$178,000 Is a Lot for a Pig, but This Pig Is Paying for College (New York Times)

Inevitably, the auctions turn out better for the animals&rsquo; owners than for the animals themselves. Three days after the auction, Kipper was put in a trailer and driven to a meat science laboratory at Texas A &amp;amp; M University, where he was slaughtered and placed in a cooler. Once his drug test results come in, Kipper will be butchered, boxed and, along with 66 other top-ranking barrows, donated to charity. The four couples who bought Kipper will each receive a 54-pound gourmet pork package.
The last time Mr. Leach saw Kipper was at the arena, in his pen on champions&rsquo; row the day of the auction. Some of the livestock show&rsquo;s committees call the arena&rsquo;s back loading dock, where exhibitors aged 8 to 18 say goodbye to their animals, the trail of tears. &ldquo;It was one of the hardest things to do, to leave him in his pen,&rdquo; Mr. Leach said, standing by the dirt and hay in Kipper&rsquo;s empty stall back in Haskell. &ldquo;I miss him. I really do. I miss just kind of knowing that he knows you&rsquo;re there, and you know he&rsquo;s there.&rdquo;

This is the saddest thing I&amp;#8217;ve ever read.