Ok, so the purple - and all those buoys! - is what originally caught my eye. I mean it was my favorite color back in 8th grade before I switched over to black t-shirts and Girbaud jeans. And the buoys, talk about a bold statement. I'd been meaning to stop to snap some photos for Instagram for the last few years. But that didn't happen. Until yesterday.

Turns out there's a lot more going on there than just an IG photo op although you probably won't be able to resist snapping at least a few pix of the frontage.

It's actually a non-profit, mini farm animal rescue called Smith and Agil's Potbelly Manor, that's helped save over 1,000 pot belly pigs.

It's also where yesterday I met a pot belly mix named Rachel (Photo below.), a much smaller full breed pot belly called Ariel (an emotional support piggie who travels with one of the women behind SAPM to schools, nursing homes, etc when she speaks about their raison d'etre...The Standard Times did a whole story about Ariel and the Manor recently too.), a pair of ducks splashing in a wading pool, some llamas, a curious steer, and still more pigs off in the distance.

Quite the group of cuties, big and small.

The mission at Smith & Agil's is simple - help save abandoned or abused farm animals, and spread awareness about the cause throughout RI and the surrounding areas. So, if like me, you're obsessed with Facebook Pages like Esther The Wonder Pig (millions of followers and counting thank you very much...we also traveled there last September for one of their Volunteer Days) and Gene Bauer's Farm Sanctuary, this brings all of that much closer to home. 

May Initiative: On May 24th, from 11am to 2pm, the Applebee's in South Kingstown will be donating 15% of your check to the folks at Smith & Agil's Potbelly Manor when you present a special flyer, gettable via their Facebook Business Page. Because running any kind of animal rescue is incredibly hard work and also pretty darn expensive.

Got Old Sneakers? Turns out a very good friend of mine who always seems to be ahead of the curve has been donating her kids' old sneakers to the Manor for quite a while. Sneaks are recycyled into new footwear and the owners of Smith & Agil's in turn receive a small amount of money that goes toward regular expenses, things like vet bills (You don't need to be part of an animal rescue to know how high those can go, anyone with a dog or cat at home can attest.), meds, and food (Heyyy, they need hay.) for the animals.

Social

For more from Smith & Agil's, and to get the flyer for their upcoming fundraiser, be sure to check out:

Site: PotBellyManor.Org

Facebook: Smith & Agil's Potbelly Manor