Miraculous pig Esther, who inspired several children’s books and had over 2 million followers on social media, died on October 19 at the age of 11.
The parents of the pet pigs shared the sad news on Instagram on Thursday. “There’s no easy way to say this, but the day we all wished would never come has arrived. Esther has passed,” Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter wrote to Esther’s followers on social media, adding that they were “taking a little break to process the situation.”
“Although Esther is no longer with us physically, her memory and legacy will live on forever,” the owners continued. “Esther is immortal, and we will continue to show the world that all animals deserve to be loved just as she was.”
In 2012, real estate agent Jenkins thought he had adopted a miniature pig when he brought in a 4-lb. Esther to the house he shared with Walter, two dogs and two cats. When Jenkins and Walter realized that the miniature pigs could still grow to several hundred pounds, “we already fell in love with it,” Jenkins told PEOPLE in 2018.
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After discovering she was a full-sized pig reaching over 600 pounds, Esther outgrew the small yard at the couple’s home in Georgetown, Ontario. So Walter and Jenkins moved to a 50-acre farm, where Esther had her own bedroom with a king-size mattress. Here, the couple founded the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary, where they cared for rescued chickens, cows, sheep and donkeys. The sanctuary’s mission is to “rescue and rehabilitate abandoned and abused domestic animals,” according to the sanctuary’s website.
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Esther’s friendship with her roommates, especially pit bull mix Shelby, became an internet hit. Fans have flocked to the pig’s Instagram, and her love of social media has turned into literary success with books like The True Adventures of Esther the Miraculous Pig, Esther the Miraculous Pig, and Happy forever Esther.
While Jenkins and Walter split last year, they continued to parent Esther and kept her followers updated on the pig’s health issues over the past few years.
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Source: HIS Education