From the president
March 2026
Dear Supporter,
As I begin to write this letter for our March newsletter, I am forced to think about what March and the next eight months will be like. This is not a pleasant topic and it is fraught with many challenges. But I have never worn rose colored glasses and we have together faced many challenges and will do so again. Today, on February 11 it will be 80 degrees and on Monday the 8th of February it was 85 degrees. We will still have some cooler temperatures in the next couple weeks ahead, but that will soon pass and we will begin our march into the relentless heat for months to come. It is the desert after all, right? Well, not exactly. Yes, it is the desert, but in a few short years we have moved into these more severe conditions. This winter has been a misnomer. We never hit 32 degrees this year and only one day with a thin layer of ice. I am hopeful this year is an exception and not yet the norm. We are still plagued with flies and the rattlesnakes are out and on the move already. We had one good rain in the fall that made everything turn green and beautiful then a few fleeting showers that have helped to keep it that way but not close to what used to be our normal winter rains.
Our world here is changing as is the whole world. Hotter and dryer here and more severe storms elsewhere in the country. Our winter tours started in mid-October this fall instead of mid-September and we had to keep our staff providing cooling towels for our pigs until mid-October instead of mid-September.
We often talk about weather here since when one is caring for many hundreds of animals outdoors, it is a significant part of our concern. In other parts of the country, folks have many different conditions for consideration, but for us it is the heat. As I have said in previous letters, Arizona is far from ideal for pot bellied pigs, but they are here, so we provide for them the best we can. What are our main challenges as our world continues to heat up? Staffing is for sure at the top of the list. I am fortunate to have some great staff that continue to push through the summers but not without consequences. People are more stressed, there are more absences due to dehydration, it is more difficult to focus and be efficient, more breaks are required, we need to have added staff for hauling water and doing cooling towels, and it is harder to maintain staff.
It is also stressful for our pigs, of course. They don’t sweat, so they are really dependent on us to provide their cooling. We make sure there is plenty of shade and we use thousands of gallons of water each day in pools and wallows without which our pigs would not survive. They have to be filled early and refilled later in the day. We have mister systems and some air conditioners.
And yet through all of these hardships, because we have people here who care so much for these wonderful animals, we continue to provide for them and look out for their safety. As time goes on, we will try to adjust our schedules and our staffing to keep up with our heating world. Your support is so important as we add staff, haul more water, and cool our pigs in every way possible to keep them well. This is now our world. Thank you so much for helping us to meet these challenges this year and in the years ahead. Together we can and will make sure our pigs are safe.
Sincerely,
Mary Schanz, President & CoFounder
PS: We still enjoy the lovely desert environment with beautiful flowering cactus, wildflowers, and palo verde trees plus a great variety of wildlife, birds, and yes, even snakes.
