Home for the holidays: Piggy found downtown gets adopted

Piggy is headed to his forever home for the holidays.

The Humane Society of Kitchener-Waterloo & Stratford Perth (KWSP) confirms a male pig, who was found wandering the streets of Kitchener, has now been adopted.

Piggy came into the agency’s care about six weeks ago after he was spotted strolling the sidewalks downtown.

“I do know he was down in the core,” laughed Adam Stephens, Director of Marketing and Community Outreach with the Humane Society of KWSP. “It’s a bit unusual. Geese and whatnot, sure you can find those, but pigs… not so much.”

It wasn’t Piggy’s first “big adventure” in the region as he initially met Humane Society staff in mid-October when he was discovered on the side of a rural road.

“When Piggy came to us, he came as a stray and we were able to get him connected with his then-owner,” explained Stephens. “The second time Piggy came to us, Piggy had gotten out and the owner had actually admitted he was no longer able to take care of Piggy.”

The local Humane Society then stepped in to support and shelter Piggy and get him ready for adoption. Part of that process involved raising awareness, which included a photoshoot where Piggy sported a dapper coat.

“We wanted to make sure he was showing his best side and his best wear, and so we were able to fashion that coat for him.”

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Stephens added that Piggy is still pretty young and is estimated to be around seven-months-old.

While he’s small for now, that won’t last long.

“Piggy’s going to be a big boy when he’s all grown up,” Stephens said. “When Piggy came to us the first time, he was quite little. But now he’s approximately double the size. I would say Piggy is pushing 50-60 pounds but a pig of that nature, and a male especially, he’s easily going to be over 200 pounds.”

Piggy was a big hit with Humane Society staff and volunteers, who even put together a specially outfitted kennel for him, but he’s already found his new permanent family — just in time for Christmas.

“Piggy has wonderfully been able to find his forever home and he was picked up first thing this morning,” Stephens said. “He is going to a home where the owner has over 20 years of experience taking care of pigs of his nature, and he’s going to be living his best life with a bunch of other pigs as well as some other farm animals that have specialized care needs.”

Although it’s a happy ending for Piggy, there’s still many animals in the Humane Society’s care who are waiting for a good home.

The organization is in the midst of its Hope for the Holidays campaign and community members who are able to help are encouraged to volunteer, donate, or give or gift items from the online wishlist.