When Todd Friedman stumbled upon a backyard slaughterhouse while searching for land to purchase, he found more than just property - he found Arthur, which inspired a life-changing mission. This is the story of how Arthur's Acres Animal Sanctuary was born, and the amazing work they do rescuing and caring for pigs in need. Meet Arthur and Todd, and some of the other nearly 50 rescue pigs like Prim, Paulie Walnuts, and Maya, and witness their incredible journeys of healing and hope.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Walking past knives in the pasture where they were slitting the animals' throats.
00:04And I'm like, what am I doing?
00:08In the middle of nowhere.
00:09I mean, we're in the middle of nowhere.
00:10So I'm like, what am I doing here?
00:20Well, I definitely didn't want to buy a slaughterhouse.
00:24It was a muddy mess with, unfortunately, dead bodies everywhere.
00:28But none of this kind of thing was here.
00:30This is like a swamp.
00:31There's tires and pallets.
00:34And just garbage and garbage.
00:38I, in no way, wanted to purchase this place, live at this place, or be here for another minute.
00:46But I found Arthur.
00:47You're a very good boy.
00:49You're a very good boy.
00:55This is where he was found.
00:58This is his living quarters.
01:04I don't know if you can see the flies.
01:06Hi!
01:07You're a good boy, Arthur.
01:09Arthur is the OG PIG.
01:12I said to the agent, I said, I'm taking the pig.
01:14He goes, what do you mean?
01:15He's like, are you kidding?
01:16I said, I'm serious as a heart attack.
01:18I'm taking this pig with me.
01:19He looked at me the minute I saw him, and he knew.
01:21He gave everything to me.
01:22He looked at me and he said, you need to change this place from a place of horror to a place of healing.
01:31Since that second of that day, we both have never lived a life we thought we had lived.
01:38The determination to take a place where so many animals died to turning into a place where so many animals live and thrive.
01:51I was working in a sanctuary for two years.
01:57I was volunteering in rescue and knew I wanted to focus on pigs.
02:02And it just so happens the property I looked at, there was abandoned pigs.
02:06I have some big news, Arthur.
02:08We closed on the property.
02:09Are you very excited?
02:10Are you very excited?
02:11Arthur's Acres is all yours.
02:14All yours.
02:15It was kismet.
02:16It was supposed to happen.
02:17Yay!
02:18There's 47 pigs currently living here.
02:21And we've saved hundreds more.
02:24His capacity to care for them and just give them unconditional love, you see it reflected in the animals.
02:30Hi, bobe! Hi, bobe!
02:33From the day they arrive here, it's literally the first day of the rest of their life.
02:38The basics that go into a normal day that has to get done is feeding,
02:42waters, cleaning, meds, hoof trims, tusk trims, supplements, and health checks.
02:51Oh, did you want some?
02:53There you go, Max.
02:54That's a big one, Max.
02:56We take in cases that need severe medical care.
02:59He was attacked by a dog that perforated his brain,
03:01and he had a brain surgeon that had part of his skull removed to relieve the pressure.
03:06A lot of them get laser therapy and physical therapy treatment,
03:08so we were able to do that when it calms down after feeding,
03:11and everybody settled in for the night.
03:17I come up every Tuesday after work, and I volunteer my time,
03:20and I treat as many pigs as I can.
03:22I'm here sometimes until 9, 10 o'clock at night.
03:24Very cute one.
03:25Oh, she's adorable.
03:26It was the beginning of Arthur's Acres.
03:35We were just starting.
03:36We were called about three pigs that were locked in a shed in the middle of the woods,
03:41left to die.
03:43They were sleeping on each other's backs not to drown in their own feces.
03:47There was no muscle mass, there was no fat on them, they were skeletons.
03:56Prim was very standoffish, really wanted nothing to do with humans,
04:00and he can't blame her.
04:06Wow.
04:08They did it.
04:21They did it.
04:22Prim and Rue had to go to Cornell to get Spade.
04:24Prim was scared to death.
04:26I sat down to say goodbye to them,
04:28that I'd come pick them up in a few days, that they were safe,
04:31and Prim, she put her head against my chest on the ground
04:35and would not let me leave.
04:40And she didn't connect with me at all before that.
04:42She wanted nothing to do with me.
04:44She was almost like apologizing, like,
04:46I'm sorry, don't leave me here.
04:47Like, she was afraid she was going to be tortured again.
04:51After she came home, she walks up to me every day,
04:54rubs her head up and down my leg, and walks away.
04:57Like, hey, we're good, I love you.
04:59It's the greatest thing, and it just makes you so happy.
05:06You know, 700 pounds of brown fury.
05:09So I'm assuming Zumi's equal happiness.
05:11100%.
05:12There's no other, yeah, there's not even,
05:15there's no interpretation besides pure joy.
05:21Good morning, sunshine.
05:22You've been working so hard.
05:24I have a really good treat.
05:26I've been baking all the morning, and I roasted some pumpkin.
05:29I was called by a woman who actually sold a horse trailer.
05:33She had to go repossess it.
05:35The pig's living in there,
05:36and the owner at the time doesn't care what happens to the pig.
05:39When you saw him, it was shocking.
05:42Hi.
05:44I'm here to rescue you.
05:45I got cookies for you.
05:46Hi.
05:48We're going to go to a nice place.
05:50This little body was trying to carry this tremendous weight.
05:53Oh, poor baby.
05:55You're a little heavy.
05:57All the rolls, no beastness, and you couldn't even see his feet.
06:02It struck a chord, and people were like, this is sad.
06:05This is not funny anymore.
06:07This is sad.
06:14Oh, you got a big smile, sir.
06:16You got a big smile, sir.
06:18They tell me their names.
06:19I look at them, and I just instantly think of their names.
06:21Polly Walnuts.
06:22I was obsessed with The Sopranos.
06:24I'm Polly Walnuts.
06:26Polly Walnuts was a character, and it fits, and it, like, there's...
06:30I don't know if there's any more of a perfect name.
06:32He walks around like a little mafia guy, so...
06:34It wasn't like a pig that was just getting used to being in a new environment.
06:45He was getting used to his new skin.
06:47Polly Walnuts is a little cranky today.
06:49He doesn't really want to go outside.
06:50Tonight, the sun's out.
06:52So he gets mad, because I take the board, and I push him around, and I make him walk.
06:59He just gained his life back.
07:02Became this loving character who liked to swim, and go in mud pits, and enjoy his life,
07:08and roll around in dirt and mud.
07:10It's so weird.
07:11You never saw this before.
07:13You like it, Mr. Walnuts?
07:14First time I'd snow, man.
07:16Then we introduced him to Rosie, who was another pig that was obese, and they fell in love.
07:23So not only did he come here and adjust to his new body and new life and new friends,
07:29he found the love in his life.
07:31We didn't know what he needed until he got here.
07:33Get that exercise going.
07:35We're sweating to the oldies over here, buddy.
07:38And I think he struck a chord as in people because he was, like, so broken and needed so much love and so much care.
07:50You're doing so good.
07:52You're losing so much weight.
07:54I think you're running.
07:55Are you running?
07:56And every day got more friendly and more loving and more understanding where he was in the safe place,
08:02and this is where he needed to be to get better, to heal.
08:05Yeah, you did it.
08:06You did it.
08:07You did it.
08:08That was good.
08:10That was good, sir.
08:15Maya was part of a balanced situation.
08:19A woman had pigs.
08:20She would come home from work.
08:22A pig would be shot.
08:23She'd come home from work.
08:24A pig would be hung.
08:25Her partner was abusing them, sticking his fingers down her throat and choking her.
08:31So they brought Maya Miles to a foster situation, but then the man was stalking the foster.
08:46No matter where they came from, that was still their home.
08:49So when you pick them up and bring them from their home to a new location, they're still missing that.
08:54You want an apple?
08:55I had a crib in the house in my room.
09:00They didn't want to be in the crib.
09:03They wanted to be in bed, so they slept in bed with me, and we're attached.
09:07A little.
09:08Oh!
09:09God!
09:10God!
09:11God!
09:12God!
09:13God!
09:14God!
09:15God!
09:16We're kind of bonded, as you can see, and I don't hate it.
09:20It's just like you would think a family pet.
09:23Like, as soon as I come in, she looks up and she bee-lines to me.
09:27This is true love.
09:28This is unconditional love.
09:29This is an animal that was severely abused by a human being and just can't get any closer to me.
09:45What impact does working here have on your life?
09:48Oh, wow.
09:50Most people come here and are blown away and can't really believe how loving these animals are.
10:03They can't.
10:04Arthur's Acres has had a profound impact on my life.
10:08It's a sanctuary for animals, but it's also a sanctuary for people.
10:11You know, when I drive down the road and I see that dove, nothing else matters.
10:15It's therapeutic for me personally and also just to be part of their lives and to be able to make a difference.
10:19For each individual.
10:20There's a saying, you know, that says that you can't save every animal or you can't make a difference for every animal,
10:25but you can make a difference for that one being.
10:27People say we're the voice of the voiceless.
10:30They clearly have a voice.
10:32We're just not listening.
10:36Animals are here with us, not for us.
10:38They haven't been put on the planet so we can use and abuse how we want.
10:44I didn't have the foresight to see what this place could have been or is now
10:47because of how bad it was.
10:49Arthur.
10:50Arthur.
10:56Arthur basically showed me I can do it.
11:02To change a horrible place, a horrible situation.
11:06And I honestly, looking back, I don't know how I saw the vision I saw.
11:11I just felt like there was so much death here.
11:16There was so much death.
11:17There was bone saws in here.
11:20There was knives.
11:21There's like a chip company in town and they would just feed him the leftover stuff from there.
11:30I always say he's the real founder of Arthur's Acres because this place did not exist without him and I would never have done this.
11:35And he knows that I saved him and I know he inspires me.
11:41Every day that I see him, I'm like, hey, you did this.
11:44He is the inspiration.
11:45He is the motivation.
11:46He is the heart and soul of here.
11:48He did it a hundred percent.
11:50Like he is the true founder and people laugh when they say that.
11:52And I fully mean that and I fully believe that.
11:55I love this place.
11:56You know, it's still a work in progress, but it would have been nowhere without him.
11:59Nowhere without him.