Fossil Vista Ranch - Animal Sanctuary

05/23/2025

Piggy adventures!

03/24/2025

Sweeney, our beloved traveling duck, has crossed the rainbow bridge. He was the first official resident of our sanctuary, coming to us the second day after opening. He had a long and adventurous life, from educational outreach, furthering research and identification techniques for wild intersex mallards, trips to the pet store (he loved to pick out his own toys), and a regular visitor to the CMU campus and The Art Center. I know that there are many who loved him - if anyone wants to celebrate and remember him, feel free to add your favorite pics and stories here! We’ll miss you, Sweeney - especially Livi, your piggie best friend. You were such a good little friend and partner in crime. ♥️ 🦆♥️

01/14/2025

Part of Poppy’s sanctuary journey is piggie weight loss! It’s very easy for mini pigs to become overweight - they’re designed to pack on pounds, and many foods (even the ones designed for minis) do not take their low-sugar, low-fat dietary needs into account. We’re very proud of how much Poppy has lost since arriving here in October! Her hair, skin, eyes, ears, and hooves have all also improved with her slimmer figure. She will continue to loose fat over time, thanks to her new diet and greatly improved mobility! Yay, Poppy!! Top two are day 1, bottom two are today.

01/09/2025

01/08/2025

Pinecone got to meet the big goats today! Everyone was very nice to him, especially the “herb twins” Yarrow and Fennel. Mr. Cone will be ready to transition over full time soon!

01/04/2025

Chai needed glamor shots in Sebby’s dinosaur costume before she got too big! RAWR!

12/26/2024

Happy Holidays to all of our friends and followers!

08/23/2024

Mama Burgie crossed the rainbow bridge - she’ll be so missed, both by the little piggies she raised and the humans that loved her.

08/12/2024

Sweet Burgie - a dumped and abandoned mini pig we saved from the desert - is having health troubles. Please help if you can! We love Hog Haven Farm!!

This week is already off to a stressful start, with a vet appointment for mama Burgie first thing this morning. We noticed that Burgie looked a little bloated last week, and preemptively scheduled an appointment; her belly became significantly more distended over the weekend.

Our initial thought was constipation, but unfortunately this special lady has fluid built up in her abdomen. We aren’t sure on the cause at this time, but Dr. Ali is speculating cancer or a heart condition. We spent over 2.5 hours at the clinic, where Dr. Ali was able to express ~3L of fluid to make Burgie more comfortable. She is back home now, and will be on medications to help pass the fluid, as well as house arrest so we can monitor her closely.

Burgie will have a follow up appointment next week, or sooner if things don’t progress well over the next few days.

This year has been hard. We try to keep our pages and updates lighthearted and educational, but much of this year has felt like we’re drowning and keep up. We really need your support right now—donations are at an all time low, and we are struggling. Burgie’s visit was just shy of 8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ today; if you could help out with her care, we’d be so grateful ❤️

Commenting and sharing helps a ton, too! Thank you for helping us help the pigs ❤️

07/30/2024

Monster turned 6 weeks old yesterday! She’s getting so big - still Freya’s bestie, though. I don’t know if that dog will ever realize her baby is a goat!

07/27/2024

Awe!!! She’s so special ♥️

Mama Burgie has one of the best smiles, hands down. One of the most special residents at Hog Haven, Burgie is near and dear to our hearts 🩵

From being bred repeatedly, to being abandoned in the desert, to having her ears ripped off from a dog or a predator, to finally finding sanctuary where she could adopt piglets to be her kiddos, this girl is pure magic.