Not many individuals have travelled the world with a terrier mix hound and worked alongside a world-renowned painting pig. However, there is so much more to Joanne Lefson, her hog prodigy, Pigcasso, and their journey amidst animal activism.
Joanne “Jo” Lefson and her creative partner in art, Pigcasso. PHOTO: Supplied/Farm Sanctuary SA
Amidst the picturesque mountains of the Franschhoek valley lies a little patch of heaven, Hog Heaven. Here you will find a boutique and inspiring sanctuary for rescued farmed animals. Founder Joanne “Jo” Lefson’s animal-saving journey started in 2004, with a shelter dog’s journey that was meant to end.
Jo adopted a shelter dog, Oscar, a day before he was scheduled to be euthanised. “I couldn’t believe that such a cute dog couldn’t actually get adopted,” she says.
Everywhere they went, people loved the adopted terrier mix hound. “They couldn’t believe that such a great dog was from a shelter because the general perception was that shelter dogs are damaged goods,” says Jo.
Oscar in front of Machu Picchu in the Andes Mountains in Peru. PHOTO: Supplied/Farm Sanctuary SA
This was the impetus for Jo to come up with a unique concept to change people’s perceptions regarding shelter dogs. In looking for ways to do this, she thought, “Why don’t we go around the world?” Being a journalist at a golf magazine and loving travel, it all made complete sense. Without considering pet quarantines or any other obstacles, Oscar and Jo set off on a journey around the world. “It was all to highlight the plight of how cool shelter dogs are,” she says.
The World Woof Tour was self-funded by Jo, with money saved up from her professional golfing career. It lasted nine months during which the dynamic duo visited 43 countries. “I got him [Oscar] up the Great Wall of China. We couldn’t get into the United Kingdom (UK). So except for the Big Ben and everything, we went to every single landmark you can probably imagine: From Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, to the Taj Mahal, to going down the Amazon, to us getting married in Las Vegas,” says Jo. She chuckles at her last comment, but the purpose of the journey was a serious one.
Together, they visited roughly 500 shelters across the globe, to connect the message to the journey. “It was also just an amazing journey with my best friend around the world,” she says.
Contrary to what many might imagine, there were very few difficulties travelling with Oscar. Animal travel services were organising all of their paperwork. “I also learned that most of the [airport] officials, when you fly in, do not even know what they are looking for,” she says.
Outside of already getting lost in Croatia, Oscar also decided to go swimming with crocodiles in Zimbabwe. “It was the third day and he went swimming in the Zambezi River and the guy said to me, ‘You’re never getting your dog back. That’s like a snack for a crocodile.’ And he [Oscar] was way out,” she says. Luckily, both made it home safely.
“We went to every single landmark you can probably imagine.”
Ahound the World: My Travels with Oscar was published at the end of 2010 after a publisher approached Jo when she landed in South Africa. “I just went to Arabella [Golf Estate] — where my mom had this holiday place — and I just spent five weeks there, writing 10 hours a day; got it over and done,” she comments.
Jo starts explaining how she moved on from losing Oscar, her best friend of almost ten years, in a freak accident on 11 January 2013. “I came back from California, and I decided I’m going to create the most inspiring dog adoption centre in the world.” She wanted to change the perception that shelters are always in “crap” areas, so she established Farm Sanctuary SA in Franschhoek, which was the exact opposite.
Jo’s little slice of ‘Hog Heaven’
Farm Sanctuary is nestled in the hills of the Franschhoek valley. Jo knew it was the perfect location for her project when she first laid eyes on it. She convinced an acquaintance (“not even a friend”) to lend her the money for the property’s deposit. Within a week, the process was well underway.
Jo feeding the farm-favourite cow, Baloo. PHOTO: Alexander Brand
Jo always wanted to rescue some farm animals, but it was never the plan to build such an immense organisation through it. Originally, she wanted to change people’s perceptions of animals. During their national tour, Jo would show people photos of Oscar lifting his leg on the Great Wall of China. At these presentations, people would ask, “How did you go to China with Oscar? They eat dogs in China. Are you crazy?” Jo would then respond, saying: “Well, they eat dogs in China. They eat cows in South Africa. They eat whales in Japan. What is the difference?” This disconnect left her feeling very frustrated.
“There is no such thing as farms anymore. They are all pretty much industrialised.”
And so, the Farm Sanctuary SA barn was erected. “I think the builder was completely drunk because it is three times the size of what I envisioned it to be,” says Jo. It intended to make people think about how animals are treated. Almost immediately the comparison was made to Noah’s Ark. “Noah’s Ark was quite applicable, because actually, it’s about bringing in these animals two-by-two,” Jo adds.
Pigcasso earning her own bacon
In May 2016, Jo rescued a pair of two-month-old piglets, Pigcasso and her sister Rosie, from a South African slaughterhouse. “There is no such thing as farms anymore. They are all pretty much industrialised,” claims Jo.
At the time, the barn was almost done being constructed, and a variety of random objects, such as soccer balls and paintbrushes, were lying around. Pigcasso proceeded to destroy everything except for the paintbrushes. “I thought: ‘Well okay, here we go. Let’s see if I can nurture this a little bit’,” Jo explains.
“Through some manipulation of the paintbrush, she could pick it up properly.” Using basic positive reinforcement, it wasn’t long before she knew how to pick up the brush and move it across the canvas.
“If she’s painting k*k everyone runs away from me because her mood influences my behaviour.”
Jo says that while she taught Pigcasso how to pick up a paintbrush, she could never teach her how to paint. Every artist in the world today has been influenced by some artist, but Pigcasso is totally in the moment and spontaneous, says Jo. “What I think is great about Pigcasso is that she doesn’t have any trained schooling. Like, she didn’t go to art school, learn, and was inspired by Vincent van Gogh, and copied a bit of his style,” she comments.
Pigcasso posing proudly next to one of her original pieces. PHOTO: Alexander Brand
At the end of 2016, two New York attorneys stayed over in the studio bedroom located above the main barn space, which houses all the rescued farm animals. They liked Pigcasso’s art and wanted to buy a piece. Jo had no idea what to sell it for and suggested that they make a donation. They ended up donating R7 000 for the painting. So that was technically the first painting that Pigcasso ever sold, explains Jo.
Pigcasso knows that if she doesn’t paint she will still get treated the same way and fed the same amount, says Jo. “With this, she looks forward to coming out here and doing her stuff,” she adds.
The process behind her art is best described as a collaboration between animal and human. Jo says it depends on the way you look at it. “It’s either she’s my paintbrush that I’m kind of working with, or you could say that she’s the creative genius because I can’t make her do anything.”
She says Pigcasso’s art is so valuable because there are roughly 8 billion people on the planet. If you give every person a paintbrush, they will all paint something. However, if you give 8 billion pigs a paintbrush, only one will pick it up and start painting.
Pigcasso signs off on her eccentric self-portrait prints before it is shipped to eager clients. PHOTO: Alexander Brand
Pigcasso paints on about four mornings a week. “It’s always interesting because you never know what she’s gonna do,” says Jo. She explains how Pigcasso has done one or two brilliant artworks in a few seconds and then everyone is in a good mood. “If she’s painting k*k everyone runs away from me, because her mood influences my behaviour, and then I take it out on everybody — except her,” says Jo.
The proceeds from Pigcasso’s paintings go to sustaining the sanctuary. There is a major topic behind Pigcasso’s art, says Jo. That is the effects of animal agriculture and meat consumption on not just animal welfare, but the environment, climate change, and everything else, says Jo. “Let’s say there are 2 million pigs in SA. One gets pulled out… doesn’t become a bacon sandwich. And now freaking Jane Goodall talks about her and has her painting hanging in the middle of her study and talks about Pigcasso all the time,” she adds.
Pigcasso also launched her own wine range in December 2020. The range comprises the Pigcasso PINK (Blend), GOLD (Rosé), WHITE (Chenin Blanc) and the signature Pigcasso BLACK (Pinot Noir). Except for the Rosé, all the wines are made from grapes grown on the farm. “Grapes are Pigcasso’s favourite food. So it only made sense that we created the wine. And I mean, if she gets into that vineyard, we will lose half a harvest,” says Jo. Pigcasso’s wines are having a great 2021, according to Kyle Hodson, the farm manager at Farm Sanctuary SA. “You can feel the love in every glass, with our love for the land and animals. We use no major machinery on our vines. Everything is hand-picked,” says Hodson.
Oscars Arc WOOF project
Jo is also the founder of Oscars Arc and its WOOF project and named it in honour of her late best friend. They recently moved their adoption centre off the sanctuary property and to a location in the heart of Cape Town. They have a container that pops up in central locations every weekend. “We do about 20 adoptions a weekend. The average shelter does one to two a week. So the numbers are profound.” WOOF strives to make the adoption process as simple as possible. They believe you lose a lot of potential adopters if your process is strenuous. “A dog in a home is still better than a dog two feet under,” says Jo.
“A dog in a home is still better than a dog two feet under.”
“For as long as I can remember, Jo has always been working to help shelter dogs and to show people there are these fantastic dogs in the shelters. It has been such an honour working with Jo and to be able to learn from her,” says Annika Lefson, one of WOOF’s adoption managers.
And as soon as the borders open, Pigcasso is going on a tour of Europe — in a pink bus preferably, says Jo. “And George Clooney is going to get a big painting too,” she jokes, “because he’s on my hit list.”