Placing Your Pig….   What to expect from a sanctuary
Before you call, think about this:
The person who you will reach, will very likely be tired, financially on the edge of a cliff, and not particularly sympathetic to  your story of divorce or moving or grandchildren wanting to set up a swing set in the back yard where the pig lives. We who operate sanctuaries do so out of a real and abiding love for pigs. They come first in our lives and we have trouble understanding people who so quickly discard them. Most sanctuary owners work 16 or more hours a day tending to the pigs and raising the funds to feed them and care for them. Or trying to rush between a day job and tending them after the sun goes down.. We travel all over to help sick or injured pigs, provide transportation to a new home, run them back and forth to the vet, and bury them when they die. We are the ones who cry for their loss. We are the ones who may have to say no to your call, knowing that your pig has little or no chance for life when we do. And it breaks our hearts.
Perhaps you simply don’t know what you are asking?
Many people think a pig will adjust to a new situation readily and happily. Few do. Unlike dogs, who will accept love from any one who is willing to offer it,  pigs have bonds with their human companions that are deep and all important to them. A new person to them is like a new person to you.. a stranger.
And a sanctuary may seem like a haven of delights to you, and we are very proud of our sanctuaries, they serve a real need, but when a house pig is introduced to it, with all the other pigs who want nothing more than to bully him, he is not going to welcome this change.
For the pig to be moved into a sanctuary, no matter how wonderful it is or how well run, is a trauma. The older the pig the greater the heartbreak he will suffer. Some older pigs have been known to die from the heartbreak. The bonds they make with humans, because they were deprived as piglets of making the same bonds with others of their kind, are lifetime bonds. Its part of their emotional makeup, just as it is with humans. 
Imagine having been raised in a loving home for most of your life, your mom feeds you and talks to you and rubs your belly and covers you up with a blanket at night. She is your life.. You have your own bed with that special quilt and the cat who cuddles with you. Then one day you are dumped at a strange place full of pigs who want to beat you up and have to sleep in a barn with not a word from your mom ever again. Everything that had been your life is gone. Everything.  You are an outcast, at the bottom of the pecking order; life is not good .
 Yes, most will adjust. And yes, we give each new pig as much personal attention as we can.. especially in their first 30 days of integration.  Do you think I can spend even 5 minutes a day with each one?  Who would fix the fences, mow their pastures, repair the roof and raise the money to pay their feed and vet bills ?  We love them more than anything on earth and give up our lives and all we possess to care for them, but no matter how you slice it, there are only 24 hours in a day and each pig is not going to get anything resembling the attention he got at home.
Then there is the expense. Are you planning to pay for his upkeep? Is he spayed or neutered? Up to date on vaccinations. hooves trimmed, tusks short? Or were you planning for us to do that for you? Spaying an adult full sized pig is very expensive and takes extra post surgical care. Wrestling a pig that is already in shock from being “dumped” to do his feet or tusks can create a problem with his integration and ultimate acceptance of his new “family”. They don’t forget an unkindness.
So if you were expecting some sanctuary to “take” your pig, how will they support him?  It costs an average of $4000 to see a pig through it years at the sanctuary. That is for an estimated 10 years. The last years are frequently very expensive ones, as arthritis sets in and requires medications, and whatever disease ultimately claims them at the end of their life will usually require a good deal of vet expense.   We work for every penny we raise, and beg for each dollar.. were you thinking “someone” funded us? No one funds any sanctuary that I know of.. If they get a grant it is usually for a specific item they need , not for operating funds, and believe me, they work for that grant.  To find a grant funded for pigs is more work than holding down a second job. We support our discarded babies by the kindness of strangers who send in $5 or $25 as a gift of charity and by providing internet services, selling handmade items and putting on fundraisers like yard sales and bake sales.  It takes a lot of cookies to pay our expenses here every year. 
So before you call, consider these things and what the person on the other end of the line is living with.. its a heart breaking business and be sure that your pig’s problem, or yours, can’t be solved in some other manner that is better for all.
. Have you considered other ways to solve the problem?
Moving:  If you are moving, have you tried to find a place where you CAN take your pig?? Do you perhaps just need someone to transport him for you? Or board him while you get settled? Or help fence your new yard?  All these things can often be arranged, and you and your piggy can be together in the new home.
Aggression : Are you keeping him inside? If so, he will get either aggressive or depressed or both before he’s 3 years old. Fix the yard to give him lots of space to explore and a nice warm house and boot his butt outside for the day. Even let him live outside if you have the right facility there for him We can help with advice on building or fencing to keep him safe and happy. For special cases we can even help with materials to build a fence or provide a loaner doghouse until you can get one or build one. Get him a companion pig for outdoors from any sanctuary near you and he will have the company he needs to work out his emotional frustrations. Someone of his own kind to talk to.
Divorce: So ? Are you taking your red shoes? The cat? Your 2 yr old son? Then why are you dumping the pig? Divorce is a life change that doesn’t have to be a life ending experience for your pig. As hard as it may be to do, take stock of your situation and realize that it may not warrant the panic mode that it feels like. What really HAS to change and can that change include the piggy as well? Maybe you only have to change the life style he and you have had as you get into the work force .. or have to travel more. Think positively and focus on the well being of those who depend on you. He will adjust far better to changes in your home than to being shipped off to some strange place. Call us, we can help with suggestions.
Have you tried to place your pig yourself? If you take the time to check out all the calls and be sure he will have everything he needs and be safe from danger, sometimes you can place him in a loving local home. Use great care to visit personally and don’t be shy about telling people what is wrong in their environment for a pig’s safety. (And mostly they will be told “No”, they can’t provide for him properly)  Most callers will not be the kind of home you want.. many will be simply wanting a pig because its “cool” , many have dogs that will kill the pig the minute they turn their back and many want them to eat.. so be VERY careful. If you do find a good home be sure to tell them that the pig will go into depression when he is moved and they will have to deal with his sadness. He isn’t going to be “grateful” that he is given this new home, no matter how wonderful it is.  If possible, visit him weekly to help bridge the transition. (Same if you end up taking him to a sanctuary, a weekly or even monthly visit will do wonders for his adapting) .Give the new home our website or another’s so they can find answers when they have problems too.
Most of the sanctuaries will help you place your pig . using their experience and doing home checks or giving you potential homes to check out yourself after they have done a phone screening.
I hope this information will help you find a solution to your piggy’s problem and also to help you understand that when you call and say you want to find a new home for your pig because he isn’t getting the attention you want him to have any more, that the sometimes less-than-cordial  response you may get isn’t personal.. we are all trying to deal with way too many pigs in our sanctuaries.. there simply isn’t room for all that need us. But we will help any way we can, if we can, its what we are here for