It’s not every day that you get to meet a famous pig. For a few years now, I have been following Esther The Wonder Pig on social media. I came across her page on Instagram years ago and read her story. Her dads, Steve Jenkins, and Derek Walter thought were told that she was going to be a mini pig, not growing larger than a big dog; but when they found out she would be the size of a normal commercial pig, their worlds changed forever.
They
were faced with the difficulty of raising a constant growing pig in their house
right outside of the city of Toronto. Soon enough, they were forced to move to
a bigger house with more land. Esther's dad, Steve, started an Esther The Wonder Pig facebook page to post
cute pictures, and when the page gained a lot of traction, he decided to start
an Indigogo fundraiser, where they raised almost a half a million dollars to
create their very own farm sanctuary. They would rescue abandoned and abused
animals who needed a home.
They
eventually opened their sanctuary to visitors, and I had the opportunity to visit
this magical place. My family and I arrived for the tour on a hot summer day
and were met with many friendly faces. We signed in and were told to wait and
relax until the tour started. They offered us drinks and some light snacks.
Everyone was so friendly and welcoming.
A volunteer started the tour and told us about the history of the farm. Although
I knew a lot from reading online, getting to see the residences I saw pictures
of online was so exciting. We first got to meet the birds of the farm, which
included some chickens, roosters and a beautiful peacock. After that, we moved
on to the pigs, which was my favorite part because pigs are my favorite animal.
I recognized the pigs from online; Len, Bobbie Girl, and Captain Dan. Captain
Dan had floppy ears and was so sweet. He came up to the fence and let me touch
his snout.
After
the pigs, we saw huge cows who were just happily walking around or laying down
on the grass. All of the animals looked so happy and at peace; something that
was very far from their life before Happily Ever Esther.
And
finally, we got to meet the queen of the farm, Esther The Wonder pig and her
turkey friend Cornelius. Esther opened the back door of the house with her
snout and came outside to say hi to everyone. She went to the bathroom and took
a watermelon treat from her dad, which she happily ate while everyone took
photos. After that, she took a dip in her piggy pool and laid down and rested a
while. Soon after the tour was over, I got to meet Esther’s dads. Steve and
Derek are the loveliest people I’ve ever met, and I am so happy I got to meet
them and spend the day with some beautiful animals. Her dads even let me go
behind her fence and take a photo with her. She was even more adorable in
person and I can definitely say meeting Esther and her family was one of the
best days of my life. Most people say DisneyLand is the happiest place in the
world, but for me, it’s Happily Ever Esther.
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