God Save the Pig!

A rogue "pony sized" pig that adopted 63-year old vegetarian, Caroline Hayes, has by the latest accounts apparently been saved from being destroyed. The pushy (and previously thought to be doomed) pig visited her rural property in northern New South Wales ten days ago and has refused to leave despite many forcible attempts by Council rangers to evict him. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Ms Hayes told the ABC she took pity on the pig when he wandered into her yard 10 days ago, nicknaming him Bruce and patching up a few ailmenets.

"When I found it, it had 15 ticks in its eyes which I actually took out," she said.

"One of its eyes it couldn't see out of, so I put cream in it and I fixed its back up, but apparently it's actually claimed my land and claimed my place."

Bruce – who by my reckoning has demonstrated remarkable resilience and intelligence – obviously knows a good person when he sees one. Despite having bailed up Ms Hayes in her outside toilet, ripped up a king sized mattress and rolled up a mat, he obviously has a champion in her. When council workers tried to remove Bruce, the distraught Ms Hayes, asked them to leave. I hope he stays permanently or if not finds another safe home. We'll just have to wait and see how the story pans out but I'll keep you posted. Thanks to my sister for giving me the hat tip. Check out photos at the ABC North Coast and the Daily Telegraph. In the meantime, hail to the pig and hail to the heroine!