PIGGY BANK
Esther the Wonder Pig’s owners near $651,000 goal for large CT scanner,
Esther the Wonder Pig is using her celebrity status to help out other sizable animals across the nation.
When the famous pig fell ill last year, her owners Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter, who now own the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary in Milton, took her to the Ontario Veterinary College to find that she required a CT scan. But there was one big problem. Esther, who weighs more than 600 pounds, couldn’t fit into the machine.
And veterinarians did not have an easy answer for her. There was no machine large enough in Canada. The only option Jenkins and Walter were presented with was to take Esther to the U.S., but due to legal regulations associated with transporting a pig across the border, it was simply not feasible.
“They would have put her into a government quarantine facility, just not something that we were going to do, especially because she was sick,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins said he and Walter were surprised by the lack of equipment necessary to help larger animals in the country.
So they made a bold promise to the OVC: they would find a way to bring the necessary CT scanner to Canada.
And thus ensued Esther’s online campaign to raise money for a scanner that would help other animals her size and larger.
Jenkins and Walter’s goal was to raise $651,000 by July 1. As ofMonday, Jenkins said their unaudited total was about $603,000.
“We’re super, super excited,” Jenkins said.
The machine, called the Pegaso CT Scanner, is designed for the purpose of equine imaging and provides exceptionally high resolution images, using less radiation.