As the bell rang on Friday and the pigs came running to eat, Judy Woods sat stuck in bed, missing her daily lunch date.
"I just have this angst," she said. "It's so frustrating that I can't go out there."
It all started 26 years ago when Woods got a pig as a pet.
She fell in love.
"I thought to myself that I could have a pig sanctuary someday, not even knowing what it was," said Woods.
What it became is Pigs Peace Sanctuary in Stanwood, where Judy has taken in hundreds of unwanted pigs over the past two decades, many of them victims of abuse and neglect.
"I've had a pig burned with a blow torch, pigs beat with two-by-fours, thrown out of a moving car. All kinds of neglect," Woods said.
There is "Honey" who was rescued from the back of a drunk driver's pick up truck. She had broken bones and still isn't able to walk.
And then there is Honey's best friend, Ziggy. Born with three legs, she came from a Canadian sideshow.
It was big old Ziggy that landed Woods in this situation. She was trying to help the pig get a drink when the 700-pound sow fell on her leg, badly breaking it.
"It was all my fault," said Woods. "I don't blame her one bit."
Woods won't be able to walk for six months. She does almost all of the work at the non-profit sanctuary on her own.
Woods has had to hire two full-time workers to keep the sanctuary running, and, for the first time, the sanctuary is no longer taking in animals.
"I get 50 to 100 requests per month," said Woods. "I just can't do it, right now."
"No one can replace her," said Woods' son, Nathan. "The work she was doing as one person, it's taking a team of us to just try to fill in those gaps."
While the pigs are her top priority, Woods can't help but worry about the medical bills that are sure to pile up.
"I'll pay what I have to pay. It might take me ten years. I just don't know, but that's a big worry," Woods said.
For now, Woods just waits for the day she can get back on her feet again, and get back out to the sweet, sloppy swine she loves so much.
You can help Woods through this difficult time by donating to Pigs Peace Sanctuary.
