Pete Gets A Massage from a Somewhat Ineffective Masseuse (Namely, Me)

Pete the pig has been having some trouble walking again. He had made tremendous progress in the last few months, but then had a set-back after the heat wave a couple of weeks ago.

We've been giving him a gallon pitcher of Gatorade because the electrolytes can help him in the heat. Here he is today with citrus-flavored Gatorade foam coming out of his mouth. You can also see how his back legs splay out. This isn't normal or most likely healthy, either.

When he lays down, I try the technique that Joanne, a volunteer who's a licensed massage therapist, showed me. It involves pushing in on his thigh and hip (particularly the right one, which seems to give him the most trouble).

The theory being that Pete grew too fast for his joints (being a factory farm-bred Duroc pig) and the gentle pushing eases his leg back into the hip socket.

Whether our theory is right or not, Pete seems to love the pressure and settles in for a nap. There are few if any pig masseuses, or pig chiropractors or for that matter pig vets. Or not yet. As humanity's circle of compassion widens, the circle of experts to relieve animal pain will too. For now, we rely on the animal to tell us what feels good, what seems to help.

Some humans bred Durocs to grow too fast for their bodies to keep up--which results in pigs like Pete. Some humans spend hours to help one Duroc pig heal and re-learn how to walk. Some make money selling Durocs, some connect to their hearts, one by one. We are the ones who get to see Pete grunt hello in the morning and shove his nose into mud and stand up on his own, like he was doing a couple of months ago, meandering into the middle of the field and grazing, on a cool summer evening.
We're the lucky ones.

Post massage, Pete rehydrates with some water from Julie. And some mud.

Tomorrow, the real deal--Joanne--is coming to give massages to Pete and some others who could use it. Until then, Pete has to make do with what love we can transmit through such crude vehicles as buckets and Gatorade and mud puddles and our often-ineffective, but well-intentioned hands.