Wilbur was a pig that survived jumping off a truck which happens often with baby piglets when being transported. This little one was scooped up off the highway and taken to a shelter up North. They networked for a sanctuary and Devoted Barn stepped up.
Now this is where his sad story should turned happy but for Wilbur, that is not the case. Wilbur was failed by the very folks that were supposed to save him.
Wilbur should be alive still as farm pigs typically live 10+ years. Below is sweet and innocent Wilbur alive when he was being used for his cuteness for attention and donations (Watch the live video below and look at his sweet picture)
Wilbur's life was tragically cut short due to negligence on the part of Devoted Barn and Melissa Borden. Anyone that cares for pigs knows that dogs and pigs are NEVER a good mix. It is an ABSOLUTE contradiction to place pigs and dogs in the same vicinity.
Melissa had 50+ supposed "feral" dogs at her old location. These dogs escaped their area and got a hold of Wilbur. They ripped apart his leg, but he was still alive. Wilbur was then placed in a stall and the feral dogs escaped yet again and finished him off. The picture below at the very bottom (***WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO IS AT THE BOTTOM***) is how volunteers found him. Mauled to death with his spine ripped out his neck. Can you imagine being a tiny innocent baby pig, being loaded up for slaughter only to have the good fortune to fall off that truck and survive??? Then you end up at Devoted Barn where you are used for all your worth to get money, only to be mauled multiple times till you die a slow and painful death?? How is that considered rescue??
This is absolutely 100% avoidable and unacceptable. Sadly this is not an isolated incident!! This organization has had many more complaints about the lack of proper housing and care her pigs recieve. Wilbur should be alive today but he is not. He died an agonizing and terrible death due to the lack of common sense and basic animal knowledge by those that were supposed to provide him care. How many more animals have to suffer and die before Melissa is stopped? There are currently two pigs, Honey and Hazel that have been locked in a horse stall for upwards of a year. Why is that? What kind of life is that? Pigs NEED to root and have fresh air and sunshine and these two are not getting that.
Pigs, potbelly pigs especially need to have e monitored diets and should have VERY limited sweets, measured grain and green leafy veggies as supplements and snacks. Look at the meal of a pig at Devoted Barn named Piggly Wiggly.
As a basic rule in non-breeding adults, feed about 1/2 cup of maintenance food per 25 pounds of the pig's weight (so a 75-pound pig would get 1 1/2 cups of food). The total amount should be divided into 2 meals a day. This is an obscene amount of food for this pig.
And then this pig Hazel, she is one currently locked in the barn. This pig is obese and probably has issues with mobility. Pigs fed diets packed with carbs gets overweight very quickly. (See her picture above)
Melissa claims she is honest to a fault and is 100% transparent. Did anyone hear of Wilbur's demise from her or anyone associated with the barn? Nope, his death was brushed aside and knowing Melissa was probably blamed on the "haters"because nothing is ever her fault or her failure.
Here is a FB page that was started to bring awareness to the deplorable conditions in which the pig's at DB live. Look at this mud and those less than adequate shelters.
Melissa wants all her supporters to
believe all her failures are ALL due to this mysterious group of haters that followed her from Dearborn (where her house was condemned) to Newport and now to Rose Township. No other rescue has drama like this. No other organization has such poor organization and lack of oversight, Melissa has absolutely ZERO business sense and lives off the backs of her donors. These animals are imprisoned to provide for Melissa.
Truth be told, there are NO HATERS!!! Only passionate animal advocates who will simply not tolerate her total lack of care and allow these animals to suffer while you can squeeze donations out of unsuspecting folks.
Sanctuaries are meant to provide a better life better than they would have ever had and sadly that is not the case at this "sanctuary". We are sorry you were failed Wilbur. We are sorry for all the others that are also being failed.
***WARNING BELOW GRAPHIC IMAGE OF WILBUR***
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