Our Beautiful Friend George is No Longer With Us
A Sentience Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary
Facebook posting, March 22, 2022

I remember when he first lived with Emily and Charlotte when they were babies and we used to give them treats of raspberries and strawberries. George used to eat so slowly, relishing the tiny piece of fruit in his large mouth, grunting his pleasure as he did so. By the time George had enjoyed a single strawberry, Emily and Charlotte would have finished the bowl. He always expressed his gratitude whether it was for a belly rub, a nice meal or a warm, clean bed. 

Image by Chris Copeland

We are grief stricken to tell you that our beautiful friend George is no longer with us.

From the day he arrived at Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary, we adored George and everyone who met him felt likewise. He grew to become the most talkative, affectionate, personable character of all the pigs living with us. I think it is the variety and frequency of his beautiful voice that we will miss most because that was how he interacted with us to comment on life and tell us how he was feeling. From the moment he left his cosy house with Geoffrey in the morning, he commented on everything: the activities of the other animals, his carefully prepared meals of pig nuts and fresh vegetables, his freedom to wander on his pass and root wherever he wanted, his observation of us as we went about our day’s work, his enjoyment of a mud bath on a hot day, and his cosy bed on a cold night. George treasured life in a very mindful and grateful way. As these are elements of a healthy, human life, they are, not doubt, the reason why he enjoyed and appreciated his life so much.

I remember when he first lived with Emily and Charlotte when they were babies and we used to give them treats of raspberries and strawberries. George used to eat so slowly, relishing the tiny piece of fruit in his large mouth, grunting his pleasure as he did so. By the time George had enjoyed a single strawberry, Emily and Charlotte would have finished the bowl. He always expressed his gratitude whether it was for a belly rub, a nice meal or a warm, clean bed.

For the last nine months he must have been feeling awful because he couldn’t eat very much and was steadily losing weight, but he rooted with Geoffrey until two days before his death and he chatted to us right up until his last moment which, we are very thankful to say, was peaceful due to the respectful, careful, and kind attention of our vet.

I remember so well the day George arrived at Eden. He had been rescued from being kept as a micro-pig (there's no such thing of course) in someone's house where he not only suffered neglect and mange, but he was also bullied by a rabbit. Well, who could refuse? He had been taken in by the DSPCA and the photos below show how well he was cared for at the home of one of their volunteers, before finding his forever home with us. The day he arrived in the back of her jeep, I looked in and saw this little pig person, wrapped up in his comfort blanket with a half-eaten apple on the car seat beside him. I knew immediately that someone special had arrived at Eden. George got out of the jeep and wandered around his new home as if he had always lived here. I heard his first greeting, indicating that he already trusted us and the world he was entering; despite his early neglect, George lived his life as if there wasn’t the slightest possibility that anyone would harm him. He never stopped talking to us and he was the most excitable, affectionate, cheerful little chap we had met for a long time.

Almost six years to the day of his arrival, he has had to leave us. I say ‘had to leave us’ because I am quite, quite sure that George did not want to die so young. Despite our best attempts to secure an accurate diagnosis and treatment for him, with veterinary care within an hour on the day he first exhibited symptoms, followed by several vet visits, admissions and investigations at UCD Veterinary Hospital, advice and assistance from veterinary professionals around the world, our request for an endoscopy/colonoscopy and biopsies, and a range of alternative remedies, we couldn’t help George. He was literally fading away in front of our eyes and we were helpless to intervene in his slow but insidious deterioration. We suspected that there was more to George’s diagnosis than an ulcer. Surely if that was what he had, he would have responded to treatment? Like a mother with a sick child, the guardians of non-human animals have a keen sense as to what is going on. We don’t pretend to be experts, but we know the animals in our care.

Eden is a sad place today. Those who work here do not regard it as a job; it is our life and the animals here are our family. It is difficult for Marie, Ruaidhri, Sany, Ronnie and I, to carry on working with the weight of grief in our hearts, but doing so always helps us because there are so many other animals who need our care. We worry about Geoffrey most of all. He was George’s close friend and companion for the last five years and the loss will be difficult for him.

George inspired us so much that he featured in several of our Go Vegan World ads. He filled our lives with joy and love and we don’t know what we will do without him. I think it is appropriate to end by expressing our gratitude to him for coming into our lives , gracing us with his beautiful presence, and teaching us so much about who other animals are. Please make the connection between George and the products we call bacon, sausages, and pork. They were all someone special who were treated as commodities and had no one to rescue them or tell their story or miss them when their lives ended.

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