NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Against winter’s barren backdrop, a purple Victorian off Ten Rod Road is hard to miss. Its front yard is an explosion of buoys, lobster traps, and nautical curios. You’ll also notice nods to farm life, with signs that say “Welcome to Our Farm” and “Cow Butts Drive Me Nuts.”
If you look closer, you’ll also see Rachel — a 300-pound potbellied pig, one of many rescued animals that reside at Smith & Agli’s Potbelly Manor — a nonprofit rescue dedicated to improving the lives of pigs and other farm creatures in Rhode Island.
Owners Audrey Agli and Liz Smith put it plainly: They simply love potbellied pigs.
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“They’re the smartest, most lovable animals,” Smith said.
“They really aim to please you,” Agli added.
Agli and Smith say they have adopted and helped re-home hundreds of potbellied pigs over the years. They field at least one or two calls a week from people looking to give up a pig, in Rhode Island or elsewhere. People also reach out with general questions about anything from pig temperament to hoof cleaning.
“We’ve discovered from the calls that we’ve gotten that potbellied pigs are the most throwaway animals,” Smith said. “People get them thinking they’re only going to get to be 20 pounds, and they obviously don’t.”
Potbellied pigs range in size and weight — mostly dependent on diet — anywhere from 50 pounds to more than 200 pounds, and typically live between 15 and 20 years. They’re hypoallergenic and affectionate, and many people take them on as pets thinking they’ll stay small.
“We realized there was a need to re-home these pigs,” Smith said.
Every pig they’ve taken in has been from Rhode Island, and when they help re-home them, they like to stay within state lines, too.
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“Rhode Island, believe it or not, has a lot of potbellied pigs,” Agli said.
Parents also often gift them to their young kids who later go off to college, and “the parents don’t want the pig anymore. They will call us and try to re-home them,” Smith said. Many people also get the animals without checking zoning.
“I had a woman call me because she brought her pig to Newport, but Newport’s not zoned for pigs,” Agli said.
Currently, there are two pigs at Potbelly Manor (12 is the most they’ve had at one time), and the farm is at full capacity. Agli rattled off the property’s roster: Two potbellied pigs — Rachel and Ariel. Two steers — Gilligan and Mojo. There are three goats. A llama in the back. At least 30 pigeons. Twelve rabbits, 13 ducks, 12 chickens, and eight cats.
Rachel’s nose poked out from a pen in the front yard. Bits of hay fell off her snout as she contently chomped a whole apple, muttering little satisfied snorts and grunts with every bite. She’s 14 years old and has lived on the farm her whole life.
Agli led us to the other side of the house to meet Ariel, whose curly tail wiggled in circles when she saw us. She was about the quarter of the size of Rachel, weighing about 50 pounds, with a thick, black, bristly coat. She just turned 15.
“Ariel’s the perfect potbellied pig,” Agli said.
Ariel is a therapy pig, and she used to “go everywhere” when she was younger.
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“She’d visit nursing homes and schools. She was in a commercial. In a movie. She did a campaign in New Hampshire. You name it, Ariel did it,” Agli said.
Ariel’s back legs have started to weaken, so Agli and Smith keep her at home now.
Around back, two steers stared from their zone in the yard. Mojo is a bit famous — he escaped a slaughterhouse in 2021 and was found roaming the streets of Providence. Now, he’s living his best life with Gilligan and the rest of the animals at Potbelly Manor.
The nonprofit is entirely run on donations, and Smith and Agli are always looking for volunteers.
They met as nurses aides in 1983.
“We became friends, and then more than that,” Smith said.
“On April 14, we’ll be together 40 years,” Agli added.
Both women are mostly retired now, and Agli spent more than 30 years in the Army. Smith currently does tarot card readings. And upkeep on the farm is a constant job.
But with so much of the manor’s day-to-day on terra firma, why so many buoys out front? The reason is very Rhode Island.
“I love the water, so I’ve been collecting buoys since 1984,” Agli said. “Sometimes people leave buoys in the driveway with notes, ‘You need these more than me.’”
And like the animals they rescue, Agli and Smith always find a spot for them.
Brittany Bowker can be reached at brittany.bowker@globe.com. Follow her @brittbowker and also on Instagram @brittbowker.