Beatrice took her last ride in a car today. She arrived here as a little pig, scared and confused. She joined Gertie in the kitchen: a duo of potbellies who watched Steve’s every epicurean move. She sashayed through the garden to join schoolchildren as they laughed and lunched on brown-bagged deliciousness. She rooted and ran, lounged in sunny patches of grass, and accepted treats whenever they were available—including as much of a box of Christmas Whitman’s Sampler as she could get before she was found out. A box of Little Debbie Strawberry Crème Cake Rolls made this morning’s journey a little less stressful and her arthritic hooves bearable. The veterinarian and students at Ohio State University Farm Animal Services in Marysville were kind, compassionate, and mercifully quick.

She was Little Pig. She was Christmas Piggy. She was the Queen. Her body is buried between the garden rows. A double rainbow this evening assures that She is Bea.