“They just love each other.”
Kirsten Duggan runs Sweet Acres Pig Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada, which serves as a safe place for potbelly pigs who’ve been rescued from difficult situations.
When she received a call from animal control asking her to take in a 13-year-old surrendered duck named Charlie, she was hesitant at first. She’d never had a duck before and wasn’t sure how Charlie would get along with her 10 rescue pigs. However, she wanted to give the duck a second chance.
Charlie joined the sanctuary in March.
To her surprise, the duck quickly struck up a friendship with one of her pigs, Pebbles.
“They just have this bond,” Duggan told The Dodo. “They run to each other. Whenever they’re out, they’re together.”
Duggan said the pair spends at least an hour each day just lying together. Charlie will clean Pebbles’ ears with her beak and nuzzle into her. In response, Pebbles bows her head, which Duggan says is a sign that she’s receptive to the exchange.
“I’m very comfortable now with the duck and the pig, but at the beginning, I was always watching,” Duggan said.
After all, the two have a significant size difference. Pebbles weighs about 180 pounds, while Charlie the duck weighs no more than 4 pounds. But that has not gotten in their way:
“They’re inseparable,” Duggan said. “It’s a very unique relationship. They just love each other.”
Pebbles and Charlie both love attention and have strong personalities that sometimes drive other animals away.
“She just doesn’t fit in with the other pigs,” Duggan said of Pebbles. While none of the pigs bother or harm Charlie, some of them walk away and don’t want anything to do with her when she approaches.
Thankfully, Pebbles and Charlie have each other: “They just come together,” Duggan said. “It’s like magic.”
Pebbles came to Sweet Acres four years ago. Duggan rescued her from a slaughterhouse, where the pig was kept in a dirty concrete stall, never seeing the light of day.
She was grossly overfed and suffered from fat blindness, which means she had excess skin above her eyes that blocked her vision. Her hair was missing, and she was depressed and lethargic.
With proper care and nutrition, Pebbles, now 7, has since lost 75 pounds. Her hair has grown back, and she’s no longer fat blind.
“She’s doing great,” Duggan said. “So far, I’ve seen no health issues at all, so I’m very fortunate. And she’s much happier.”
Duggan started Sweet Acres 10 years ago, after she and her husband considered getting a teacup pig. It turns out there’s no such thing. Instead, they’re potbelly pigs who have been starved to maintain their miniature size. Once mature, potbelly pigs typically weigh at least 100 pounds, prompting some owners to surrender them because they require more space and have outgrown their “cutesy” tiny appearance.
Duggan didn’t expect Sweet Acres, a one-person operation that’s located on her property, to expand to 10 pigs. But shortly after rescuing her first pig, Sadie, in 2015, word spread about her passion for helping potbelly pigs. She received several requests to take in pigs in need.
“I like to rescue the ones with no hope,” Duggan said.
Sweet Acres is open to the public, allowing people to meet potbelly pigs and gain a better understanding of their needs and care. The animals help spread joy to visitors, including children, adults with disabilities, and teens struggling with mental health issues.
“The biggest reward to Sweet Acres is giving back to the community,” Duggan said.