What would you do if you found a half-grown pig looking sick and lost wandering your neighborhood on a blustery, cold day? It was on such a day, that a gentleman named Sam found an abandoned pig barely alive in his Wisconsin Dells neighborhood. He pulled out a camp mattress as a barrier from the cold ground, wrapped the pig in a blanket, and held him next to his body to warm him. He called a vet asking for advice. The vet called Brenda and Jon Vetter, who operate SoL Criations Farm Sanctuary in Endeavor. The pig had hypothermia and would need a great deal of care, but they were willing to pick him up and do what they could.

It was so cold out the tires of the Vetter’s trailer were frozen to the ground. After Brenda freed them, she drove to the Dells and brought the pig, now named Sam after his rescuer, to SoL Criations. She warmed him and tried feeding him applesauce, but he wouldn’t eat or drink and started having seizures. She rushed him to the vet.

The vet was able to stabilize him but discovered he had a broken femur. Brenda and her husband brought him to Madison’s UW Veterinarian Care and found out the risky procedure on his leg would cost around $10,000. Fortunately, a CT scan showed that the leg had already started to heal, so they opted to keep Sam confined and let it continue healing. During the months of keeping this young pig immobile, not an easy task, Brenda, Jon, and their three girls visited him often in his shelter which was in the warm adjoining garage. The family fell in love with him, and he adored their attention and belly rubs.

Today, if you arrange for a tour of SoL Criations, you’ll get to meet Sam. He’s over 700 pounds now. Once you enter his pen, be prepared. He’ll probably hurry over and roll on his side hoping for a belly rub.

SoL Criations’ website includes photos of Sam, adorable alpacas, rescued chickens, goats, sheep, feathered friends, and several more pigs including Annabelle and Wemberly. They were born on a factory farm where they were taken from their mothers at only 21 days old. A worker found Wemberly freezing, scared, and forgotten in the transport trailer. The SoL Criations’ website states, “When Wemberly arrived, she was 16 pounds and very sick. She was in the hospital with pneumonia when we got the call one week later about Annabelle.” Annabelle, too, was found abandoned. The Vetters knew that the pigs would do better together, so they brought tiny Annabelle home, too. Sadly, Annabelle died a year ago, but she got to live out the rest of her life in a loving home.

Brenda spoke passionately about her abhorrence for factory farms or “concentrated animal feeding operations,” which are often set back where people don’t see them. The animals are confined in small spaces and never go outside. Once they’re big enough, they’re sent to slaughter.

Brenda and Jon never intended to raise animals let alone establish a sanctuary on their plot of land, but they fell in love with alpacas and started an alpaca farm in 2011. They began breeding, sheering, and selling alpaca fiber. There was just one small problem. Once the babies were born, she and Jon knew they couldn’t sell them. The sanctuary arose naturally because of their love of animals. They strive to educate visitors about the reality of the lives of animals raised as food for humans. SoL Criations operates 100% by volunteers and donations. (Sam, for instance, is currently looking for a sponsor.)

Check out SoL Critations’ website, https://www.solcriations.com/, which includes a fitting quote about love touching the hearts of many, evidence of how a single person can create a snowball effect. One good deed builds on another, resulting in a happy ending and a better world for all.