Gilbert

It is simply impossible to talk about Home at Last without talking about Gilbert. He was our very first rescue, and helped define the very mission and direction of Home at Last. His story is likely a familiar one (and can be found on multiple places on this site). Gilbert was rescued and brought to HAL after he fell off of the truck that was taking him to slaughter, only to be hit by another truck. He sustained some pretty major injuries, but recovered well and spent years at the sanctuary greeting visitors and enjoying warm days in his self-created mud hole.

Gilbert was a living symbol of our mission. Those who were leery of our decision to feed vegetarian were no longer skeptical once they met him. Upon seeing Gilbert in all his glory (he was over 1000 lbs!), a connection was made. Of course pigs and other farmed animals had rights. Of course they should be protected. Of course they deserved a chance to become something other than someone's dinner.

Gilbert changed people's lives. He changed their perceptions about pigs and animals as a whole. He was the link, in so many ways, that people needed to understand what Home at Last was all about, and why we were trying to do it. Gilbert inspired those who met him, and his spirit lives on every day at the sanctuary through all of our animals. Certainly each of them is a vision of hope and inspiration with a message capable of opening hearts and changing lives.