Healing Power of a Pig: How a Show Pig Helped Georgia Family Battle Cancer in the Midst of the Pandemic

A dream 20 years in the making is now a reality for the Curtis family.

“It used to just be him with a few sows, then as I came on board, we've increased our hospitality and marketing and all of that, too,” says Emily Curtis, owner of Curtis Show Pigs.

Emily and her husband Michael breed and sell show pigs at their family farm in Thompson, Mo. Their two daughters also joined in on the fun this year, stepping into the show ring for the first time and carrying on the family tradition.

“We just have a lot of fun with it at this point,” says Michael Curtis, who started the operation before he even graduated high school.

While the Curtis’ will be the first to tell you their operation is small, which is by design, they are modest when describing their reach. The Curtis family farrows twice a year, drawing quite the crowd each time, typically selling out of show pig stock.

“We farrow in the summer, as well, and have just developed a relationship with some Georgia ag teachers,” says Michael. “We send a lot down there in the fall, that will then show in February, or March down there.”

Devastating Fire

Catering to a loyal list of clients has become the Curtis family’s specialty. 

“We have past connections to a FFA group in northern Georgia and the ag teacher reached out to me, we delivered some pigs down just like we always do. And a week later, I got a text message from the mom of this girl, saying their trailer had burned and the pig we sent them was lost in the fire. She wanted to replace the pig,” remembers Michael. “So, they contacted us wanting to purchase another one.”

“I think the first phone call was that their whole trailer had burned, and the pig had been inside and died,” adds Emily. “And tragedies like that happen with barn fires, and just tragedies with the animals, and usually we don't have pigs left. Thankfully since it had just happened, we still had pigs.”

A Gift of Generosity

With pigs still in their pens, the Curtis’ knew exactly what they needed to do.

“I mean, it was no brainer: send her a new pig,” says Emily. “Her mom wanted to pay for it, but we said of course not. It means so much to these kids to show, and your heart breaks for the kid going through that. Giving them the pig is least you can do, and any other breeder would have done the exact same thing.”

The Curtis’ were gifting this family another pig out of generosity. While that act of kindness was a remarkable gesture for a family the Curtis’ barely knew, but the story didn’t stop there.

“I reached out a couple months later to check on the pig and see how it had done, since they should have had a few shows by then. I just sent a little text message just hoping for update on the pig. Instead, we got an update on the family situation that her dad had been diagnosed with cancer,” says Michael.

Challenging Cancer

The cancer diagnosis that came for one Georgia family was the exact day they were gifted the show pig from the Curtis’ in Missouri.

“We were blindsided by COVID-19, and then with leukemia,” says Naomi King, the mom of 16-year-old Miriam King, who lost her first pig in a trailer file, and then planned to show the new pig given to her by the Curtis’. “I was like, ‘oh my gosh,’ because we went and picked up her pig that morning. And then that afternoon, I took my husband to our local oncologist here in Blairsville. I didn’t even know what an oncologist was.”

“I was actually at the pig barn at the time,” says Miriam. “My mom called me on the phone and said, ‘Dad has cancer.’”

With those words, came a flood of emotions as reality started to set in.

“As soon as the pig trailer caught on fire, and then we got a new pig, named Jimmy Dean, to show, I just felt like God did not want us to show this year,” says Naomi. “I was like, ‘shoot, we have the pig already, what are we going to do? We’re going to bring him with us.”

So, that’s what they did. Jimmy Dean, as they called him, was what helped Miriam have at least some piece of normalcy while her dad was undergoing cancer treatment in Atlanta. All of this also happening in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic causing the world to shut down.

“I walked down the streets in my grandmother's little neighborhood every day with the pig,” says Miriam. “All while the neighbors were looking at the pig.”

Desire for Normalcy

The Kings brought a piece of home with them, as well as a steady routine to keep her mind off the reality of her dad’s diagnosis.

“In the middle of COVID-19 and leukemia, Jimmy Dean brought us normalcy,” says Naomi. “It made life normal. That’s [walking the pig] just what we do. This is what we did every year previous. With COVID-19, everybody wanted normal. And with another family crisis going on, we wanted normal.”

The desire to bring normalcy as chaos was actually unfolding for the Kings, came for a girl who found FFA and showing pigs was her passion.

“The pigs have been really great because she was homeschooled and kind of shy and quiet,” says Naomi. “And when she decided that she wanted to go to public school in ninth grade, it was a big adjustment for her. FFA was just in her niche. She just got right into it.”

Deep Dedication

As the Kings were battling the fight against cancer as a family, the Curtis family in Missouri was also learning about the miles Miriam went to still care for her show pig.

“That just hit me so hard, I said, ‘that's some dedication,’” says Emily. And it showed me how much they were supporting each other as a family, and that the parents were supporting her still having this project that she was dedicated to caring for an animal.”

That deep dedication turned into inspiration for the Curtis’ annual t-shirt.

“That became our theme,” says Emily. “But it's so much more than about a t shirt. It's just the inspiration that she gave me. And then I knew that it would inspire so many other people. I'm just amazed by them.”

Healing Power

For the Kings, Chris’ journey is just getting started.

“I'm just going now to keep the doctor proved wrong,” says Chris.

“We knew God could do this,” says Naomi. “When knew God could cure him no matter what chemo or what these doctors wanted to do. God can. He can. And he did.”

“I have a 100% clean bill of health,” says Chris.

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic caused so much pain for many, the Kings have been an inspiration.

“Naomi said that Chris is cancer free and in remission, and they got that news on the same day that Jimmy Dean went to slaughter,” says Emily. “So, that pig got Miriam through the exact number of days that her dad was fighting cancer, and just the symbolism of that, and how much these animals mean to all of us, it's a story meant to be told.”

Lessons about life – and reminders about the strength of family and faith - extended beyond the show ring for the Kings. As Jimmy Dean is proof that a show pig is more than just a project.

“You have to keep pushing through, whether it be COVID-19 or leukemia, every family's going through something right now. Don't quit,” says Naomi. “Keep striving. Every day is a new day. God's mercies are new every morning.”

The Kings say they’ll continue showing pigs, as their teenage daughter learned more about life and dedication during 2020 than some do in an entire decade.

Read more about the King's family story on Farm Journal's PORK Business.