Help Miko Save His Pig
Donation protected
When Miko joined the FFA, he expected to raise an animal, have fun, and learn valuable lessons about agriculture. But when Miko met Hanai- his pig who he would bond with for the next six months- his life changed forever.
Children and young adults involved in the Future Farmers of America raise animals for slaughter. While most participants become attached to their animals, there is a level of disconnection that must happen in order to send their beloved animals to be killed after auction.
For Miko, things were different. He knew from day one when he held the soft, fragile, innocent newborn piglet in his arms that the two would be friends forever.
As she grew her individuality became more evident every day. She developed into a quirky, funny, affectionate, loving and sassy young lady with a lust for life! As Miko got to know her personality, the idea of sending such a loving being to a slaughterhouse became more and more unconscionable. Miko named his piglet “Hanai”, which means “lucky” in Hawaiian, promising to her that of all her peers whose bleak fate had already been determined, she would be the single lucky pig to live out her natural lifespan.
Unlike so many other unfortunate animals Hanai has a friend who will fight for her and protect her no matter what.
Miko made the selfless decision to refuse to sell Hanai, ignoring the temptation of making a huge profit off of her at his county fair. His supportive family decided to do everything in their power to save the life of this pig who had become so dear to them.
They reached out to New Life Animal Sanctuary, a haven for animals who have escaped research laboratories. Sadly New Life is not equipped to keep such a large pig on their property and is currently inundated with requests to save the lives of animals in dire need. Despite the already overwhelming nature of her work, Gina, the founder of New Life, took it upon herself to still go the extra mile and ensure that someone, somewhere was working to save Hanai’s life. She reached out to me with Hanai’s story and an idea popped into my mind.
I called Joshua of Odd Man Inn, an incredible sanctuary dedicated to the welfare and rescue of farmed animals from the cruel treatment they face on industrial farms. With a lush, green landscape, plenty of room to roam, crisp mountain air, a compassionate and dedicated couple of humans to care for her and other rescued pigs as companions, Odd Man Inn seems too good to be true for sweet Hanai.
There’s just one problem. Odd Man Inn is all the way up in Washington and Hanai is way down in the bottom of Southern California! While in an ideal world sanctuaries could say yes to every animal in need, Odd Man Inn is a growing organization and needs help paying for all of Hanai’s initial rescue expenses if they want to be responsible in saving her.
In order to provide a safe haven for Hanai, we will have to spay her to ensure she doesn’t reproduce in her lifetime. As cute as piglets are, it is irresponsible to bring more into the world when there are so many in need of help. For such a large pig, this specialty operation will cost approximately $600. Hanai will also need a health certificate and a microchip to allow her to travel across state lines. These additional services together will cost around $120.
While Odd Man Inn sanctuary is not asking for any funds to cover transportation, we want to support the crucial work of this growing organization in every way we can. Additional funds raised will cover fuel costs as well as the highest quality veterinary care, food and housing that will be spent on Hanai during her life.
On behalf of the teams over at New Life Animal Sanctuary and Odd Man Inn, Miko’s family, and me (Chelsea)- will you help us come together to save Hanai?
Please DONATE and SHARE far and wide! To learn more about Hanai, see her blog: https://savinghanai.wordpress.com/
To remain updated on Hanai and other rescued animals as well as learn what you can do to protect animals, see my instagram @animalrightsmovement.
Together we can save Hanai and make the world a kinder place for animals!
Organizer
Chelsea Pinkham
Organizer
Huntington Beach, CA