Peppa, the little pig who inspires

CLAYTON, New York (WWNY) - Meet Peppa, the spunky little pig who teaches us about the will to survive and thrive.

If there’s one thing Peppa loves, it’s a muddy puddle.

Every day, the pampered pig gets her mud baths, visits her barnyard friends, and is hand fed the finest of fruits.

“Every meal is a feast when you’re a little baby,” Garnsey’s Feral Acres owner Jeff Garnsey said.

By looking at her, you’d never know that she was on the brink of death at just two days old. She was born on a farm near Syracuse and her mother accidentally stepped on her, shattering Peppa’s rear leg.

Luckily, the owners got in contact with Garnsey, who runs a sanctuary for farm animals with special needs. He took her straight to the specialists.

“They said it was a fractured fibula and fractured and dislocated tibia,” he said. They wanted to make sure I was aware that the odds were greatly against Peppa of ever surviving the surgery and recovering. They said it was 1,000 to 1.”

The estimated cost was north of ten grand. The risk was astronomical, but Garnsey couldn’t help wondering...

“Is that one in 1,000 this one? And in her case, she is that one in a 1,000.”

Against all odds, little Peppa not only survived the surgery, she became a trailblazer for Cornell University’s animal hospital as the only pig to ever receive it and the smallest animal to ever have that surgery.

Garnsey started documenting her journey and she became a viral sensation of sorts, racking up millions of views and inspiring donations.

“After she had four surgeries and five casts and two CTs and one MRI and at least a dozen x-rays, those 2- and - dollar donations paid. They did everything she needed. I was 110% certain that when I needed it and when she needed, help was going to come.”

Now she’s a happy and healthy little pig, proving that even when the odds are against you, sometimes all you need is a chance.

“If there’s a chance that she can have a normal life, even if it’s just for today,” Garnsey said, “it kind of centers on why it’s so important to rescue animals.

What does her future hold? Well, an orthopedic hoof shoe eventually, but mostly just regular days with muddy puddles.

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