Sweetie Pig left us on December 22, 2004, after a two year struggle with problems brought about, in part, by her disability. Below is part of her story...

As you may see in her picture, Sweetie Pig had three legs. She lost a hind leg to an act of heartless cruelty in a pet store in the Philadelphia area: her foot became entangled in the dangerous (for guinea pigs) wire-bottom cage the store used. to house guinea pigs. Rather than damage the store fixture, an employee decided to cut off her leg.

Scared, bleeding and in pain she hudddled in a cardboard box, awaiting feeding time for one of the store snakes. Were it not for an act of selfless kindness by a woman that just happened into the store to look at the animals, this story would have had a grim ending.

As it was, the woman took the hapless little piggie to a vet,and the piggie adapted to life on three legs. Unable to keep the little pig, the woman took her to a friend's home where she was nursed back to full health. Sweetie Pig lived with her new foster mother, Judy, for some months, until she was ready to go to a new home. That's where we came in.....

We adopted Sweetie Pig with every intention of taking her to a forever home in Maine. A friend had just lost her piggie, and had agreed to adopt Sweetie Pig. But, fate had different plans. In the couple of months that passed before we could transport Sweetie Pig to Maine, we became very attached to her. Fortunately - for all of us - the friend that was to adopt her was made a gift of two male piggies shortly before the transfer. Not wanting to keep separate living quarters, and reluctant to have one or more piggie neutered, we all came to a happy agreement that Sweetie Pig would remain here.

And so she lived a life of spoiled contentment, until some years later an infection developed in her leg stump. She battled infection, bladder sludge, digestive problems and even a heart condition for the next two years. Despite needing ongoing nursing care, she remained one of the happiest piggies I've ever seen. She was also one of the most well-travelled: because her condition required daily care and medications, she accompanied us on more than one vacation, often staying with her almost-adoptive mother for an extended visit and expert care.

On the night of December 21, 2004, I went to say goodnight as I always did. She hadn't eaten her treat of a cucumber slice - which was odd, as she adored cucumber. I picked her up and gave her a kiss, then offered her her treat. For the first time in over three years she nipped at me, as if to say "go on, leave me be". Sometime during that cold December night, just before dawn she quietly slipped across the Rainbow Bridge.