Jax

Sponsored by
Tanya Crail in Memory of Scott,
Elizabeth ElDer

Jax is truly a cherub in piglet form. Piglets are not usually known to enjoy being lifted, cuddled, or carried by humans, as they are so independent and busy! But Jax has loved human affection since the day he arrived at the sanctuary, which was both the best and worst day of his life. At just 21 days old, Jax and thousands of other piglets were taken from their mothers and packed into a transportation truck, headed toward a brief life of darkness and desperation. At 70mph, the truck carrying Jax turned over on the interstate—violently spilling piglets onto the road and tossing others around inside the unforgiving metal cage of the truck. While many piglets were killed on impact, over a thousand piglets survived, but only to be collected and disposed of as an insurance write off. You see, if a “food animal” touches the natural earth during transportation, it is considered a breach of bio-security protocol, and they can no longer be utilized for profit as a result. Jax defied the odds and managed to evade both death and capture, though he was not without injury. By the time Jax was discovered by his rescuer in the darkness of a bitterly cold winter night, he was nearly frozen. He had road rash across his tiny face, and it soon became apparent that he had a badly injured jaw. Jax was surrendered to the sanctuary, where he was immediately enveloped in warmth, love, and care. From the brink of death to freedom in one long, traumatic day, Jax instinctively knew he had found safety at the sanctuary. He slept for days straight after his rescue, nestling into the arms of his caretakers, breathing out great sighs of relief. Jax was named after Max, one of our rescued steer residents who also survived a horrific transportation accident, miraculously walking away from the wreckage with only a broken jaw and bad memories. As Jax recovered and gained more energy, his cuddly disposition never changed. Jax is innocence personified, and we will always protect him with everything we’ve got.