When I met Dumbleboar
For those who may not know. Dumbleboar is a boar. He's a boar that lives at Tower Hill Stables in Essex with 3 other boars (and a lot of other furry friends).
Before that, he lived in a pub garden and was very overweight. All 4 Boars got too much for the owner (and too big) and so Tower Hill took them in.
A rather wonderful idea was to have the chance to name a boar if you adopted one. I jumped at it, and started thinking of all the Harry Potter related names my crazy brain could come up with. Dumbleboar was the first and most obvious choice.
After that I started toying with the idea of adopting all 4 Boars and trying to think of a Harry Potter name for all of them. I got Ruboarus Hogrid, Ravenboar (despite Ruina Ravenclaw being female, pssh) and Gryffinboar (very imaginative I know).
But luckily, other people adopted the remaining 3 Boars. One even got named Boary McBoarFace (had to be done, I guess, I still prefer Ruboarus Hogrid).
So this was all back in November time and I've eagerly awaited footage and photos of Dumbleboar ever since. He is special. Dumbleboar likes to sunbathe and photos of him chilling out in the sun brighten my days at work.
But of course, photo's can only show so much character and I knew I had to meet my Dumbleboar one day. Essex is between 2 and a half and 3 hours away so it's not really a quick trip, but the excitement completely overshadowed any dread of a long journey and eventually I managed to book in a visit.
I hadn't really brought myself to have an expectation of anything, photo's can only show so much but turning up to this quirky house with the best kind of farm ever round the back, was just amazing.
Chickens run free around the place. There are DUCKS! There's a swan in a big pond, that has it's own little castle with a draw bridge. There's a cosy corner where you will literally find a chicken on a sleeping pig, that's lying next to a tiny horse, that's sat next to a pair of goats. It's beautiful.
Follow that passed some more chickens, cockerels and turkeys and you'll come out to another part of the yard where, again, chickens are roaming free, but with a massive shire horse, 2 other horses, the most affectionate sheep you'll ever meet and also the friendliest goats you'll ever meet.
I had a goat put his feet up on my chest like a happy labrador would (he was trying to eat my hair but it was still adorable). The dog goat also did the same from behind, trying to get a piggy back off of me and later I even got a kiss on the cheek. I hope we're now friends for life!
Bear, probably named because he is a cuddly teddy bear of a sheep, followed me around and all the way over to the boar house, when I went back to see Dumbleboar again.
The only close encounter I've had with a sheep is when I worked at a vets, and helped stitch up a sheep that had been attacked by a dog (when I say helped stitch up, I held her leg up). It had been raining, the sheep was soaked through, there was fair amount of blood, it was a small, not very ventilated room and it is the only time I ever thought I might pass out in the operating room.
But my encounter with Bear was so much more enjoyable. Bear would follow you around, and if you stopped, he'd stop. And if you stroked his head, he'd let you. His wool was also dry and didn't smell of wet, mouldy sock. I have never stroked a sheep's head in the same way I'd stroke my dogs head. It was wonderful.
I can't not mention Wookie either. Wookie is the wookiest looking goat I've ever seen and has enough personality to carry his own comic book, I tell ya.
His face is full of mischief. He's kept away from the other goats because he's a bit too rowdy, but he has a tree to head butt when he's feeling feisty. Wookie will also attempt to eat anything without a drop of it touching the floor, which makes for a fun watch when it's a stale slice of bread. But he manages it!
I even got to witness a bit of a curtsey, or a dance, not sure, but it was brilliant.
There are so many animals at Tower Hill Stables with their own unique character. Florence the little pig (pictured below), sassiest piggle in all the land. Dash the horse with piercing blue eyes who will definitely swipe a carrot out of your bag and Horace the mahoosive pig, who absolutely adores a back rub.
Speaking of pigs, there are a lot of them. I didn't expect feeding time to be so much fun. Remember being a kid and feeding the ducks? Throwing a bit of bread down (which we now know probably wasn't great for them!) and watching them all dart around? Well times that by 10, and you'll get the joy of feeding pigs.
When we first approached the pig part of the sanctuary, we were surprised by how many of them there were, all ready and waiting. They knew it was lunch time! Clouds of dust filled the air around them as they shuffled into each other to get to the front.
Of course, when you feed them every day, you just throw the food in. I, however, could have stood there for hours throwing carrots and bread and broccoli. You very quickly root for the little pigs and start throwing food towards them to make sure they've had some. You laugh as Maddie, a little pig just like Florence, scuttles around with a panini in her mouth trying to get back to her shelter to scoff it. It's a complete joy to view and be part of.
It wasn't all cuddles and 'aww's. We did muck in a tiny bit too. I discovered where the phrase 'sticks like shit' came from. Chicken poo really does stick like poo. Anyone looking for a good leg and shoulder exercise, I thoroughly recommend mucking out some stables.
Throughout the course of the day, we chatted with Martin, the co-owner of Tower Hill and learned of the immense struggle of wanting to save every animal while also not knowing if you can even afford to. More animals require more space, more time, more food, more vet bills, new fences, etc etc. It doesn't take much of a mathematician to know that it's bloody expensive. Anyone with a dog knows how much one of them can rack up in vets bills.
But saying no isn't an option for Martin or Fiona. They have pure kindness in their hearts and only a desire to help.
I left Tower Hill Stables feeling full of love and joy for these animals and full of awe and admiration for Martin and Fiona. But I also felt an immense need to do something more. I don't live close enough to volunteer every weekend, or even every month. But I love that there are volunteers who give up their free time to help; help mucking out, help feeding, help with the bread runs, etc. I already donate every month as part of adopting Dumbleboar and a couple of nights after our visit I donated some more in the hope it would be something extra. Part of me just felt helpless, which makes me wonder how Martin and Fiona must feel!
I wish so much that I could win the lottery so I could make a massive difference to them. But until that day, I'm going to keep sharing those beautiful animals faces, keep donating as much as I can (I'm very lucky that I can donate), and keep thinking of new ways to fundraise for them.
One of the things I've done this week is put up 2 pairs of my Irregular Choice shoes for a charity auction on eBay. eBay offers the option to give a certain percentage of your final sale price to charity, or you can give 100% of it and pay no listing fees. So I'm praying to the shoe lovers of ebay, to bid generously and get a pair of barely worn, proper cool heels and help out Tower Hill at the same time.
The listings are below, the auctions end on Sunday 10th March. There's also a pair of Royal Scot Champagne flutes which have never been used up for bidding too.
Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you made it this far! Please donate if you can or if you fancy some retail therapy, bid on something above. If you can share anything from Tower Hill Stables on social media, show how worth it the animals are, you could be the reason somebody else donates.
Click here to donate to Tower Hill Stables or just to visit their website. You can read more about founder Fiona Oakes and how Tower Hill Stables started.