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3 little pigs make New Brunswick their home

The caretakers of three not-so-little pigs are hoping their journey from Ontario to New Brunswick will end with them living in the comfort of their own purpose-built barn — strong enough to withstand the huffs and puffs of any big bad wolf.

"Thank goodness we don't have any [wolves] in this area of New Brunswick," said Marissa Bolibruck, with a laugh.

"Coyotes maybe … but I think they'll be OK."

Bolibruck operates Wallflower Sanctuary in Wuhrs Beach, with her wife. It's home to pot-bellied pigs, goats, chickens, quail, geese, a duck, rabbits, dogs and cats.

"It's a place where animals can be who they are. We don't see them as us necessarily rescuing them or doing better for them, it's about us creating the best space for them to be who they are," she said.

They're trying to raise $4,000 for the cost of the barn that will be a permanent home for the newest addition to their family: three pigs named Atticus, Calvin and Penelope.

They've started an online YouCaring campaign and have been holding bake sales to help pay for the upkeep of the animals as well as the pigs' "forever barn."

So far, they've raised about $1,000.

"We will probably always be looking to fundraise for capital projects because we have a small amount of funding that pays for their food and their care, but when it comes to the larger projects we need community help."

The story of the 3 little pigs

In April, they decided to adopt the three little pigs from Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary, an animal sanctuary outside of Stratford, Ont.

"They were looking for a home for them together and we wanted to give them a home in New Brunswick," Bolibruck said.

Two of the three pigs, Calvin and Atticus, had been taken to Cedar Row Animal Sanctuary after they had been been mistreated.

As part of a joke, someone wrote "Senior Prank" on them and let them loose into a high school. Bolibruck said they ran petrified down the hallways as students and school officials tried to contain them.

"Having high schoolers think that it's funny to allow pigs loose in a high school as a joke, it hurts your feelings," she said.

Penelope arrived at Cedar Row four months after Calvin and Atticus.

But Cedar Row didn't have room to keep the trio. That's when Bolibruck and her wife stepped in to bring them to their approximately 50-acre sanctuary.

The pigs arrived in New Brunswick on July 7 after a 36-hour drive.

Bolibruck said an ideal shelter for the pigs would be a wooden barn with a "nice solid floor."

"We need something that's sturdy that will grow with them, that'll be able to maintain their weight."

She said the pigs will grow to about 800 lbs. They're just over half that size right now.

A place to connect

Bolibruck said they want to expand their 50 acres into a "farm stay" where people can come hike and spend time with the animals. They're also looking to clear about 10 acres so they can keep bringing in more animals.

"We're already getting calls about cows and other livestock animals that are seeking sanctuary," said Bolibruck.

"We would love to pop up as many buildings as we can."

They're having an open house in August, where members of the community can come to meet the animals.

"Wallflower Sanctuary is a place in New Brunswick where I hope people will come and feel connected to the animals … a place where they can come and have a picnic and pat the animals and feel like they're part of this space where animals are safe for their whole lives," she said.

"That's the best outcome for us — that people really feel connected to the animals and have the opportunity to love them like we do."