Archimedes' is thrilled to announce our partnership with the Pig Placement Network! Its mission? Rescue unwanted, abused or abandoned pet pigs and place them into new, loving homes. Founded in 1998 by Susan Armstrong-Magidson, PPN has rescued and adopted out 1400 pigs. At any given time, 135 pigs are lounging about at Susan's Ross Mill Farm awaiting their perfect family.
It costs PPN about $130 every month to care and nurture each of those pigs—a whole lot of money for the nonprofit. And so Archimedes' is going to donate $5 to PPN for every signed Assholes Need Love Too book sold. (Each will come with an original doodle by amazing artist Maggie McMahon.)
After all, one of the stars of our illustrated adult parody is Wilbur, the rescued pig. (Susan says she has about a dozen Wilbur's at Ross Mill and she loves each and every one of them!) Reflecting on the book, animal advocate and author, Anne Beall, says, "For anyone who has ever dealt with a difficult animal or loved one who is an a-hole, this book will hit home. Funny and poignant, the book shows us that animals are just like humans and they vary from the lovely to the not so lovely. But they all teach us that in the end, all animals have a place in this world. Great illustrations and funny dialogue. A must read for any animal lover who wants a laugh.”
So very true! Here's hoping you can help the Pig Placement Network and their precious adoptable pigs by purchasing a signed edition of Assholes Need Love Too and spreading the word!
Check out the fun video above—guaranteed to make you smile—and read on to find out how great of a pet pigs can make for the right family. (We're also blowing up the myth that has made PPN's mission so vital:
This little piggy went "Wee, wee, wee all the way home!"
And if she's a lucky piggy her home is at Ross Mill in bucolic Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Susan Armstrong-Magidson has been raising and saving potbellied pigs for 25 years. "A lot of people are calling them teacup, micro minis or nano pigs. They’ve got a dozen different names for them but really it’s just branding them as if they were really small animals and they’re not. They’re a good 100 pounds.” The little ones always grow up even if they’re branded as teacup. “That’s right," Susan tells me as an assortment of pigs snuffle around our feet. "They’re going to grow up and they’re going to get bigger.”
That's exactly why Susan's Pig Placement Networkends up with so many abandoned piggies like her family pig, the very large Louie. "This is my micro mini teacup," Susan says with a wry smile as she scratches his belly in her kitchen. Louis immediately flops over. "And all I have to do is give him a little pet like this and down he goes for his belly rub. Now when I got him he was four pounds and four ounces and he was flown in from Kansas City.”Louie's previous owner apparently had no idea he would grow and grow and grow.
“Hi Oinks. Hi beautiful boy!” says Susan as leaves crackle under our feet. We've made our way back outside to a series of big pens. Sir Oinks A Lot used to live in Philadelphia (a zoning violation in case you're wondering). His owner left the country and left him behind abandoned and stuck in his home. The landlord found him and Sir Oinks ended up at Philadelphia's municipal shelterACCT Philly. They gave me a call-- needed some help with a rescue. So, I called Susan.
Ross Mill Farm is not a rescue and not a sanctuary but occasionally, when they can, they'll save piggies in need, like Oinks who is still looking for his forever home.
If you've ever thought about adopting a potbellied pig, just remember they get big. And don't think you're getting a dog. Pigs are like children. “Their expectations are that they’ll be more like a dog and that their discipline will be more like a dog and it’s more like a child. It is. I mean time out works wonders. Being more childlike is both a plus and a minus, because if you’re not expecting that animal to be that intelligent it does play a toll,” says Susan who adds that many a piggy parent gets outsmarted by their pet pig.
Ross Mill Farm boards pigs short term and long term (for when families have their lives upended but they don't want to get rid of their piggy family member). For rescues like Sir Oinks A Lot, they provide all the veterinary care, food and board, but that takes a lot of money. So you can sponsor a homeless pig through the Pig Placement Network and you can donate to Ross Mill Farm.
And if you're in the market for a new, very smart family member, head up to Jamison, Pennsylvania where bundles of love-- big and small-- are waiting for their forever family. Fosters are also always needed.
Ross Mill Farm also makes premium pig food, harnesses and outerwear (pigs are just like us and cannot stand the extreme heat or frigid cold well).
They go by many names: The Cowboy Cat Wrangler, The Mad Catter, The Original TrapKing, Deputy Diana, El Gato (okay, that last one is the luchador loving, costume wearing, cat fancying, trapper extraordinaire of a YouTube influencer who happens to star in an upcoming volume of our fictional Gata Unbound book series)...
Join us for a conversation with the inspiring Anne E. Beall, a cat advocate and aficionado, and author of Community Cats; Heroic, Helpful and Caring Cats; Heartfelt Connections; and many other besides! A Yale university graduate, researcher and founder and CEO of Beall Research Inc., Anne's books not only entertain, but also educate. Whether she's writing a detailed, insightful book about community cats (feral or friendly!) or analyzing Grimm's fairy tales with her signature market research, you're bound to love what you've read and learned.
