August 2, 2002 to October 25, 2002
Born to a litter of pigs from an irresponsible and uncertified
breeder, Boris was sold for $100 to a family in the Twin Cities. Boris'
first month and a half of life was spent inside a small cat carrier,
which was in turn kept the in families back yard. Through a series of
weather extremes ranging from the high 80's to near freezing, pain and
solitude wracked Boris' frail existence. After a month of ownership,
Boris' new "family" placed an ad in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
where it was noted by Brigitte VerBout and Kenn White, staunch supporters
of Pigs Home N Rome. Offering to take Boris in as a rescue, Brigitte
had planned to give Boris a temporary foster home till he could be brought
to Pigs Home N Rome for its open house, October 26, 2002.Unfortunately,
months of abuse and neglect had rendered poor Boris' immune system completely
unable to deal with the many viruses and illnesses that had invaded
his little body. Months of sleeping in his own filth, mange infestation
and severe emaciation from malnutrition (he had been fed Guinea Pig
pellets) had left Boris difficult to even look at. He had developed
a case of pneumonia (fluidic infection of the lungs) which had escalated
into "plural friction rubbing of the lungs" (the outer lining
of his lungs had been rubbed off against his ribs as he attempted to
take larger breaths of air to compensate for the fluid which had built
up in his lungs). Boris was saved on October 16, 2002 by Brigitte &
Kenn. A few days after arriving in Brigitte and Kenn's home, little
Boris began to vomit up whole parasitic worms, indicating that Boris
had never even been de-wormed prior to his original placement. In addition,
he had zero body fat and little actual muscle mass due to the fact that
his nutrition starved body had begun to feed upon itself in a desperate
attempt to save itself. This had left Boris unable to walk more than
a few strained steps before he would collapse upon the ground in exhaustion.Brigitte
and Kenn knew that they had a special case which was beyond their abilities
and best intentions to aide, so Boris was taken to the Osceola Veterinary
Hospital and placed under the expert care of Dr. Johnson on Monday October
21, 2002. After only a few days of care, Boris died in his sleep in
the early hours of Friday, October 25, 2002 - only one day before he
would have been placed within the care of Pigs
Home N Rome.
Brigitte and Kenn accumulated over $350 in veterinary bills from their
attempt to save Boris from a life of neglect and abuse. Though their
efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, it is worth it to know that Boris'
last week on this Earth was spent in warmth, safety, and with the love
of a family he had never had the chance to know.Any amount that can
be donated to help Brigitte and Kenn pay for these bills are graciously
accepted and appreciated in the hopes that future rescue attempts will
not be discouraged, and that more of these special animals can be placed
with loving, caring families that would never seek to treat them with
such disdain and contempt. You can make a donation thru Pay Pal ~ use
the e-mail address of PigsHomeNRome@aol.com
mark it as "Boris Fundraiser"
*Necropsy results are pending and all records will be sent to The
Duchess Fund.
Thank you.
Brigitte & Kenn