Clinton Township Newsletter

2 4 j u l y 2 0 2 3 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M Pigs cooling off in a mud puddle is sooo last year! This month, C3Q hung poolside with the cool piggies at Pot Belly Haven at Color of Heaven Farm! C 3 Q : H e l l o , H o l l y S m i t h ! Y o u ' r e t h e o w n e r o f ' D e s i g n e r Dawgs,' a hot dog restaurant at 3 Main Street i n d o w n t o w n Clinton. I can't b e l i e v e t h a t t h i s J u l y i s y our six -y ear anniversary of being in business in Clinton. I understand that when you're not busy at the restaurant, you have a side-project, which is giving pot belly pigs a home at your farm! HS: We own 'Pot Belly Haven,' a nonprofit rescue organization for pot belly pigs. Our mission is to advocate for and shelter companion pigs. We've always had animals at our farm, but about a year and half ago, I saw a pig that needed re-homing, and took him in on our farm. Soon after, we were asked to take two more, then another, and now we have eighteen rescue pigs! If something tugs at our heartstrings, we'll take it. We get contacted to take pigs very often; right now, we're full, because it's a matter of proper housing. The pigs live in shelters which are like a larger doghouse. They have a multi-pool in the yard, which they can go in and out of as they please. My husband Scott Goldberg made the pig pool; he's so creative! They have a fenced-in area with a house and a pool of their own to lay in. Also, they all have 'cocktail' umbrellas to lounge under, which were donated from Riley and Jakes' last season's umbrellas. They all get grazing time, and sometimes when it's hot, we'll set up 'misters' to cool them off, and we have old r e p u r p o s e d Jeep covers t o m a k e a d d i t i o n a l shade. They h a v e b a l l s and toys to p l a y w i t h , b u t t h e y mostly love n a p p i n g t o g e t h e r , eating grass, and going in their pools. C3Q: These pigs are very relatable! That's my summer vibe, too. Tell me more about your pigs! HS: We fell in love with pigs, they are like a smart toddler. They can open fridges, have temper tantrums; pigs have a hierarchy and will fight for 10-15 minutes to assert dominance. Some of them can use a litter box and are 'indoor pigs,' and we've worked with them, one-on-one, to learn how to live in the house and to be socialized. Five of the indoor pigs can use a litter box, and six who live in the house can go to the door like a dog. One of them, Billie, honks or oinks to go out! She's handicapped, and lives inside. Penny the Pig came to us because her owner got deployed, so she was re-homed. Elvis came to us, very overweight, from Rahway. He is bonded with Piggie Smalls, and they sleep together indoors every night. Pigs like to sleep with another pig and socialize. C3Q: Wait a minute, Elvis, and Piggie Smalls? I'm seeing a pattern here... HS: We name the pigs after musicians if they have no pre-existing name. Piggie Smalls was being bred for meat, and he's a rare KuneKune breed; he should grow to be about 400 lbs; he's about 100 lbs now. Linkin Pork is from an abandoned farm in Hillsborough. Dolly was dropped off at an animal shelter in the middle of the night, and then brought to our house.. We didn't realize at first that she was pregnant, but her five babies became the Parton gang – Hank, Willie, Patsy, Loretta, and Waylon! Penelope and Scarlet came from a hoarding situation; they are a bonded pair, and not housebroken, so they live outside. We also have Emmylou, Ruby, Bullet, Zuko... Zuko was re-homed from Jersey City; a lot of people find out too late about town ordinances that forbid pigs. Zuko can open the fridge! He once ate a bag of chicken nuggets and a gallon of ice cream; we now have to lock the fridge. As soon as he enters the house, the first thing he always does is to check the fridge to see if it's locked. We had to move all of our snacks to higher cabinets because he can open them. In the summer, they are all outside; but in the winter, the indoor pigs love to lay in front of the fire on a blanket. We hung our Christmas Tree upside down from the ceiling so that they wouldn't eat it! C3Q: That's incredible! But listen, I'm sure everyone wants to know... pigs in your house? Does it smell terrible? HS: We have six pigs in our house, and it doesn't smell. Pigs like to be clean! We have the hoses and the pool, and they smell just fine! They are so domestic; they go to bed at 6:30 pm and wake up at 6:30 am. C3Q: Do you feel like it's ironic or conflicting at all, owning a hot-dog restaurant and operating a pig rescue? HS: [laughs] Fortunately, Designer Dawgs is all beef hot dogs! In terms of the rescue, not only do we have eighteen pigs, we have rescued fourteen cats, and have 62 animals overall, including a bearded dragon. They keep us very busy! We take donations of food, blankets, pig food, (their favorite foods are pumpkin and watermelon), straw...The pigs get so excited for new straw, they dig in their cubbies for an hour and make new 'nests.' We are registering the pigs as therapy-pigs, and hope to add structures for more. We have visited a retirement home and a preschool, and if visitors want to visit them at the farm, they can contact me. Coming up, we are planning a 'Pigsketti Dinner' on August 3rd. There will be spaghetti, salad, and make- your-own-sundaes, BYOB, $25 per person, with a tour of the farm, and many of the pigs will be roaming around. W e a r e a l s o p l a n n i n g an upcoming 'Painting with Pigs' event; you can follow us on Facebook at Pot Belly Haven at Color of Heaven Farm for more information, or to donate to the rescue at: https:// givebutter.com/5z54pX . C3Q: Thank you so much, Holly! And, Zuko, we 'feel' you. Hope to visit you soon! n Rachel Sprague, a resident of Clinton Township, has a degree in journalism from Rutgers. With her husband Russell, Rachel is raising two young children in the Clinton Township School District. She thinks that Clinton Township is a delightful place to live. Welcome to with Rachel Sprague * C linton ree Questions * "We fell in love with pigs; they're like smart toddlers." – Holly Smith, Owner of Designer Dogs in downtown Clinton

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