These four pigs were living at the former Twist of Fate "sanctuary" and had been neglected and starved for months. A few of them even had severe untreated medical issues that Ashley DiFelice completely ignored, only making them worse.
The two "farm" pigs were named Xylophone and Lollipop (they're the two pigs pictured above on the left). Unfortunately I don't know anything about their original rescue story, where they came from, or how long they were under Ashley's "care" because she never posted anything about either of them on the old TOF Patreon. She also made her Instagram and Facebook accounts dark shortly after the cruelty was discovered, so I have never had access to that information either, helpful as it would be. I don't even know which pig was Lollipop and which one was Xylophone! All I know is that they are brothers. Farm pigs are the largest pigs and require a lot to take care of them in terms of food, shelter, space, etc. One of the farm pigs had an untreated hernia which was likely causing him a lot of pain and discomfort, and the other had a skin condition, also likely causing pain and/or discomfort.
The two potbelly pigs, as far as I can tell, did not have names during the duration of their time at Twist of Fate and I believe that they're from either OJ or Pearlie Mae's litters, 2 pregnant pigs rescued and brought to TOF who both gave birth in the summer of 2020 to seven piglets each.
Tiffany and Joe of Sleepy Pig Farm (@sleepypigfarm) took in all 4 boys. They named the two large pigs Stefan and Damon after the Salvatore brothers from the TV show 'The Vampire Diaries' (I definitely had to look that one up!) and they named the two potbelly pigs Garth and George, presumably after Garth Brooks and George Strait. If you check out their account they have a country singer theme! Stefan (far left in the photo above) is all pink, Damon (2nd from the left) has black around his eyes and on his nose, Garth (2nd from the right) is pink with black/gray markings and George (far right) is black with pink feet.
As for their pre-existing issues that now suddenly fell on Sleepy Pig to get fixed and to pay for, Stefan had the skin condition and Damon had the untreated hernia. The farm pigs had decent body scores when they were rescued because they had access to a field with grass. However, George and Garth were both stunted from lack of food, and Garth's hind legs even bent inward due to his malnourished state. None of them had access to clean drinking water for a very long time. Because all 4 of them were so afraid and timid around humans it was decided that they would let them decompress for a bit first before having too much contact with their new humans or the vets.
Unfortunately Damon's hernia ruptured before his scheduled appointment and he had to have emergency abdominal surgery in September of 2022. This was an issue that he had for MONTHS (perhaps even since he was a baby) and Ashley ignored it and never got it properly treated which only made his condition that much worse. He pulled through and healed, and now enjoys spending time with his brother and the other farm pigs. Poor Stefan was so traumatized from what happened to him at TOF that it was a whole year before he would allow someone to give him a belly rub.
The two potbellies, George and Garth, gradually put on weight and allowed pets a lot sooner than expected - Tiffany started off with a backscratcher (which you can see in the photo of George above) and Garth would slowly inch toward her until he finally allowed her to pet his head for the first time (captured in the photo above of Garth). George took slightly longer to warm up, but has since come around and loves cuddles with his human family. Being at TOF it had been a long time since either of them had had any human contact - most likely months, if not years.
So many sanctuaries took in animals from the TOF cruelty case and taking in FOUR at once was no easy task, physically or financially! We're so grateful that Sleepy Pig Farm took in these gentlemen and got them the help that they needed back then and continue to care for their every need. Please give @sleepypigfarm a follow to see Stefan, Damon, Garth, and George along with their many other rescue animals! If you'd like to donate to their care, you can do so via their website, PayPal (sleepypigfarm@gmail.com), or Venmo (sleepypigfarm). You can also send them something from their Amazon Wishlist, or purchase their cute merch available here, here, or on Bonfire. To make a monthly donation, you can join their Patreon or sponsor an animal. And if you're looking for other ways to help, you can subscribe to their mailing list or donate to their fundraiser to help them build a new pig barn!
A few additional words:
I was originally going to post about a different rescued animal for this update, but there are sadly some grievous circumstances currently taking place and so I also wanted to share a few words about Stefan, Damon, Garth, and George's mom and dad at Sleepy Pig, Tiffany and Joe.
Early yesterday morning on September 28th Tiffany and Joe lost their newborn baby girl, Bella Ingrid. I cannot imagine the pain that they are going through with all of the excitement and planning of becoming first-time parents only for such a horrible tragedy to happen. My thoughts, prayers, and my heart go out to the two of them and their families while they grieve.
The Sleepy Pig sanctuary is home to more than 60 rescue animals who require food, bedding, shelter, medications, vet care and more on a daily basis and they rely solely on Tiffany and Joe for this. Fundraising for sanctuaries and rescues NEVER stops. Tiffany's friend Meg of Road to Refuge Sanctuary (@roadtorefugesanctuary) has set up a GoFundMe for Sleepy Pig to cover their entire expenses for a month so that Tiffany and Joe can have privacy and space to process and grieve and not worry about having to post on social media to raise funds for their animals or stress that they might not have enough support for upcoming expenses. Even if the GoFundMe is at or past the goal amount by the time you see this, please consider making a donation anyway in baby Bella's name - the less that they have to fundraise at a time like this the better, since it will allow them even more time, plus emergencies with the animals can happen at any time and are often expensive. You can make a donation to the GoFundMe in any amount here.
Please leave the 4 boys and Tiffany, Joe, and Bella some love and support in the comments. Thank you all so much for being here.