From the president
March 2025
Dear Supporter,
“Mary! The smiles on peoples’ faces over these beloved pigs, it’s the best. Some have never seen a pig in real life. At the end of the tour they have a new perspective. Some people come from thousands of miles away just for the pigs. The sanctuary is a very special place. Your blood, sweat and tears are a true legacy.” Samantha
One of my staff, Samantha, sent this to me after the Saturday morning tour this past weekend. I was so touched by her text that I asked her permission to quote her in our upcoming newsletter. Our newsletter reaches every corner of the country including Hawaii and Alaska. Some who visit say this was on their bucket list!! Many people do make our sanctuary a destination for their vacation. One person flew in to Tucson, rented a car, visited the sanctuary then went back home. We have also had people drive from CA on more than one occasion, go for a tour of the sanctuary then turn around and drive back home. I have had people who are our supporters come to visit because they wanted to be sure we are not a made up location with no pigs at all. They are always more than pleasantly surprised to visit with our many pigs. We do tours every Saturday morning from October to the end of April and they are always full. We used to start in September, but the excessive heat caused us to delay until October this year. I hope we are able to continue through April, but that is yet to be determined. One lady recently brought her 90-year-old father to visit with some of the pigs. He was excited to hold little Lenny. Visiting the sanctuary was one of his last wishes.
I no longer do tours since I have many obligations, but I have several ladies who are very capable and willing to do them each week. However, I often get to say hello and at that time people always tell me they loved their tour; the pigs and the staff giving the tours. As so many of you know, we used to do a yearly Open House, but the event became a bigger job than Ben and I and our staff could spare the time to organize. We are hopeful our weekly tours will still give our supporters an opportunity to meet our pigs and enjoy time with them giving belly rubs along the way. Our sanctuary is located in the beautiful Sonoran Desert, so the natural beauty contributes greatly to a visit. But we do not have luxury here. We are simple. The people love Ironwood because as they tour the many acres, they see happy pigs up wagging their tails chewing on a few leftover hay leaves, sunning themselves, coming up to the visitors for belly rubs, or snoozing in a group under a tree or shade ramada. The pigs are simple also. This is a harsh unlikely environment for pigs, but they have the comforts of home; food, water, space, shade, shelter, and most of all, each other. You make all this possible. Come see us and our pigs like so many others do.
Sincerely,
Mary Schanz, President & CoFounder
