.Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary caregiver Emily Gundlach of Kent gives Oreo the Pig from Campbell a slight push away from the fence while tending to the recovering pig.. Staff photo / R. Michael Semple

RAVENNA — Oreo has learned what it’s like to be a pig since being rescued nine months ago.

On most days, the pot-bellied gal can be found sunbathing or making a bed for herself in the shade with hay and blankets. She also enjoys rooting around with her penmates, Roxie, Moo and Pigtoria.

Oreo is at Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ravenna, where she has spent the last several months healing from the conditions created at her last residence in Campbell.

Now she’s ready for a new home.

Happy Trails’ primary mission is answering the call of law enforcement to help animals in situations of neglect and abuse. The sanctuary works with the Animal Welfare League in Trumbull County, Animal Charity of Ohio in Mahoning County and other humane agents in Portage County, Summit County and even Pennsylvania.

OREO’S PLIGHT

Oreo was rescued last July. Campbell police found her in what the report described as “dungeonlike conditions.” She was lying in her own urine and feces because she was so overweight and her hooves were so overgrown that it was hard for her to move.

“The house was dark and dirty and unsafe. I followed officers to the basement where they led me to a room with bare cement walls. As I approached, I smelled dampness, urine, feces and filth. What I saw was heart-wrenching evidence of the fact that a human called this home. What I focused on was the large potbelly pig lying on her side amid the torn and tattered blankets, gnats circling her body,” Laurie Jackson, Happy Trails executive director, said in a recent newsletter.

At the time of her rescue, Oreo weighed 188 pounds. This is less than the 300 pounds she was estimated to be before she was actually weighed, but still more than a pot-bellied pig should weigh. Lissy Kuhn, donor stewardship coordinator at Happy Trails, said the weight of pot-bellied pigs can vary, but a healthy adult should be between 100 to 150 pounds.

Oreo was born in October 2020 and lived with her previous owners since she was just a few days old. She was so overweight when she first came to Happy Trails that Kuhn said she was “fat blind,” meaning fatty deposits around her eyes prohibited her from being able to see very well.

Thanks to a healthy diet and exercise, Oreo has lost 63 pounds since her rescue. She can now see her world better, but the effects of her past size still weigh on her. She has arthritis, and her front legs are permanently splayed, meaning her legs bend outward at the knee.

This is because she used to be so overweight that her legs could not support her, and her hooves were so overgrown that she could not walk on them.

Kuhn said it breaks her heart to see animals that are so overweight that they are clearly uncomfortable.

“Seeing this isn’t normal for us,” she said. “It’s a journey when we have animals that come to us like this. We wish we could fast-forward to the time when they will be healthy and happy and in a loving home, but it’s a journey to get them there.”

To get Oreo to a healthy weight, Emily Gundlach, a caregiver at Happy Trails, said she and the other caregivers worked with her to walk little bits at a time, slowly increasing the distance.

A couple of months after her rescue, Oreo was able to get up and walk around by herself. Now, she has no problem going where she wants and enjoys being outside.

Kuhn said just like for dogs and cats, there is special food for pigs, which Oreo has been eating since she arrived at Happy Trails. Kuhn said the food is good because it ensures the pigs are eating a balanced diet.

THE KLINES

Shawn Kline, 27, and Cortney Kline-Carnes, 36, of Chambers Street, each pleaded guilty in Campbell Municipal Court on Jan. 20 to cruelty to animals. They were each to serve a 30-day jail sentence, but neither self-reported to the Mahoning County jail.

An arrest warrant was issued for Kline on March 2 after he did not show up to jail on Feb. 28. A warrant was issued for Kline-Carnes on April 21 after she did not appear on April 1.

The two were arrested in Youngstown on April 24, according to police.

As part of their sentencing, neither can own an animal for the next five years. They were each given 90-day jail sentences, with 60 days suspended. They are now serving their 30 days.

The process of police and Happy Trails removing Oreo was long. Campbell police knew a pig was living in the residence by late April 2022. At the time, Happy Trails did not have the room. Space opened up in June, but Kline and Kline-Carnes told police they had removed the pig.

Neighbors later told police that was not true. On July 8, police served a search warrant.

According to the police report, Kline called officers, angry that they were taking Oreo. He said to them on the phone: “You better not move that pig, I am on my way there now! If you even think of removing my pig I am going to rage, and I will kill all you (explicit) there.”

Soon after Oreo was removed from the home, Kline-Carnes created a petition to get Oreo back. It stated: “We have a sweet, innocent, loving and caring potbelly pig. She was wrongfully taken by zoning and the police. She doesn’t deserve this; we don’t deserve this.

“Our hearts have been completely ripped out. She is more than a potbelly pig, she is our best friend. She is literally like our child to us. Our whole entire world has been flipped upside down.”

HAPPY TRAILS

Happy Trails was founded as a nonprofit 23 years ago. Kuhn said it started with one pig’s rescue and a small building and has grown to around 200 animals and 11 acres.

Currently, Oreo, just like all the other animals at Happy Trails, is looking for a new home.

“What Oreo is looking for in a new home is for someone to give her love, a nice bed and the opportunity to go outside and be a pig,” Kuhn said.

She will need regular veterinary care, including tusks and hooves trimming, and is on medication. Oreo is about 2 1/2 years old. Kuhn said pig’s lifespans are similar to those of dogs, so whoever adopts Oreo still has many years left with her.

Kuhn said Happy Trails gets animals from all over and gets people who adopt from all over, and everyone is thoroughly vetted to ensure safety of the animals.

Animals from Happy Trails have found new homes as far away as Montana and Missouri.

“We’re really here to facilitate the best match between our animals and our adopters,” Kuhn said.

She said even after an animal is adopted, the sanctuary will continue to work with the families and will give support.

For those who can’t adopt, Happy Trails also offers a sponsorship program, which allows people to contribute to the cost of food, shelter and veterinary care for farm animals and horses rescued from situations of abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Happy Trails offers refuge for all farm animals, including pot-bellied pigs, farm pigs, horses, roosters, alpacas, llamas, cows, goats, duck and geese. The sanctuary offers an owner relinquishment program and an Amish horse retirement program.

escott@tribtoday.com