By Stephanie Connors Rivera
Excerpt from Part I
Jason Potalivo recalls the moment in February of 2024 when he received the photos of an emaciated pig being held at an animal auction rescue.
Bracing freezing temperatures that morning, both Jason and Megan Potalivo, co-owners of Mountain Misfits Animal Sanctuary, went to have a look and stumbled upon a scared boar that looked like he was not going to live much longer.
Billy Boarisson, named after Jim Morrison, was a very scared and timid male potbelly boar, used as an Amish breeding pig who had been confined in a stall, but had lived around horses his entire life. (The familiarity he had with horses will come to play an important role later in the story.)
Being informed that 16-year old Boarisson had a love for horses, it almost cost the relationship Jason and his Sanctuary had with his neighbors, owners of an Equestrian business.
That’s when Jason’s close friend and neighbor, Joel Daniels transitioned his pony named Whisper to their Sanctuary. That changed everything…….
Part II
“Whisper is definitely Boarisson’s girlfriend,” Jason said. “Whisper showers Boarisson with kisses on the top of his head, while he looks up at her, trying to communicate with all sorts of sounds,” Jason said. “They are always together.”
Four months later, Boarisson grew accustomed to the Sanctuary with Whisper as his loyal companion. At that point, Boarisson trusted his owners enough to be touched, receive belly rubs and follow them around.
But things took a turn for the worse when Jason and team discovered Boarisson had an injury to his scrotal area, causing massive swelling. Unaware of what caused it, the Sanctuary was faced with either confronting Cancer, Hernia, or a disease that would involve putting Boarisson down. More than likely, Boarisson would need to undergo surgery at Cornell University’s Hospital for Animals in Ithaca, New York.
To determine what Boarisson had, his blood would need to be drawn on site before any further examinations could be completed to keep costs down. “It can be extremely difficult to perform a blood draw on a pig without sedation, especially one with Boarisson’s history and large tusks,” Jason said.
While options ran thin, Jason and Megan contacted veterinarian Dr. Amy Stuart from Springville Veterinary Services to lend a hand. “Dr. Amy has worked closely with many of our animals before, and was graciously willing to attempt a blood draw on site for Boarisson,” Jason said. “She always had the utmost respect for our Animal Sanctuary, and we knew with her knowledge and experience, she would provide excellent care for Boarisson. With Dr. Amy’s assistance, we were able to get the procedure done on site and the results that Cornell required,” Jason said.
Seven days later, cheers rained through the halls of the Animal Sanctuary when Jason and Megan received the news that Boarisson’s blood results were positive. With one hurdle completed, Boarisson still needed to undergo a vasectomy at Cornell. “It is very risky for pigs to be put under anesthesia, and many do not wake up because of complications such as swollen airways,” Jason said. “We had to weigh our options, knowing that Boarisson had a 50/50 chance of survival due to his age,” Jason said. “But knowing Cornell’s track record of performing successful surgeries on pigs, we were willing to take that chance.”
Deciding to move forward with the surgery, Boarisson, Jason and Megan made the three hour trip to Cornell in the Sanctuary van, but it did not prove to be an uneventful one. Their vehicle broke down half-way there, and finding a repair shop to fix the van with a pig inside would be difficult.
“Boarisson is not a pig that you can just put in a cage due to the history of trauma and lack of handling he experienced all his life,” Jason said. “Our Sanctuary van was especially built for wheel chairs, so Boarisson had ample room and clearance for everyone’s safety.”
By the grace of God, Jason and Megan found K & K Auto Center a few miles down the highway in Hornell, New York that agreed to work on their vehicle, knowing they had Boarisson inside.
“They assisted us immediately, because we had a deadline with our arrival time at Cornell to ensure Boarisson’s surgery would proceed the next day as planned,” Jason said.
With a successful vehicle fix, a few hours later, Jason and Megan made it to Cornell where Boarisson was greeted by friendly staff and a nice cozy stall to be kept in during his stay.
Jason and Megan made the three-hour trip back home and anxiously waited for the results. When the good news finally arrived that Boarisson had survived the surgery and was alive and well, Jason and Megan were overjoyed, and also had a laugh when they finally greeted Boarisson back at Cornell.
“Cornell had a delay in reaching back out to us to deliver the good news because Boarisson had broken out of his stall some point after surgery and was found roaming the barn facility to check out all the other residents,” Jason said. “Cornell even confirmed Baorisson’s real age of 15, a year younger than what we had been informed! That’s one super senior of a stud if you ask me,” Jason said.
While Jason and Megan are relieved that Boarisson survived the procedure and is finally home at the Sanctuary recovering, they will soon receive the results of his biopsy to know how and why the swelling started. Many of their other pigs will soon undergo spay and neutering procedures as they enter into adulthood.
“Pigs are considered adults at the age of three, but do not finish growing until five,” Jason said. One of our continued missions here at Mountain Misfits Animal Sanctuary is to help educate the community about pigs and other farm animals.”
Jason and Megan are working hard this year to inform the public about what they do and how far they have come at the Sanctuary. They will be a participating vendor at the Little Valley Community Day event on June 21 and will have an animal guest or two joining them!
Mountain Misfits encourages people to spend time on their pasture with the rescues in person. Those interested in seeing Bill Boarisson and the other animals at the Sanctuary can call to make an appointment or schedule a tour. For more information, visit: mountainmisfits.org