From “Charlotte’s Web” to “Babe,” pigs have a way of capturing our hearts. These stories, along with the ones about our friends at Farm Sanctuary, champion pigs as individuals—not meat. Some are spunky, some are mischevous, others shy, but all are sentient and emotive beings who deserve lives free from harm. On National Pig Day, held annually on March 1st, we celebrate our porcine pals and pay homage to the millions of pigs still slaughtered for meat in the United States each year. Each is “some pig” in his or her own way: It’s simply up to us to pay attention.

At Farm Sanctuary, every day is a tender celebration. After escaping lives steeped in heartache, our animal residents get the chance to love again––and every bond gives us hope.

Dogs are “man’s best friend.” Cats rule our homes—and the Internet. So where do turkeys fit into our lives? Some might argue, “on a plate.” In 2019, the United States slaughtered and processed nearly 230 million turkeys as food. Roughly 20 percent—46 million—were killed just for Thanksgiving, a.k.a. “Turkey Day.” It’s a fate we would never subject to our companion animals. But Thor, Lady Sif, Freyja, Brunnhilde, and Sheila turkeys were companions. Their former owner, a small hobby farmer, refused to let any harm befall them—even though most other farmers would raise them for meat.

It was the weekend of the 92nd Academy Awards when two cows scored the victory of a lifetime. Liberty, a three-year-old Wagyu cow, was about to face slaughter at a California beef plant. Instead, she gave birth to a baby girl: a life-affirming event that wound up saving them both.

The Sanctuary movement has a hand in transforming the way people view and treat farm animals. Since Farm Sanctuary’s inception 35 years ago, we’ve placed thousands of animals, including Lily, Opal, and Jyn cows, with families who value them as companions—not commodities.

In 1986, Farm Sanctuary launched the farm animal rescue and Sanctuary movement. It continues to grow because others—like our Sanctuary friends at Odd Man Inn—are growing with us.

All Boots wanted was a family. He was a twin, and his mother only had the strength to feed one lamb, so she had rejected him shortly after birth. To make matters worse, they lived on a sheep farm that breeds lambs for meat.

We’re grateful to be collaborating for the sixth year in a row with Treeline Cheese, and to share more inspiring stories of dairy survivors like Pietro.

This is as much Otis’s rescue story as it is the chance to honor the unnamed calf who helped him find Sanctuary. Otis and this calf lived on the same beef farm. And if things had gone according to plan, both calves would have been killed.

Roosters are great providers and devoted protectors.