3-20-2009

Gopher's Rescue Story.

What!?! A pig featured on today's blog? Yes, and keep reading for the story of how NorCal Equine Rescue managed to rescue a pig. This is quite an nontraditional story, and we hope that you enjoy it immensely.

Jason and Tawnee, when NorCal was little and first starting out, had given their information to the Plumas county Sheriff dispatch for emergency contact to help out with livestock. At that time Animal Control would only respond to dog and cat calls. Around 10:30 Friday evening Jason and Tawnee were in bed when the phone rang. Dispatch was calling to let us know that there was a loose pig running around on Hwy 70 in Quincy causing a disturbance. They asked if we could pick it up, and we agreed. A pig? Jason and Tawnee weren't really used to dealing with pigs, in fact neither had ever dealt with pigs before, so it would be an interesting evening.

They got the address and destination, it seemed there were some folks feeding the pig in their yard to keep it in their yard so it would not be hit on the highway. Jason ran out into the dark, hooked up the trailer, while Tawnee got grain, a lasso, a prodding stick, and everything else she could think of that a pig may be lured into a trailer by. Within a few minutes they were on the road for the 45 minute drive.

When they arrived they found a half drunk pig eating watermelon, cat food, beer, bacon and corn on the cob. The folks were doing everything they could to keep him in their yard. Every time he would start to walk away they would grab some other food to try to keep him there. Their fridge was no doubt getting empty!

Jaoson and Tawnee sat their wondering what to do with a half drunk pig. Tawnee got the stick out and tapped it on the side like she'd seen the kids do at the fair. The pig just looked at her funny. Jason grabbed the lasso and soon had it around the pigs neck. Come to find out, full size pigs are very strong and very noisy. This was a very populated area, it was almost midnight, and the drunk pig was screaming bloody murder as loud as he could in protest. The crowed of onlookers grew. People started peaking over the fence to see what was going on. Finally, after some heaving, pulling and pushing from everyone involved, the pig was in the trailer. Jason and Tawnee apologized for making such a disturbance so early in the morning and headed off. They had no idea what they were going to do with the pig and hoped that the owner would come looking for it soon.

They fed and watered the pig in the trailer and the next morning they built a temporary pen and tried to get the pig out of the trailer. By this time the pig had a hangover and didn't feel like being messed with by anyone. He was more than happy to take food, he just wouldn't get out of the trailer to get it.

Tawnee coaxed and coaxed him to no avail. Jason had the idea of spraying him with water, and sure enough, he disliked that more than he disliked getting out and he hopped out. We had Gopher the pig for a few days.

His owner contacted us and the return was very uneventful. He jumped into the trailer (being sober helps) made the trip safely and jumped back out. His owner had left for the weekend and the pig wanted a vacation too.

Jason and Tawnee were so thankful that the pig's owner was found. The trailer stank so bad after he rode in it! Even months later they could smell little whiffs of Gopher. He was a sweet pig though, and touched our hearts, and our noses.