The animals THAT SAVED US
‘COLIN IS MY MEDITATION AND MY WELLNESS’
Colin the pig helped Hannah Clarke, 51, redress her work-life balance. Hannah is a director of Headsight Services, which offers animal-assisted therapy to children, young people and adults. She lives in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, with her husband Tony, 54, and a small menagerie of animals.
‘He closes his eyes and waits for his lullaby’
I’ve always loved animals and found animal-assisted therapy incredibly effective during my career as a psychotherapist. My dogs, cats, pygmy goats, geese, chicken and guinea pigs have been instrumental in helping me help my patients.
I met Colin at a farm in Gloucestershire in 2018. At three months old, he snuggled onto my lap and my heart melted, so I bought him to be an addition to my animal therapy team. I thought he would be helpful, partly because we have so many negative phrases around pigs – ugly pig, fat pig, greedy pig. People who’ve been labelled like this can feel a connection to these misunderstood animals and it can help them re-evaluate how they perceive themselves.
I thought Colin was a micropig but now, at 250kg,
