Mazie & Millie

       Today, I don't have too much to blog about! The events of today were practically the same as yesterday: morning feedings, socializing the piglets, tour of Jeffrey's, lunch, afternoon feedings, mucking the pig pens, walking Tobias, and going home early since I completed all of my tasks in the afternoon! (The staff was at a meeting all afternoon, so they left me alone with the pigs. But I wasn't complaining!)

       The tour of Jeffrey's House, one of the Dogtown builidings, was a really cool tour. It was lead by Carissa, who is a trainer at Dogtown. Carissa specializes in dogs with severe fear-aggression, and she's also worked with feral dogs. At Best Friends, they use a color-coded collar system to classify the dogs. Green collar means anyone can handle the dog, purple collar means the handler must be 18+, and red collar means staff only. Majority of the dogs that are kept at Jeffrey's are 'red collar dogs', and basically all of the dogs at Jeffrey's have some form of fear-aggression; whether it's guarding their food, or meeting new people... These dogs are extremely unpredictable and capable of doing serious harm. So for the tour, Carissa took us around the perimeter of the fenced-in runs and talked to us about each dog. I won't go into detail because the stories of some of the dogs are pretty horrific and infuriating. But overall, Carissa said that all of the dogs at Jeffrey's have made tremendous progress and have come so far! A lot of the dogs will live out their lives at Best Friends, but some of the dogs are able to be adopted (to the right home, and the right person).

       Socializing the piglets is always a fun time! I worked with Mazie and Millie again today. And I managed to capture some pictures of the cutie pies! Not sure why, but Mazie is my favorite! :) They're still super shy and afraid of me, but hopefully by the end of the week, we'll be able to see some progress!

This is Millicent AKA Millie :)

And this is my girl, Mazie! I just think she has the sweetest eyes :)

       Out of the two of them, Millie is definitely more outgoing than Mazie. Millie can tolerate being touched and pet, but Mazie still jumps each time you touch her! The process of socializing pigs is super similar to that of dogs. Shelters and rescues both care about socialization for one reason: the more social and friendly an animal is, the more likely she is to get adopted! So, the task of socialization is very important, and I will do whatever I can to make these little angels more adoptable! As the days go on, the hope is that Mazie and Millie will start to recognize my voice and my presence, and in turn, they'll get more comfortable with me! I will let you know how it goes :)