Pigs

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about pigs by people who are unfamiliar with them. Pigs are intelligent - you can see it in their soulful, almost human eyes. They can also be trained! Our pig Wilbur knows and performs the command for “sit”! Pigs are very clean - they are one of the only animals to have a designated bathroom area instead of just going anywhere. And best of all, pigs are cuddly! We invite you to visit our main paddock and just sit with the pigs. After a few minutes, you will be surrounded by pigs who mosey over to snuggle next to you for a nap or want a scratch and a belly rub.

Meet our Porch and Barn pigs!

Our porch pigs live under Renee’s porch. They are most often seen burrowing in the deep hay piles under the porch or foraging in the front yard. Our barn pigs are some of our older pigs like Hamilton, who is 10 or pigs that do better away from the herd like Poppy who has a permanent limp (Poppy is listed in the Mommas and Babies section further down). Several of our pigs go back and forth between the porch and barn so we decided to combine these two categories.

  • Aggie first came to the farm so overweight she could not open her eyes. The weight from the fat on her face pushed her eyes closed. We dieted her and since then, she is a healthy weight. Unfortunately she is permanently blind. Aggie came to live with us when her owner was no longer able to care for her.

    Sponsored by Anthony Drake

  • Sponsored by Tracy & McCall Christman

    Muddy loves all things food. This enormous potbellied pig used to climb up the steep steps to Renee’s porch every morning and eat all the cat food he could find (including the ones sealed in cans). Renee finally had to have a gate built just to keep Muddy out!

  • Messi and Pepper arrived together at Hope & Serenity from another sanctuary. They are a bonded pair. Messi is named after the famous Argentinian soccer/football player. Both Messi and Pepper are gentle. While they have adapted to life here very well, they are still unsure of people and will shy away if someone tries to pet them. But they love treats so please still feed them!

    Sponsored by Maria Blasco and Ande Carr

  • Harriet is a sweetie pie (most of our pigs are). She was originally part of the main herd but was moved to the front as she wasn’t getting enough food. (She has an underbite so it is harder to eat as fast as the other pigs.) This is what makes her adorable though because her teeth stick out so when she looks at you, it always looks like she is smiling. Harriet and her brother Hank came to live with us after they were picked up as strays by Prince William Animal Control.

    Sponsored by Cynthia Hundley

  • Pepper and Sage (Messi) came to live with us from another pig sanctuary. We often help other sanctuaries that are at capacity. Pepper is very shy. Please help us socialize her by going slow and offering her lots of treats.

    Sponsored by Ande Carr

  • Hamilton was 6 weeks old in 2010 when he came to live with Renee. He was her first pig. Renee had also taken in a baby goat (Monty) and the two of them were best buddies. Hamilton's personality has always been grumpy. He is best described as a kermudgin. He startles easily, but if you go slow you can convince him that you can be friends!

    Sponsored by Kathleen Rudd and Caroline Schellhas

  • Lola and her brother Kevin came to live with us after their owners lost their home. Lola is a talkative girl. She likes to squeal as she crosses the yard to let everyone know that she is here. She is always with Kevin. They love to snuggle together.

    Sponsored by Caroline & Ella Schellhas

  • Sponsored by Katie Dugan

    Eleanor is a very popular pig. Like Kevin, she is everywhere the people are because she knows if there are people, there is food. She is a big girl with a sweet temperament. She is another pig to give you a smile because she knows that smile will get her lots of treats!

  • Sponsored by Sara Fernandez

    Mollie is one of our oldest pigs. She is not a huge fan of being touched (due to her old age) and may scream if touched (but she’s fine, she is just dramatic like most pigs). She loves treats of course and its really hard not to pet her when she’s so cute and stubby!

  • Sponsored by Caroline & Ella Schellhas

    Adele came to H&S dangerously obese and extremely food aggressive. She has since lost a significant amount of weight and has improved greatly in her social behavior with the other animals and people. She has quite a personality and is very popular among the volunteers. She lives in the barn and rarely ventures out.

  • Kevin and his sister Lola are a sweet pair. Kevin and his sister lost their place to live when their owners lost their home. Kevin was overweight when he came to live with us which caused him to have a bad back. We try to keep him at a healthy weight to minimize back pain. We also keep him on glucosamine and an anti inflammatory to keep him feeling his best. He is the sweetest pig and will be the first pig to greet you with lying on his side for a belly rub.

    Sponsored by Donna Joray & Nancy Bentrup

Meet Our Paddock Pigs!

The below pigs live in the big paddock with the goats and sheep. Our Livestock Guardians, Lorelei and Trooper also live with them and are responsible for keeping them safe from predators.

  • Sponsored by Aimee Fagan

  • Sponsored by Katie Dugan

  • Sponsored by Coleen Gerber

  • Sponsored by Jennifer and Charlotte Mistalski

    Charlotte is a big girl. She is Walter’s sister (see farther down for Walter) and loves to snuggle!

  • Sponsored by Vicki C and Sally Stratton

  • Sponsored by Cami Thomas

  • Sponsored by Paige & Nia

    Giddy’s name suits her as she is always happy and smiling. She is one of the paddock who is always up front to greet people and hopefully eat any treats offered to her. She has two wonderful sponsors in Page & Nia who spend lots of time with her.

  • Sponsored by the Logan Family and Riley O’Casey

  • Sponsored by Caroline and Ella Schellhas

  • Sponsored by Amy DeRose

  • Sponsored by the Nancy Bentrup

  • Sponsored by An Bohman

    Its hard to tell from this picture but Louie is HUGE. He and Wilbur are our largest pigs, followed closely by Rick and Bill.

  • Sponsored by Jenny Peoples

  • Sponsored by Franscisco Osegueda and Jose Lizama

  • Sponsored by Caroline & Ella Schellhas

    Rick and Bill (above) were rescued together. Their breed is raised for slaughter but Rick and Bill will be able to live out their lives at H&S.

  • Sponsored by Charlotte Bogue

  • Sponsored by Sarah Creekmore

  • Sponsored by Delorean Dhillon

  • Sponsored Jennifer Blevins

  • Sponsored by Caroline & Ella Schellhas

    Bill and Rick (pictured farther down) were rescued together from being sent to slaughter. They are already larger than most of the pigs on the farm and are still growing!

  • Sponsored by Kathleen Cook

  • Sponsored by Robyn Nelson and a generous family

  • Sponsored by Steven Lauver

  • Sponsored by Stephanie Johnson and Kathy Rubis

  • Sponsored by Bobbi & Dave Pasternak

  • Sponsored by Margaret and Becca Hoover

  • Sponsored by Elizabeth Hill

  • Sponsored by Brett Small

  • Sponsored by Jennifer Andricosky

  • Sponsored by Kelly Ballard and Nick Jeffers

    One of our largest pigs, Wilbur’s breed, like Rick and Bill, are bred for slaughter. Wilbur thoroughly enjoys life and is truly “Some Pig”.

Mommas & Their Babies

The “Mommas & Their Babies” category highlights the sows (female pigs) who have given birth at the farm from 2020 through the present time. Please note: None of our “babies” are actual babies anymore in the physical sense; a pig can grow to its full size within 5 1/2 months from birth. Only Ray and Chipper are still tiny and they will most likely stay that way.

An average litter size for pigs is 7.5 but it is not uncommon for a sow to have 12-14 pigs per litter. As you will see below, the number of babies in a litter definitely varies. Even once the babies are fully grown, the families tend to stick together within the larger herd. They can often be seen sleeping or playing together.

Joy’s Family

Joy’s family is the only pig family at Hope & Serenity where the father remains a part of the unit; probably because he is also Joy’s son. (Yes, there was a little bit of inbreeding there). Joy gave birth to Ray and Chipper in September of 2022, making her family the most recent at H&S.

  • Sponsored by Paula & Amy Voith

    Joy was a surprise rescue. Her humans lost their home and made the tough decision to rehome her with us. She arrived at the farm the last week of September 2022 and the very next day gave birth to a litter of seven piglets. Sadly, only two of the seven have survived.

  • Kenny is the piglets’ daddy. He arrived on the farm a few weeks after Joy and since that day, the family is always together. They were all living in the barn while Ray and Chipper were super small but now that the piglets can venture out, the family spends most of their time under the porch snuggling together.

    Sponsored by Nikki & John DeMello

  • Sponsored by Amy & Abel Scherer

    Chipper is even tinier than his brother. The two boys tend to roam all over the front yard by day, looking for food. They will allow people to touch them, but are not super used to it yet.

  • Sponsored by Terri Lambert

    Ray and Chipper were the only males in the initial seven piglet litter and the only two to survive. It doesn’t appear that either of them will get any bigger so they will remain this cute forever!

Allison, Jane & Bindi’s Family

Allison, Bindi and Jane all gave birth at the same time (Dec 2021) and were boarded together during the nursing period. Therefore, we are unsure as to who is the biological mother to each individual baby. So all three of them are considered the mommas to the whole group as they would nurse any baby that needed milk.

  • Sponsored by Rachel Thomson and Erin Jansen

  • Sponsored by Russ and CJ Bouffard

  • Sponsored by Amy Garst

  • Sponsored by Jen Savory

    Paul is one of the friendliest pigs at H&S. If you hang out in the paddock long enough, he will find you and snuggle with you for as long as you want.

  • Sponsored by Beth Dellinger

    Vanellope is the one on top of her brothers in this picture.

  • Sponsored by Jennifer Littau and Beckett Thistle

  • Sponsored by Nina Nic

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  • Sponsored by Jennifer Cox

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  • Sponsored by Savannah Trocan

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  • Sponsored by Gwen Pirisino

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  • Sponsored by Paula Voith

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  • Sponsored by the North Family

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  • Sponsored by Hapreet Dhnaoya

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  • Sponsored by Serena Stepanovic

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  • Sponsored by Pat Adrounie & Debra Fisk

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  • Cappie is sponsored by Dawn Smith

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  • Dave is sponsored by the McNemeny Family

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  • Sponsored by Rylee

Paulina & Evelyn’s Family

Paulina and Evelyn gave birth at the same time as Jane, Allison and Bindi but were boarded in a different barn stall than the first three. There were over 36 babies born between the five mommas! All the babies were nursed and raised as a herd with two mommas. We refer to this litter as “The Presidents” as all but two are named for American presidents.

  • Sponsored by Anya Gladun

  • Sponsored by Bob Schellhas

  • Sponsored by the Turkel Family

  • Sponsored by the Kohne Family

  • Kennedy is sponsored by Karen McGirk

Poppy’s Family

In 2021, Poppy gave birth to nine babies who are now grown and live in the paddock. Because of Poppy’s disability, it is safer for her to live in the barn, but her babies often come back to her throughout the day and night for some momma love. She has recently migrated to spending her days in Renee’s front yard with the porch pigs. Since Poppy is the name of a flower, all of Poppy’s babies have been named after a flower (or a plant in Thistle’s case).

  • Sponsored by Liz Fee

    Poppy was found and rescued from a horse farm where she and several other animals had been abandoned. She arrived pregnant and with shoulder injury which we believe she received from being kicked by a horse. Unfortunately, her shoulder will never fully heal and now has a permanent limp.

  • Sponsored by Sharon Warner

  • Sponsored by Matthew Ciparis

  • Sponsored by Riley O’Casey & Kim Fleming

    As the runt of the litter, Lily is the most comfortable around people as she was held constantly as a baby.

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  • Sponsored by WolfPack

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  • Sponsored by Max Giannelli & Family

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  • Sponsored by Carolyn Perez

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  • Sponsored by Karie Change

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  • Sponsored by Lilly Greeves

  • Sponsored by Verity Gerni

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  • Sponsored by Geoff Horsfield

    Clover is one of our sweetest piggies. She loves to be pet and will plop for anyone. Plopping is when a pig rolls over so you can rub their belly. It is so cute!

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  • Sponsored by Meagan Carpenter & Linda Coleman

Mabel’s Family

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Claire and Maya families

Claire and Maya are both mother pigs that we rescued in 2024 from a farmer’s market in Reston where they were an attraction. Claire and her piglets are named for characters in the TV show Modern Family: Cam, Manny, Hailey, and Gloria. Maya came very pregnant and we expect her to give birth soon. We will be naming her piglets after poets.

  • Claire was rescued from the Reston Farmer’s Market in 2024. She is the mother of Cam, Manny, Gloria and Hailey.

    Sponsored by Karin Smith

  • Cam is a brown and white male piglet.

    His momma is Claire.

    Sponsored by Camille Thomas, Cami, and Laila Pereia

  • Maya is the second momma pig we rescued from a farmer’s market in Reston.

    We expect her to give birth soon.

  • Alex is a black male piglet. He has an adorable white streak on his forehead.

    His momma is Claire.

    Sponsored by Gigi Glessner

  • Manny is a black and male piglet.

    His momma is Claire.

    Sponsored by Amanda Budd

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  • Hailey is a pink female piglet.

    Her momma is Claire.

    Sponsored by Ashley Day, Alyssa Hacker, Dawn Smith, and Connie
    Thomson

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