Ms. Anna Yancey

What an interview with Ms. Anna Yancey! Ms. Anna is the founder of the pig sanctuary @pigtopia_tn, the owner and photographer at Elements Images, and the general manager at @imaginevegancafe!!! We had a BLAST speaking with her at the cafe, and I had vegan food for the first time!!! She gave us very wise advice that we should know ourselves, determine our passions, and pursue them unapologetically. Caring for 29 piggies, managing a restaurant, a photography business, and being an incredible mom, she finds balance through separating her work and family life with having time for herself! In honor of her friend, Amber, who passed due to domestic violence, she created Amber’s Refuge Program at Pigtopia to give out a helping hand to any woman in need of a place for their piggies to stay. We were truly touched by her stories and enjoyed every moment of our talk! Thank you so much Ms. Anna for having us over at @imaginevegancafe!!! ♥️♥️♥️  

1. What inspired you to open the pig sanctuary, manage a restaurant, and pursue photography? How do you manage all three? 

Annie: So, what inspired you to open up a pig sanctuary, manage a restaurant, and pursue photography? And how do you manage all three? 

Anna: Well uhm starting with pig rescue, I got my first pig on a…completely on a whim. I saw a Craigslist ad with a cute little piglet and I just went all in without thinking about it. And shortly after getting her, I realized I needed to learn a lot more so I turned to the Internet and social media to start to research and learn more about it. I joined a lot of groups and pages and I realized that there was a huge need for rescues and homes for pigs and sanctuaries that I had no idea existed because up to 80 percent of pet pigs are re-homed in the first year just because people don’t understand them very well. 

2. What does your typical day look like? 

Annie: So Ms. Anna, what does your typical day look like? 

Anna: Uhm well, my days are always full and if you’re a pig mom, you never get to sleep in. So, I usually get up around 7 everyday and I administer any medications or, y’know, checkups that some of our residents might need, grab a cup of coffee; coffee is a must! And then I go to my calendar, I rely heavily on my calendar to make sure that I’m keeping on track and keeping up with everything because I do so many things and I have so many interests. Literally every day is different, which I love! I mean, life is full of variety for me. So, I may be going on a photoshoot or doing a wedding or I may be going out with uhm our veterinarian and our board of directors member, Dr. Olesen. We may be going on a rescue, uh, mission for a pig. We call that the “Snout Response Unit”- Annie: Oh, on your shirt? Anna: Yes! So when we’re deployed, we’re there to help pigs and sometimes we have to capture them or we work in cruelty cases. Uhm, we work with law enforcement a lot and animal control and things like that. So, uhm that might be it, or I might be doing a project for Pigtopia or coming here to “Imagine” to work with our awesome team, and talk about Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) food which I’m super passionate about. Uhm so, I mean, I do something different everyday, but I like to have those, y’know, that calendar and still try to have a routine. And like you were talking about, how do I balance all these things? I try to start everyday with just a little bit of meditation. Just 10 minutes of, y’know, I have this big rock in my yard and I just kind of sit there and take some deep breaths and prepare for the day and try to get grounded and then move forward. Uhm again, it’s really important, especially when you have a lot of things going on, to make a little time for yourself. That’s been a big help for me. Uhm, but 

3. How do you balance work and family life? 

Annie: So is that how you balance your work and family life by giving time to yourself and just sort of separating what you do? Like your work is your work and you’re familyAnna: Yes Annie: -or home life or your self time is just for yourself or for that category? Anna: Yes, uhm, I’ve learned that our life can be filled up with what’s urgent and what’s important. And if you don’t actually set aside and schedule time for yourself and for your needs, you won’t necessarily get to them. Uhm, and because I have a sanctuary that’s at my home and I have a business that’s at my home, uhm it’s very easy to just never clock out basically. Uhm so, I set a guideline for myself that says y’know at this point in time I’m gonna kind of clock out, I’m going to eat my dinner, and I’m not going to work after that. Cause I, y’know, I might wanna watch a movie or just relax or draw or paint or just sit there and be quiet and relaxed, y’know, or spend time with my husband and my daughter. Annie: Yeah, I love that and I love how, y’know, you do so many different things. Like, not only do you have your pig sanctuary but all of these different art forms like photography and drawing and painting and everything. Anna: Yeah Annie: I love that. Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) Anna: Yeah, I do too! It’s fun 

4. Was there an instance in your life that shaped your views on animal rights and protecting them? 

Annie: Was there an instance in your life that shaped your views on animal rights and protecting them? Anna: Yes, absolutely. So uhm when I got Eleanor, my first pig, she literally changed the entire trajectory of my life and I had no idea because like I said this was totally on a whim, just ‘oh look at the cute things, I want it’, y’know like I just…I had no clue. Uhm and in getting her I learned so much…so many things I didn’t know and I really believe I found my calling…one of my callings and one of my passions in life. And uhm just-just getting her and…and seeing what an emotional and intelligent being she was uhm and realizing that most people have never met a pig before. We kind of have this perception of them as…as dirty animals and things like that…and the only reason they get in mud is because they don’t have sweat glands. So they’re…they’re doing that just too cool themselves off, y’know, so all these things I didn’t have any idea about. But, as I continued learning about pigs and learning about her, I realized I no longer wanted to eat them. And, as I told you earlier, I grew up on a working farm. Uhm, so we had animals for…for every need, we had vegetables and fruits and, y’know, we…we lived off the land truly. So, I had this completely different background and I got this pig and uhm I never imagined in a million years that less than a year later, I would go vegan and I would start rescuing these animals and advocating for them. And then, in doing that, that led to me uhm meeting the Jeffreys and becoming part of “Imagine” and even now the work I'm doing with…with women to help them. So, just…just that one thing, doing that one thing, getting Ellie, changed my whole life and my whole uhm perception of the world. Annie: Yeah I think that’s really heartwarming and it’s one piggy changed your entire lifeAnna: Yes! Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) Annie: -like that is, some of the things that come unexpected are like most of the most of the most experiencing and the most wonderful experiences that you could have in your life. Anna: Yes, yes! 

5. How do you conduct the screening process for pig adoption? 

Annie: So, how do you conduct pig screening? Anna: So, if someone is interested in adopting a pig, we have an application, uhm much like other animal rescues do. Uhm but we need to determine if they’re zoned to have pigs in their neighborhood because some neighborhoods and cities consider them livestock. Even pot belly pigs. Uhm so we have to do that. We have to verify that they have a veterinarian that will work with pigs because not all vets will. Uhm and we have to determine if they have secure fencing uhm, y’know, things like that, uhm and we then we try to find the right pig for their family because some are timid and some are really outgoing and some are just couch potatoes and some of ‘em are super active. Uhm and then any time someone adopts a pig from us, we provide ongoing support. So if they ever have questions, if they ever need help, because we, like I said, it’s...it’s an unconventional pet. They’re very different animals and a lot of people say pigs are like toddlers that live for 20 years. So, I mean, they’re…they’re so intelligent and so active that they aren’t quite like having a dog or a cat. So a big part of what we do is educating people and making sure they understand what they’re getting into before they do it. 

6. What is life like for your permanent resident pigs, and how do pig sponsorships work? Annie: Yeah, for sure! Interesting. So what is life like for your permanent resident pigs? Anna: Well we do have some pigs that have either suffered emotional abuse or physical abuse or just neglect. And uhm they’re just not adoptable or they may have health conditions that prevent them from being adoptable because they require, y’know, a lot of monitoring and things like that. So really with those pigs, I just want them to have a great quality of life and kind of live life on their own terms. Uhm and let them know...basically I call it therapy like I just let them know I’m there for them and ‘I’m-I love you and I’m Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) here if you need me’ and I just let them take their time. And we’ve…we’ve had a couple of pigs that took almost a year before they allowed me to touch them and now they’re just like snuggle bears, y’know. Annie: Awww Anna: But we just let them kind of go at their own pace and uhm they spend their days snuggling with their best friends. They form really strong bonds with each other and they have best friends and they argue and squabble just like kids. And, uhm, so they…they just get to live their life and be happy, y’know. Annie: They sound like little kids Anna: They really are! They really are. Like they whine if they don’t get what they want, they throw tantrums. Uhm they’re like little kids, they argue with each other like ‘that’s mine, no thats mine!’ Annie: No really? It’s like...how do they argue? Anna: Uhm pigs are super vocal. So, they have over 30 separate vocalizations that they’ve determined mean different things. And this sounds crazy but if I ask Ellie ‘do you want to go outside, do you need to go potty’, she has like a ‘yes’ sound and a ‘no’ sound. Uhm and, y’know, I’ve just had her a long time and I know what she means. But uhm when they communicate through those sounds and through their body language...and again that’s another thing that a lot of people don’t understand because they don’t wag their tail like a dog, they don’t meow, they make all these different sounds and do things with their body that people don’t understand. So, that’s another thing I love to do is like show people like ‘this is what this means and this is what this means’ so they’re happy, they’re contented, and different things like that. Annie: And so how does pig sponsorships work? Anna: That is something...it’s so awesome. So if you’re in a position where you kind of want to have a pig but maybe you live in a city or you just don’t have the time to commit Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) to having a pet pig, you can sponsor a pig. And you can choose any one of the pigs at Pigtopia and we have...every pig has kind of like a bio on the website, like their story. Annie: That’s so cute! Anna: Yeah! Uhm they all have a story, they all have individual personalities and likes and dislikes. And, so you kind of find one that you like and that’s your sponsor pig. So basically I tell people ‘you get to have a pig but I do all the work’, uhm and that sponsorship...and it’s either, it’s like 5 to 25 dollars a month kind of a…kind of a range. And what that allows us to do is rescue more pigs, support other rescues. Uhm we also have a program that we help pay for spays and neuters for pet pigs of, y’know, people that have a pig. It’s very important that your pets be spayed and neutered. So uhm sponsorships help us pay for feed, straw, hay, medications, supplements, ongoing repairs because they’re toddlers and they’re always getting into things and like messing stuff up and you’re like ‘that’s okay I got this’. Uhm but those sponsorships help us...we couldn’t do what we do without them. And we have so many amazing sponsors that have supported us from the very beginning and its just...its just awesome because really and truly they make what we do possible. Annie: That’s really amazing. Yeah so thank you to all the sponsorsAnna: Yes thank you sponsors! Annie: -for so many piggies! I was reading the bios on your website...I went through every single one of themAnna: Aww Annie: -like actually every single one of them! Anna: Thank you! Annie: -and I was like ‘these are so cute!” and the names that you gave for them are so creative! Anna: Thank you, thank you! Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) 

7. Can you tell us about the Amber’s Refuge program? 

8. What work does taking care of the pigs involve/ Are there specific procedures involved in caring for the pigs? 

Annie: So what procedures are involved in taking care of the pigs? Anna: Well uhm, I would say pigs can tell time better than we can and they don’t even have a watch. Uhm so, they have a pretty strict schedule and they expect to be fed on time. I usually feed around 3 o’clock everyday so around 2:45 they’re all kind of standing there, waiting for the restaurant to open, expecting to have their food. Feeding them...a lot of people ask me what they eat. They eat a pelletin food that’s designed for pigs and we customize it for their nutritional needs and our location and everything like that. They have that and then they are supplemented with hay and things like that. And then we have several pigs that have special medical needs. So, for example, one of our pigs had to have several feet of his bowel removed and he has to have kind of a special diet. When I’m feeding, there are several different areas for the pig. 

9. Do you have any plans to expand the sanctuary in the future? 

10. When taking photos, is there an emotion you try to capture every time? 

Annie: Ms. Anna, I am so curious about your photography business and I would love to learn more about it. So when you’re taking photos, is there a specific emotion that you’re trying to capture every single time? Anna: Well uhm kind of the-the mantra or the tag-line, whatever you wanna call it, for “Elements, Images” is the moments and the memories. And, that comes from whatever situation I’m in, whatever kind of photography, it’s different every time, but let’s use a wedding for example. That’s a day full of special moments and memories that you carry with you forever. And so my job is to be there in that moment to recognize and capture it. Whether it be joy or nervousness or uhm y’know just a quiet moment between two people and they’re not even aware I’m taking their picture. Uhm, y’know, so one of the things I love about photography is that it’s…it’s an ever challenging, ever growing kind of thing and there’s always an excitement of chasing the moment and capturing that Interview with Ms. Anna Yancey (Transcript) moment. And so, it never gets old because there’s always something new to see and to capture and to create, which goes back to my love of art, y’know, so it’s a way to do that. Annie: That’s so cool, and you’ve been doing this for 12 years right? Anna: Yes. Annie: That is such a long time, that is amazing, and you also do senior portraits? Anna: Yes, I do senior portraits and uhm professional headshots uhm I even do some graphic design, y’know, just…just fun stuff like that. But uhm, I’ve done weddings for a long time and basically just if someone says ‘hey will you photograph my horse?’ i’m like ‘sure let’s do it!’. Y’know, like I’ve…I’ve gotten to do so many different things and that’s...that’s again that’s just so great. I’ve done product photography and I’ve done uhm sports and action stuff and uhm artistic things where I took a model and…and we went out on a lake and we did like smoke and, y’know, different just different like cool things like that. It’s just something different every time and again that’s like one of the things I love about my life is it’s full of variety and interest and creativity. Annie: That’s incredible, I love it. Anna: Thank you! 11. Do you have a life motto/mantra you go by? 12. What is one piece of advice you have for high school students?