Valentina

Meet Valentina — She Will Never Go Hungry Again Perhaps one of the most frustrating and heartbreaking parts of rescue is seeing the suffering caused by human greed. That is where Valentina’s story begins. She came from a breeder who sold pigs as “micro-mini,” promising unsuspecting families that their pigs would remain just 30–40 pounds. But there is no special breed of pig that stays that size. There is, however, a way to keep a pig unnaturally small. Starve them. Owners were instructed to follow a severely restricted diet in order to keep their pigs tiny. And when people believe the breeder instead of recognizing what is happening in front of them, these poor animals can spend years chronically underfed. There’s a saying in the pig rescue world: “You can’t make a Chihuahua by starving a Great Dane.” But sadly, that is essentially what happens to pigs like Valentina. By the time Valentina was surrendered at approximately three years old—nearly full grown—she weighed just 22 pounds. Twenty-two pounds. Her head had grown, but her body was terribly emaciated. Her developing body had been deprived of the nutrition it desperately needed, and the consequences didn’t simply disappear when we began feeding her properly. Some of that damage will remain with Valentina for the rest of her life. Her body is somewhat malformed. She suffers from arthritis. Her mobility is limited, and she isn’t going anywhere particularly far or fast. But you know what she will never experience again? Hunger. Today, Valentina is an appropriate size. She has a comfortable place to sleep, veterinary care when she needs it, and people who adore her beyond measure. And every single day, her meals arrive. She doesn’t have to wonder when she will eat again. She doesn’t have to survive on portions designed to keep her unnaturally small. She doesn’t have to be someone’s idea of a “micro-mini” pig. She just gets to be Valentina. A beautiful pig who deserved proper nutrition from the day she was born. A pig whose body carries the permanent evidence of what was done to her, but whose life today is filled with everything she should have had all along. Food. Safety. Comfort. And so very much love. Valentina cannot change what happened during those first years of her life. Neither can we. But we can make one promise to her and keep it every single day: You will never, ever be hungry again.