Fay’s Emergency: How Your Support Helped Us Act Fast

You may have seen Fay at the very end of our livestream yesterday, resting in the wallow in the Enchanted Forest.

When we noticed she was missing from the produce party we went to check on her. Because if you know Fay, you know that is very unlike her.

It seems she went out after dinner and overextended herself, possibly while trying to get out of the wallow. Fay is a big girl, weighing around 840 pounds, so when something like this happens, we have to act quickly.

As many of you know, temperatures in the Catskills can shift fast. Even though the afternoon had been warm, the temperature drops quickly in the evening. The pigs love the forest because the ground stays cooler, but once the air cools down, a pig who is tired, stuck, or struggling can become chilled very quickly.

We worked fast to get Fay safely out of the wallow. It was not an easy task but we were able to get her loaded into the trailer, covered with blankets to help warm her and offered liquids to begin supporting her hydration.

Then we got on the road to Cornell.

As soon as we arrived, Fay had a full team of 10+ doctors and technicians working on her. They drew blood, performed an ultrasound, checked her veins, temperature, glucose, creatinine and other important markers.

Some of her initial results showed that her neutrophils were very high and her creatinine was elevated, so the Cornell team started supportive care right away. She was given fluids and monitored closely through the night. In simple terms, those numbers told us that her body had been through a lot of stress. Those values can point to inflammation, physical strain, dehydration or possible infection.

The biggest thing she needed was rest, hydration and time for her body to recover from the stress of the night.

We stayed in Ithaca overnight and went to visit Fay this morning. She seemed much brighter and had gotten some of her color back, which was such a relief to see.

For now, the team is giving her time to rest, especially her muscles, so her body can recover. We are waiting on another round of bloodwork to monitor how things are changing.

Fay’s emergency was also a reminder of just how much this Village matters.

Because of your support, we had the equipment, resources, and systems in place to respond quickly when Fay needed us. We had the truck and trailer ready. We had the stretcher and winch system, blankets, supplies, people and emergency funds available to get her safely loaded, stabilized, and on the road to Cornell without delay.

In moments like this, every membership, every donation, every share and every bit of support becomes something very real. It becomes the ability to act fast. It becomes emergency veterinary care. It becomes safe transport in the middle of a stressful night. It becomes a team of specialists waiting to help one very loved pig who needed them.

This is what your support makes possible.

Fay is not out of the woods yet, but she is exactly where she needs to be, receiving excellent care from the team at Cornell. We’ll keep you updated as we know more.

Please keep our sweet girl Fay in your thoughts. She is strong, deeply loved and surrounded by so many people rooting for her.

Thank you so much for being part of the Village that helps make lifesaving care like this possible.