ESTHER

Meet Esther-the Wonder Pig. Adopted by her Dads Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter as a supposed mini-pig in 2012, Esther had other plans and kept on growing. Turns out she was a full-sized commercial pig and Steve and Derek were duped. They fell madly in love with her and this tiny pig changed the course of their lives forever. Living in a small city bungalow along with two dogs, two cats and 3 rabbits, and spending her days lounging on the living room couch, Esther won over the hearts of all who met her. These two men, who through a simple act of animal adoption, kept their promise to provide a forever home. They never gave up on Esther and changed their entire lives to accommodate a cherished pet.

Realizing that Esther was originally meant to be someone’s dinner, Steve and Derek became vegans and in the process became accidental animal activists and vegan ambassadors. Questioning their food choices, and the impact on themselves, the animals, and the environment, Esther forced them to go looking for answers to questions that they had intentionally avoided asking before. She showed them that the only reason we see pigs differently than our dogs, is because we’ve been taught to. And that wasn't okay. Part of their advocacy is shedding light on food choices and on the agricultural system itself in the hopes of saving future Esther's. Or at the very least attempting to improve the inhumane conditions in regard to transport and housing. Steve and Derek are now much sought-after speakers at Veg-Fests around the world. They also created the ‘Esther’s Army’ page which advocates for pig issues, ‘the campaign headquarters for change’. www.facebook.com/EsthersArmy

Due to her ever-increasing size, which at one point was a pound a day, Steve and Derek soon realized they needed to move, and that they wanted to save more of Esther's kind. So they started an Indiegogo campaign raising $440,000 in just 2 months' time to purchase a farm property which is now the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary, home to rescued and abused farmedanimals. www.happilyeveresther.ca This Sanctuary also offers the 'Esther Shares' Program, a Medical Fund set up to provide financial assistance to farmed animal sanctuaries in Canada and the United States that find themselves in need due to sudden or unforeseen medical expenses. Esther's fans also fundraised to purchase the 'Pegasus' CT scanner, the largest of its kind in Canada, used to support large animals' diagnostics and care that was previously unavailable in Canada.

With Esther’s adventures online, she continues to rack up thousands of fans and followers. In the process she has exposed the loving, compassionate, and extremely smart side of pigs and has raised awareness about the abhorrent conditions of factory farmed pigs and their hellish lives. Steve and Derek clearly share their intentions on Esther's website and Facebook pages, "We want to help show you that she understands everything we say to her. She knows what’s happening, and she feels every emotion we do. She is not a product, or a piece of pork.”

Esther is now an internet celebrity with over 8 million fans via her various platforms. She has many celebrity followers including comedian and well-known animal activist Ricky Gervais who has visited Esther at her home. She is also the star of 4 published books including 2 for children.

Esther who is house-trained and weighs 550 svelte pounds, loves to relax in her swimming pool. She has also become a fashion icon due to the many hand-made coats, swimsuits, dresses, and hats mailed by fans. She has a larger-than-life personality, and makes people laugh on a daily basis.

When you follow Esther online, you can’t help but notice how smart and sweet she is, and her adorable pictures and witty captions will always make you smile. Her page spreads Esther's style of love and compassion known as The Esther Effect! Her daily antics touch hearts everywhere and open people's minds by showing a side of an animal that most never knew existed. Her daily fan mail includes heartfelt messages where many write in to say how Esther's page helped them with depression or bereavement; some that her smile helped them get through an illness; even how her videos helped children cope with difficult times. And then there are the thousands of messages stating that people can no longer eat pork because of Esther and are now looking into 'Esther Approved' diets (plant based).

Esther has shown that all pigs are beautiful, sentient beings who deserve a better life than they are currently bred for. Her smile has helped millions understand that "Kindness Is Magic", as everybody understands a smile no matter what language we speak. And for that reason, Esther's page has become a "happy place" for a lot of people. Somewhere where they come to laugh along with her, be reminded to smile on a sad day, or just to have somebody say "Good morning beautiful" to them every morning. They see what could be seen as a very unusual family at first glance, but quickly realize they're not really that unusual at all, they love each other just like any other family does.

Be the reason someone smiles.