cleaning the wallows a fulfilling part of this job. While filling up the wallows with water some of the pigs come over and wait, or if they just can't wait they get right in so I can spray them with the hose. Not all pigs like this but they'll let you know. It's really great to see a pig enjoy a wallow you just filled. Immediately seeing the purpose of what I've just done is awesome. Wallows help keep the pigs cool and their skin protected. We fill all of the wallows daily here and are sure to rake them and keep them as clean as we can.


Tiffany and Mr. T-Bone aren't in the water but laying close by in the shade.

Skin Cancer

As I'm realizing how common sun burn and skin cancer are among pigs, greatly in pink/white pigs, I thought I'd make a post about it. A lot of the pigs here at Ironwood have cancer sores. Unless they're bleeding you don't really think much of them. They are black spots/scabs which fall off and leave the spot bleeding.

Yesterday I noticed that most of Archer's sores were open and bleeding. Archer is one of my favorites. His markings are adorable and he's very sweet. As you can see he has black spots over both of his eyes.


Today his sores are scabbed over and not looking as bad. I can only imagine how painful they are, especially when they are open and bleeding. I will try and get a picture of them when they are open.


You can see that on the lower part of his side there are a bunch of black spots. These are his cancer spots. To help prevent this issue and the severity we use Zinc Oxide Ointment. Some of the sponsors help supply this. It's definitely a necessity out here.

It's About Memorization

I've been learning a ton here at Ironwood. The biggest part is learning the pigs. When I worked at Pete and Macs we would have over 100 dogs at a time and I could easily tell them all apart. Here, we have around 600 pigs which are mostly black and pretty similar looking. A lot of them are on particular medications or need to be separated to eat or have a special diet. Knowing who is who is so important so that the proper care is given. There are 4 or 5 fields that Mary, one of the owners, hopes to have me feeding and medicating by myself within the next 3 days. I feel confident about it, it's just a lot to take in.



First thing we do in the mornings here is feeding and medications, followed by spreading out hay. Feeding and medications alone take a couple of hours if not more. After we feed we might take a little break and then water. Watering probably sounds easy, but really when you have 12 or so acres of water bowls, pools, wallows and self filling bowls it is quite time consuming! By the time we finish with all of this we can get to the extra things that need to be done. Fixing pig houses, tarps, wallows, cutting carpet, changing blankets, raking, digging, etc. There is always something to be done. During the last couple of hours of the shift a couple of us will prepare evening and morning medications. I caught on to this quickly as it is similar to what we did at Pete and Macs. Here is the station I was using with some of the bread I had prepared.


Today we cleaned out Dee's nose. She could barely breathe. After she was rangled up Mary flushed out her nose for a while. With the flushing and a couple of good sneezes Dee can breathe well again!


Today was also the day that Toby and Taylor went to their new home. They were 2 of the babies here that were adopted. Sweethearts for sure!

Day Off #1

I had today off, and definitely took advantage of this. I took 2 naps, hung up all my clothing as I picked up my hangers yesterday and caught up on some other little stuff. I also took the pugs on 2 desert walks. I enjoy these walks as much as they do I'm sure. It's ridiculously nice out and knowing that I'm so far away from everything makes me so happy.















As swine flu season is picking up we are taking extra precautions. More hand sanitizing and we will be having less visitors starting October or so.

Yesterday another rattlesnake was found and relocated. The day before a packrat was found and relocated. I think it's about one rattlesnake per week if not more at this point. I haven't run into one yet but I'm sure my day is coming. Things I have seen include: scorpion, little snake, coyote, owl and other little guys like lizards bunnies and squirrels.



In this post I'm throwing in some random photos. I do love the pigs here. The ones that love attention, the shy ones and even the ornery ones like Arnold, "Arnie", that bit my leg. May they all enjoy their time here.

Day 1 of Working

Another pig passed away today, Rolland. He was one of the first ones I met. He was old and just going downhill. His pal Emily will surely miss him, as well as the rest of us here.

Today was a very productive day. I worked in most of the fields and helped prepare medications for tomorrow morning. I'm still full of energy.

So for today I thought I'd show you the hogs. However, only one would come out this afternoon and only for a quick drink! Then back inside to slobber on one of the others. There are 4 in this barn, and another off in a different field. They're all very nice!

Ironwood Resident

Last night was my first night as a resident of Ironwood. I fell asleep early as moving is quite tiring! Today I spent the day unpacking and sleeping. Quite enjoyable! As I was unpacking I noticed I left all my hangers in Phoenix, woops! I'll grab those when I head back to Phoenix on Monday. I have a special birthday order for The Vegan Oven. A rad gal in New Jersey sent me some costume pieces to wear as I deliver some black and white snickerdoodle cookies! This is right up my alley.

Anyhow, I start working at 4:30am tomorrow morning. So far my schedule will be five 8 hour shifts, but it may change to four 10 hour shifts.

The pugs have had a good day. They napped with me and watched me unpack. They love when I take them out for desert walks. Lady got her first poke of cactus today. She didn't even wimper or let me know. She was limping so I checked all her paws and saw some cactus, she let me pull it out and she went on her merry way :)


Here are some photos of them helping unpack and walking the desert.

Day 2 of Moving

Made one more trip down before I actually start living at Ironwood. Trying to make the drive with the pugs as light as possible. I love my room there! I am very excited to start a new part of my life at Ironwood.

Pulling up through the gate all the babies come running to smell and look for treats. I never have any but they nibble at my shoes anyway and check out the tailpipe. Arnold was out as well and said hello. He's a very sweet pig. He's all about the back scratches as you can see in this picture.

For those coming to visit expect some bumpy, dirt road before you arrive. I actually enjoy the ride there but I know it's not for everyone. Be looking for wildlife!

And if you stay the night you will be staying in the visitor center, which is also my house :D woot! The sky at night is unbelievable, so be prepared to feel spoiled.

Process of Moving

Today I moved most of my stuff to my new room at Ironwood. It rained pretty hard most of the way there but when we got there it was perfect weather for moving! Light sprinkle and no sun, couldn't have been better.

I'm pretty excited to get the rest of my belongings there and to just be there. Next weekend will be the start of me officially living there.

Here are a few pictures to enjoy in the meantime!

New Chapter

Some of you may know I am moving to Ironwood Pig Sanctuary. Here is a little background on the sanctuary:

"The Ironwood Pig Sanctuary is dedicated to eliminating the suffering of pot bellied pigs in Arizona and surrounding states by promoting spaying and neutering, assisting owners and other sanctuaries, and providing a permanent home in a safe, nurturing environment for those that are abandoned, abused, neglected, or unwanted."

There are also hogs here, as well as a goat and a chicken.

I will be living on the property as well as working here. The pugs will be coming with me on this new adventure.

I am so in love with Ironwood and all the inhabitants here. I hope you'll follow this blog and keep updated on Ironwood and spread the word. Ironwood can always use donations and sponsors for the pigs.


http://www.ironwoodpigsanctuary.org/