A Pig Rescue

I help out. It’s not something I brag about; it is just who I am.

This morning I was scrolling through FB and saw that my former boss had posted yet another picture of an animal that needed a forever home, which reminded me of the time she had found a small pig online that needed rescuing from a place in southern California. She had obligations that forbade her from taking on this rescue, and she was venting to us about how irresponsible people were about obtaining pets in the heat of the moment and then wanting to discard them when the newness had worn off. Bunnies at Easter immediately sprang to my mind as she described the scenario regarding this not-so-little-anymore pig. Without much more thought, I offered to drive down and retrieve it. After working out the details, I gathered a travel crate, a water dish, a harness and leash, and other such trappings, fueled up my car, put on some good music, and off I went.

I stayed the night in southern California, and the next morning I drove to the vet’s office where the pig had been dropped off. I had to purchase a larger harness for this pig since the pictures of this guy were OLD – he was a bit bigger than we originally thought, but into the crate he went and I headed back home, pig installed in the back of my SUV. I found myself singing to him – he didn’t even object in his little piggy language! I had to make a stop about halfway home, so I pulled into a service station, filled up my car but needed to use the restroom. It was hot, the pig was in the back of the car, and I had nobody to keep an eye on him so that I could leave the windows down long enough to run in.

Thankfully a police car pulled up about the time I was doing the potty dance; so I asked the officers, “I have to use the ladies’ restroom; could you watch my pig for me?”

I’m sure they momentarily thought I was a nutcase, until they saw the cute little guy in the crate. I gave a quick explanation about the pig rescue, then potty-danced my way into the building.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I handed said pig off to my boss when I got home. She opted to not find a home for him, named him, and last I heard, he was happily following the dogs around the farm.

Yes, even little pigs need rescuing from time to time, and I got to help with this one.