Demarcus’s Story
A couple of weeks before COVID-19 became a widespread concern, a young FFA student named Emily reached out to Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, looking for a home for her “FFA project,” Demarcus. She was nearing the end of her project term, and soon, Demarcus, her friend, would be sent to slaughter unless she could find a suitable home in time. We spoke several times before the final decision was made for Demarcus to come to Rowdy Girl, as the sanctuary requires families to get involved in the process.
Part of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary’s process for accepting an FFA or 4-H rescue involves counseling the family to determine if they are willing to stop the practice of buying animals from breeders, raising them as projects, and then selling them to the highest bidder at the end of the semester. This conversation includes discussing the harsh realities of the situation, which many families are typically shielded from, and often, parents lie to their children to keep them from knowing the outcome. Emily’s family faced some difficult truths, but in the end, they all agreed that they wanted Demarcus to live the life of a lamb and were willing to forgo any future FFA projects that could put him in danger.
This is Demarcus with the amazing people who couldn’t bear to see him go through the fear and terror of auction, knowing he might end up slaughtered. Thanks to their compassion, Demarcus is now living his best life at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.
And here he is today where he has several acres to roam free! Demarcus now has a best friend named Leo who he loves spending all his time with. He also likes hanging out with the pigs – but Demarcus is such a people person! He loves hanging out with all of us two legged folks at Rowdy Girl!
“After dropping him off at Rowdy Girl and watching him instantly take to everyone there I knew he was home. Demarcus is only a baby and I can’t be happier that he can live out his life the way that he should.”
~ Love, Emily