Santa Cruz Pot-Bellied Pig Recovering After Attack

KSBW ^ | Jan 28, 2020

[nickcarraway]

A happy ending for a 140-pound pot-bellied pig who was attacked in the Aptos hills last month.

The pig, who is now affectionately referred to as Vanna Gogh, is being taken care of by the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter before she'll be moved to her new forever home at the Little Hillside Sanctuary in Monterey County.

Advertisement Gogh had suffered severe injuries and both her ears had to be amputated, which led to her new name.

"Her ears were kind of hanging kind of shredded. It appears she was attacked by dogs, coyotes, we're not really sure," said Erika Anderson with the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. After a vet examined Vanna, they discovered she also had a broken back leg and a broken tail.

The shelter was hoping that her owner would come looking for her, but that never happened. So for the last month, she's been making new friends with the staff here at the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter.

Operators of the sanctuary want to make sure she doesn't have any additional health issues before being moved.

"We have just under a hundred animals. They're all farm animals that have been rescued from situations where they were either endangered of losing their life or not in a safe, comfortable environment" said Helbard Alkhassedeh, with Little Hill Sanctuary.

The move to the Sanctuary is scheduled for Wednesday and through this whole ordeal, Vanna, has maintained a sweet disposition.

"She's very much like a dog. She's very, very kind and social. She wags her tail when she sees you" said Anderson.

The shelter had to call in a specialist to treat Vanna. It cost more than $500. The shelter dug into their "Extra Mile Fund" set-up to help animals who have required specialized care.

[be-baw]

I read “pot-belly” I think bacon.

[nathanbedford]

I read “pot-belly” I think bacon.

I think Bier