A WOMAN’S love for pigs has led her to quit her job to pursue setting up a sanctuary.
Susan Player, from Spencers Wood, has ambitions to open her own haven for abandoned swine.
With three pigs of her own, Susan is searching for land, and is hopeful that discussions in October will lead to the perfect location.
“We’re purchasing land, and there’s lots of preparation to do,” she said. “It takes a lot of time and energy, so I handed in my notice to release more time.
“my main criteria is land for the animals, I would live in a caravan if it gave them more space.”
Susan said she was touched, when on leaving the company, her colleagues donated towards her sanctuary.
“They know me so well,” she said. “The best gift they could have given me was a donation. It brought tears to my eyes.”
Susan is still fundraising for her new venture, and hopes her Christmas Fayre will boost the money in the pot.
On Saturday, November 6, she is hosting a festive event at Spencers Wood Village Hall.
It will include a variety of stalls, a tombola, raffle and games, all to raise money for the sanctuary.
Susan is still looking for stallholders and raffle donations for the November event, and hopes some businesses from the area may help out.
Not one to sit still, she and her husband are preparing to rescue a pig from Dorset this weekend.
It will involve a four-hour drive to Stoke, where she hopes the animal will be rehomed.
“[Rescues] are something we can do while we’re waiting for this land,” she explained.
In July, she rescued a three-year-old boar called Harry, who had been abandoned at a sawmill by a farmer.
He had been kept alive for the last 18 months by nearby villagers feeding him what they could.
With no fresh water or hay, once Susan found out about the situation, she stepped in, and found him a home at Brinsley Animal Rescue, near Nottingham.
With her van already adapted for her own pigs, she volunteered to drive the 740-mile journey to ensure he arrived safely at the site.
“Every animal is worth saving if you can, and have the opportunity to,” she says. “And we could.”
For more information, search for Little Pigs At Home on Facebook.
To register for Susan’s Christmas Fayre, email: littlepigsathome@gmail.com
