A Pig, a Nursing Home, and.. Captain Crunch?!
3 minute read - December 4th 2024
Odin on his lunch break
At the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Kansas, the morning shift begins with an unusual ritual. As residents gather in the common room, they're not waiting for their medication or breakfast – they're waiting for Odin, a small pig with a taste for Captain Crunch cereal, to clock in for his day job.
An Unusual Visitor
When maintenance worker Brett Martin first asked to bring his pet pig to work at the Good Samaritan Society care home, he got some skeptical looks. After all, pigs aren't exactly standard therapy animals. But Odin, a Juliana pig (one of the smallest pig breeds), quickly proved that sometimes the best medicine comes with four hooves and a love for Captain Crunch cereal.
He's a bit of a social butterfly…
"He's an instant stress reliever for everyone who interacts with him," Brett shares. The nurses regularly "borrow" Odin to visit the memory care center, where his gentle presence brings comfort and joy to residents who might be struggling with their daily challenges.
For 62-year-old resident Mindy Howell, feeding and petting Odin was a first-time experience that brought unexpected delight. "I gave him some Cap'n Crunch cereal and he really seemed to enjoy it," she says. "I'd never fed a pig before, and I'd never petted one either. But he loved it, and he gave me a good oink."
It’s not you, its me
We like to put animals into neat categories. Dogs and cats belong in our homes. Pigs belong in fields.
But animals consistently defy these boxes we try to put them in. A pig can be as comforting as any therapy dog, can build relationships with people and even, in Odin’s case, use a litter box!
You might think it’s over-the-top, but there’s no denying that she looks fabulous right now..
In some cultures, people wouldn’t dream of bringing dogs into the home - they’re for work and guarding your property. While, in the USA, we spend over 12 billion on accessories for our pets, like faux leather car seat boosters for dogs and $40,000 ball gowns for dogs.
The way we treat animals has far more to do with us and the way we see them, than it does to do with them.
Sure, I wouldn’t recommend Brett starts bringing a leopard to the old folks home. But the hard lines we draw between what different kinds of animals are ‘for’ are really a lot more fuzzy than we might think. Odin, who happily shares his workspace with visiting therapy dogs and cats, didn't get the memo about these fixed boundaries.
This makes it even more heartbreaking when we think about the ways in which we treat some animals in our society. The pigs in factory farms are just as capable of friendship, joy, and connection as Odin. The only real difference is the story we've chosen to tell about their purpose.
Until next time,
P.S. If you're moved by how animals like Odin can touch our lives, consider supporting organizations working to protect factory-farmed animals in need.
