A popular pig in Ontario with a large following on Instagram, Esther the Wonder Pig, has died years after she became cancer-free and pain-free.
On estherthewonderpig’s Instagram page, which has more than half a million followers, the owner wrote on Wednesday that Esther had died.
“She was calm and peaceful, and fell asleep with her dad Steve by her side,” the post read.
In 2017, veterinarians discovered Esther had breast cancer and she underwent surgery to remove several lumps, owner Steve Jenkins said at the time.
Shortly after the surgery, veterinarians then found a stomach ulcer that had caused her severe pain and left her with little inclination to move around, Jenkins said.
Esther took medications for the ulcer and later resumed daily walks around her farm home in Campbellville, Ont., for the first time in almost a year.
Jenkins and his partner Derek Walter had also sought to get a scanner big enough for the 300-kilogram animal and raised enough funds to buy an equine CT scanner at US$500,000. It was then donated to an Ontario vet college.
Jenkins said at the time that all their efforts to save Esther “should give us another six, seven, eight more years together.”
Esther lived about another six years before she died.
Her owners did not release many details on her death and said they would provide more information after taking “a little break to process the situation.”
“Even though Esther is no longer physically with us, her memory and legacy will live forever,” the Instagram post read. “Esther is immortal, and we will continue to show the world that all animals deserve to be loved just like she was.”
— with files from Liam Casey, The Canadian Press
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