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VIDEO: This little piggy didn’t stay home

A one-year-old pig was found and rescued alongside a B.C. highway
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Brenda the pig was found and rescued alongside Lougheed Highway on April 12. (Dewdney Animal Hospital/Special to The News)

One Maple Ridge piggy went on an adventure last night, but they weren’t headed to the market.

Instead, Irene Francis’ one-year-old pig Brenda was escaping a bear intruder that had broken into her pen, leaving a sizeable hole in the fencing.

Sometime Wednesday evening, a couple driving on Lougheed Highway near 240th Street noticed Brenda near the road and stopped to help her, according to Dr. Adrian Walton of the Dewdney Animal Hospital.

The couple leashed up Brenda and waited for the BC SPCA Maple Ridge and Dr. Walton to arrive to help deal with the runaway pig.

Walton confirmed that Brenda was completely fine when she was spotted beside the road and rescued.

“Pigs are hearty animals,” he said. “They’re made for this type of environment.”

After being sedated, the pig was loaded into the vehicle and brought back to the Dewdney Animal Hospital, where she remained until Francis was able to come to pick her up the next morning.

“It was fun watching them try to load her up,” laughed Walton, saying that Brenda currently weighs about 250 lbs but could grow to be upwards of 500 lbs by the time she fully matures.

Walton applauded the heart of the couple that initially stopped to help Brenda and the work of the BC SPCA and Ridge Meadows RCMP to help deal with the unusual situation.

“All I did was sedate her, it was really a whole team effort,” he said.


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Brandon Tucker

About the Author: Brandon Tucker

I have been a journalist since 2013, with much of my career spent covering sports and entertainment stories in Alberta.
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