Meet Elbert - and Kudos to Lydia

Here is a video of Elbert, a pig rescued from neglect by pig e-friend Lydia. As you will see he has undergone a strict diet & exercise regimen, and the progress has been remarkable. Lydia has done an amazing job with him! Congrats!

Here is a description of Lydia's "program" to save Elbert:

Elbert was fed free choice Science Diet dog food for years. He was kept on a concrete floor with a litterpan, even in the summer....no outside time because he got so fat, and his feet were so neglected he could not walk at all. He lived like this until the age of 6 when he arrived at my house last August (2008).

He was estimated at 250lbs + when he got here but with some time and dieting he is now about 140-150lbs and mobile.

I fed him 3/4 cup of the Mazuri Elder twice a day, plus lots of low cal veggies. We have a huge garden so every day he got salad, tomatoes, squash, zuchinni, watermelon rinds, cantaloupe rinds, etc. These are mostly water filled items and while they taste great and are satisfying, they don't pack on pounds readily. I gave him several cups of the veggies....whichever I had extra of....every day.

Exercise was critical to Elbert's success. At first he was not strong enough to support his own body weight, even after getting his feet trimmed so he could stand. I would use a grape to bait him around the stall. First few days he could only walk about 4 or 5 steps before going back to his knees. We built on it every day. I would never take his food to him, but made him come across the 12ft stall to get his meals. No matter which spot he chose to lie down, I made him move to eat. Over time he got stronger and stronger.

At first he would eat on his knees, but now he stands to eat. He is finally out and about, doing remarkably well all things considered. His knees ar permanently bent and he takes meloxicam for that, but even there he is going much better, and I have cut way back on his dose.

Here is a video we did of Elbert that chronicles his long and rather arduous journey. He's been here 10 months and really has made remarkable progress. Likely he's about as good as he will ever be and The Snelbert stands as the poster child for what NOT to do with a pig food-wise. I don't forsee an exceptionally long life for him, with his leg problems arthritis will likely take him fairly young, but I am determined to make whatever years he has very, very happy years.