Laura Palladino could’ve spent her Friday night doing anything, but she chose to watch a livestream of pigs. Thanks to that one decision, she’s now a hero!
At June Farms in West Sand Lake, New York, a farmer recently installed a “swine cam” in the barn to allow friends and fans to watch as their pregnant pigs, Lucy and Ethel, prepare to give birth. Laura decided to log in and check on her curly-tailed friends, whom she’d met weeks earlier, but instead she saw something that caught her by surprise and spurred her to action.
“I logged on and at first, I thought it was just, like, a wood-burning stove in the background,” Laura told NEWS 10.
But, in fact, one of the pigs had knocked over a nearby heat lamp, catching the straw on fire and threatening to consume the barn itself. Panicked, Laura began debating her options. She first tried calling 911, but given that she lives in Dutchess County 80 miles from the barn, there wasn’t much her local first responders could do.
Losing hope quickly, Laura continued calling number after number until she miraculously reached June Farms directly.
“My mind immediately went to the worst. My heart dropped into my stomach,” farmhand Joshua Vics said later. “I don’t like to think about how bad it could have been if she didn’t say something.”
Laura watched the rescue play out, overwhelmed, relieved, and emotional.
“They busted in,” Laura told CBS News. “I started crying – like, this is just a lot. And he was holding her, and he’s like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ You could tell how much he loved those animals.”
Joshua and farm owner Matt Baumgartner were able to tame the flames until the fire crews arrived. They never could have anticipated the lifesaving power that the “swine cam” would have, but now they can say without hesitation that it was nothing short of a miracle. Their other miracle? Laura Palladino.
“I never thought that when we saw these pigs [weeks earlier] that I would technically end up saving their life,” she said.
Matt and Joshua (and mama pigs Lucy and Ethel) are endlessly grateful to Laura for caring for them enough to tune in to the live cam and for loving them enough to take quick, relentless action to see them rescued.
In honor of her heroic actions, the farm has promised to give one of their soon-to-arrive piglets a perfect name: Laura.
“I never thought I’d have a pig named after me, but I’ll take it,” Laura said.
It’s moments like these where people show the stuff they’re made of. Laura proved she has the makings of a hero! Watch the intense fire break out followed by the incredible rescue in the video below, and be sure to share this story with your friends.
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