From an email dated July 18, 2024
Dear Friends,
Tomorrow we will announce the birth of The Comets to our social media audience, as well as to our general mailing list. It has been such a pleasure sharing this sweet first week of their lives privately with all of you, our monthly supporters and our supporters of Stardust.
When Stardust arrived here, starving and with every bone in her body visible under pressure sores and scabs, we were told that she’d been released from her life with a backyard breeder because she was a bad mother. We can now confirm that Stardust is an intuitive, gentle, attentive, fiercely protective mother. If one baby squeals, she finds it; even in the midst of nursing, she will leap up to take attendance and check on everyone’s wellbeing. If they wrestle too roughly for her liking, she stands over them patiently until they split up. If I set a food dish down or pick one up, she is on me to check my hands for stolen piglets. It’s been a profound and healing experience to witness the strength of her love for her nine babies. When I sit with them I feel as if there’s no safer place in the entire world to be.
Although we know that it is very common for a piglet litter to have a few nonsurvivors, we’ve been amazed by the good fortune that brought all of The Comets into the world alive and alert. We are watching them carefully to support their continued good health and are hoping that this trend continues. Every day they get stronger, more curious, and more confident.
We’ve promised Stardust that this is the last time she’ll have to go through a pregnancy, and that she’ll never have her babies taken from her again. They will grow up beside her in safety and peace.
This is a promise we had no idea we’d have to make two months ago. In order to spay the four girls and Stardust, we are looking at a bill of $15,000. We have time to raise it, but we’re not going to pretend it’s not a ton of money.
We’re in the planning stages of some exciting ways to get our supporters involved to help Stardust And The Comets in their first year of life, and we hope that you’ll share, follow along, and join us on the journey of these ten lives who will never know suffering.
