One Last Ride with Blaze

Have you ever tried to move a pig before? Ever tried to move one that had been getting regular shea butter baths to keep his skin moisturized? I hadn't either. I am beyond grateful for two of my best friends for coming out early to help me load Blaze up into my jeep for what I didn't realize at the time would be his last ride.

He wasn't thrilled about it.

Once we were on the road he was content with stuffed animals snuggled next to him and my hand rubbing his face and ears. Any time I had to stop petting him he would stir and get restless.

Off we drove to Tufts. His ears were th softest velvet and he made his happy piggy grunts as I traced their shape, the way that they tied into the rest of his head and over to the other one. Did you know the softest spot on Blaze was the skin attaching his neck and his ears? I did. I also knew he loved to zone out in happy piggy land when I pet him there. So, I continued to pet him and tell him it was just a little bit longer and that he was doing so, so good. Just a little bit further. I sang his little Blazey song to him that I had learned from Nina, something that I did every day I got too see him. It would always get his tail wagging.

There were multiple possibilities for what had caused Blaze to stop eating grain. What we found upon examination at Tufts was not at all one we had considered or even dreamed of. His jaw bone was remodeling and compromised beyond anything we could do. The only option was to euthanize. While I knew there was a chance we would find something that could mean a shorter time with Blaze, this wasn't what I had anticipated. None of us saw this coming. I didn't know that when I dropped him off that morning it would be the last time I got to love on him.

I miss seeing him each day. I miss him noodling around behind me as I clean up. I miss hearing him talk to himself as he grazed. You're never prepared for the silence once they're gone. You never get used to it.