By Gene Baur, president and co-founder

Gus is in the hospital right now, wracked by a respiratory infection. The veterinary staff is doing its best to keep him comfortable as he receives the critical care he needs to survive. Luckily, Gus has his friend, Roxy, with him to make all of this much less scary.

We picked up Gus and Roxy from Bob Comis’ farm in Upstate New York last Tuesday. After years of raising pigs for meat, Bob became uncomfortable with killing pigs for a living and decided that exploiting animals for food did not align with his values. He is now in the process of turning his pig farm into a veganic (vegan, organic) vegetable farm. In the meantime, however, he had a sick pig on his hands, whom he sent to Farm Sanctuary. Since pigs are social animals, comforted to be with friends, Bob sent Roxy to the sanctuary along with Gus. Even small, “free-range,” or “humane” farms are unable to provide individual care to each animal and still turn a profit. At sanctuaries, each resident is treated as an individual, and at our New York Shelter, Gus will receive the personal care he needs.

Right now, Gus is exhausted by his illness. Both he and Roxy are a bit nervous and unsure in the unfamiliar hospital setting. But once Gus is better, we’ll bring him and Roxy to our New York Shelter. In their new life, Gus and Roxy will be able simply to be pigs, and simply to be themselves. We are so looking forward to learning their unique personalities.

If you’d like to be a part of the work we do to help animals like Gus and Roxy, become a member today by clicking here.

(Articles by Bob Comis about his decision to give up pig farming can be read on The Huffington Post and The Dodo.)