Anybody Lose a Pig?

A pot bellied pig was found Saturday in the vicinity of Vera Cruz Road in Upper Milford Township.

The finder, and others who belong to a local pig-rescuing group, would really like to find its rightful owner. 

It's easy to make jokes because, well, it's a pig, but details on the petite porker are being kept under wraps because if anyone other than the pig's owner claims it, it could put the pig in danger, says Breinigsville resident Eileen Wanamaker of the Pig Placement Network, an organization that has been active in the Lehigh Valley for the past 20 years. 

"People use stray pigs to feed snakes, to train fighting dogs and just to eat," Wanamaker says. She's quick to add that pot-bellied pigs do not taste the same as the pork people are used to eating.

So the size, color and approximate age of the pig are not being revealed.

If the real owner tries to claim it, the pig will run to him—or her—just as a dog or cat would. The pig will be afraid of a stranger, Wanamaker says, because while cats and dogs will prey on other animals for food, pigs are preyed upon. 

"They think anything taller than they are that's coming at them wants to eat them," she says, so professionals can tell if someone who says he's the owner is telling the truth. 

More and more people are taking pigs as pets but in time, some find they cannot keep up with the care. Whereas dogs and cats can go to a shelter or to the Humane Society, there is no place to drop off a pig. So sometimes owners who can't care for them anymore just drop off a pig in a busy place hoping someone will care for it.

Indeed, the last pig rescued personally by Wanamaker was at Sixth and Broad streets in Emmaus in the dead of winter three years ago, she says. She believes it was abandoned there, just as she believes the pig found over the weekend was.

Pigs are skilled escape artists, she says, but normally do not stray too far from their food spot. They like to be able to see where their next meal will be coming from. The best food is a specialized diet of grain and vegetables, she says. 

"But they eat anything. They're pigs," she says.

Wanamaker says the most common reasons people get rid of pigs are

• They can't do stairs. Owners carry them when the pigs are young, but can't anymore when the animal gets to adulthood at 75 pounds or so. 
• People find out their homes are not zoned for pig ownership. "Many landlords, homeowner associations and townships just don't allow them," Wanamaker says. 
• Foreclosure of the owner's home. 

The Pig Placement Network tries to "re-home" stray pigs whenever possible. The network also places pigs in foster care, and others are kept at Ross Mill Farm near Doylestown, she says.