Grace the rescue pig knows all the farm gossip

She came from a small-time breeding operation. When she needed vet care, the people who had her listed her online. Wendy, who helps run the Odd Man Inn Animal Refuge in Jamestown, Tennessee, calls that "a heartbreaking way to describe such a beautiful animal."

The refuge took custody of Grace and brought her to a university, where she got the care she needed. She didn't have a name yet, so they gave her one right away. Wendy calls it a classic, gorgeous name, like an old-time pinup girl's.

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Grace is a Hereford pig, and most pigs like her are raised for food. They rarely get the chance to be seen as the gentle creatures they are. At Odd Man Inn they do. The refuge covers 93 acres and is home to nearly 200 animals, about 180 of them big pigs, all looked after by five people.

Grace stands out anyway. Her personality is big, "really big," and Wendy pegs her as the girl in high school who would have been prom queen. She has pretty eyes that Wendy swears "see right through you." When Grace talks in her low, grunty voice, it sounds to Wendy like she is passing on "all the gossip of the entire sanctuary," down to who did who wrong.

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She also has her own crowd. Grace has a whole herd she chooses to hang out with, and a boyfriend. Oliver, a big old guy of 10, is the one she snuggles with at the end of the day.

These days Grace visits the University of Tennessee now and then so vets can check on her. She does not need to be sedated for it. She lies down for a belly rub and lets the medical team do their work.

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Wendy says she has no favorites, then admits Grace is special. Every day she tells Grace, "I could not possibly love you any more if you were my child or my sister." She wishes Grace could live forever, and one fan who has never met her wished the same thing.