This Is the First Thing a Rescued Pig Did When He Arrived at an Animal Shelter

A life of freedom is what every being desires and this pig’s heartwarming reaction to its newfound freedom is leaving the internet teary-eyed. A rescue pig named Percy is winning hearts with his joyful first moments in a sanctuary he was recently moved to. The snippet shared by Uncle Neil’s Home (@uncleneilshome), the animal shelter that rescued Percy documented the pig's former tragic living conditions. He lived alone in a pigsty for years and had to undergo a month of quarantine while receiving the care he needed. However, Percy was finally freed from his confinement after he was picked by and moved to Uncle Neil’s Home. 

Sharing his first few moments in the sanctuary, Percy was captured being released by the caretakers as he hesitantly walked out of the cage. He munched on food and finally jumped into a muddy puddle while basking in the sunlight. Percy joyfully rubbed himself in the puddle, covering almost all of his white body in mud, as pigs love doing. Though wordless, Percy was able to express his joy with his actions as he finally was blessed with a free and healthy life. 

Uncle Neil’s Home is a New Jersey-based non-profit organization that rescues and rehabilitates animals. They also educate and create awareness about animals and their well-being. In their post dedicated to Percy, Uncle Neil’s Home revealed their journey with the pig after they rescued him three months ago. “Percy had never met another pig before, so we’re taking his introductions with the rest of his future pig family very slowly,” the post mentioned. The caption indicated that Percy was settling in very well and even made new friends at the sanctuary. He was originally found stranded on the side of the M42, per a report by The Farm Animal Sanctuary.

The internet was thrilled by his contagious energy and left sweet notes for him in the comments. “Oh, that mud puddle. Percy needs his own channel,” one person (@jackyrunsahead) wrote while another Instagram user (@laurapierrelouisart) joked if the sanctuary also accepted humans to live with them. “Can't wait to follow his journey! Beautiful just like all your other rescues!” another comment by a netizen (@darylsaracino) stated. The fans were generally elated by Percy’s life update and seemed curious about his happy journey forward. 

On a similar note, another farm sanctuary rescued a family of pigs from slaughter in 2017. Dean Farm Animal Sanctuary and Viva! The Vegan Charity gave a sow (which means a mother pig used for breeding) and her six piglets new lives as they moved the family out of a pig farm in loss. Their journeys were shared in a YouTube video posted to their official channel, @VivaCharity, and have touched many on the internet. The sanctuary took them to the Welsh countryside and were marked as “pig ambassadors” for the unethical practices in factory farming. “The best thing you can do to end the suffering of animals is to simply stop eating them,” the message read. 

You can follow @uncleneilshome, and @VivaCharity for more videos on animal rescue.