From the president
May 2026
Dear Supporter,
Welcome to the 25th Anniversary of the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary. I would like to take all of you through a quick history of how we got here and what we hope for the future of Ironwood. After having arrived here from CA in the late 80s for a job opportunity for my husband Ben intended to be of short duration, here we are 38 years later and the beginning of the end of Ben, Donna and I running and developing this wonderful place called Ironwood. Ben and I are in our 80s and the time has come to slowly pull away from our duties and see that the sanctuary is turned over to capable, caring people who can continue the mission of the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary. While we are fortunately still healthy and capable, we want to make this transition while we can take the time needed to introduce and train those chosen to take our places doing the many and varied jobs we now are doing. This will take time and we are now in the process of looking for our replacements. I wanted to let all of you know of our plans and thank you beyond what words can say for your many years of support that has made Ironwood possible. What more appropriate time than Ironwood’s 25th Anniversary.
After years of working in the Animal Rights community, I saw an article in the Tucson Daily Star about a woman in Picture Rocks who had a pot-bellied pig rescue in desperate need of help. Ben and I got involved. Ben began building infrastructure for the owner and I got involved in the animal care. After two years of volunteering and working with Donna there as well, we could see the need to rescue pot-bellied pigs was far greater than could be done at the 2-acre facility where we were currently volunteering. Ben recognized the need and was the first to suggest we start our own sanctuary. I asked Donna if she would be interested in managing a rescue and she said she would love to and so the search began. After an extensive search, we were able to purchase a 40-acre piece of raw land zoned general ranch with no restrictions on the number of pigs and thus the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary was born.
The construction began in 2000, building pig housing, fencing large areas, drilling a well, running water lines, bringing housing in for Donna and visitors and so much more. By June of 2001 we took our first pigs, Claire and Popeye. Ironically they came from the woman who had called the Tucson Daily Star about the need to help the lady in Picture Rocks. Soon after, I was able to bring Wilma to Ironwood. She was my favorite pig in Picture Rocks and was not getting the care she needed. Wilma was certainly one pig who was instrumental in my being willing to start a sanctuary.
These past 25 years have been an emotional roller coaster. There are so many times that I feel total elation when, for example, we saved one pregnant pig, Crystal, who was walking along the road alone at night, picked up and brought to us that night. The very next day she delivered six healthy babies at Ironwood. There are hundreds of rescues like this one and no matter the circumstances, if it is one pig or a group of 45, the rewards of being able to give this one pig or many pigs a forever good home safe from danger or neglect are immeasurable. But conversely, the pain of losing our dear friends on a regular basis or going to a horrible neglect and hoarding situation is truly heartbreaking. But in spite of the heartbreaks, if I had another 25 years, I would do the same thing over again. These dear pigs are so worth the time and care we give them.
During the first 8 years we were off the grid and that was a real challenge as the sanctuary and the staffing began to grow. Water demands also began to increase and we went from driving a truck to haul 250 gallons of water at a time to now owning three 4000 gallon water trucks and pumping 2000 gallons of water a day from our most recent well. We have gone from Ben, Donna and I running the sanctuary to now 50 full-time and part-time employees. We have gone from Claire and Popeye in June of 2001 to nearly 700 pigs on site now and nearly 450 in foster homes. So many more have lived out their lives here and passed on peacefully making Ironwood Pig Sanctuary their final resting place. Everything has changed and grown and yet nothing has changed. Our mission to rescue and give a safe home to abused, abandoned, neglected and owned pigs in need has never faltered and neither has your support. We could not have possibly rescued and saved so many pigs if you had not been with us along the way.
Through these months of transition we hope to pass our knowledge and love of pigs on to those who will follow. With that, the sanctuary will continue to not only maintain but flourish. These are exciting times, but also there are many challenges ahead, but we have faced many daunting challenges in the past and will again.
While writing this letter I discovered some favorite historical pictures. They brought back so many memories. We sincerely thank you for all this time together.
Sincerely,
Mary Schanz, President & CoFounder
