Editor’s note: As of publication Wednesday evening, Wilbur the pot-bellied pig was no longer listed as available for adoption.
BUCKHANNON – They’re not the usual passers-through, but in recent days, two pot-bellied pigs have found themselves temporary residences at the Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility.
Director of the Lewis-Upshur Animal Control Facility Jan Cochran said the facility is currently housing two pigs named Wilbur and Lucy Lou.
“Animal Control got a call about Wilbur because he was destroying someone’s yard,” Cochran said. “They asked for Animal Control to come out, so they trapped him and the reason we found out his real name is because the owner emailed me and then I gave her a call back. She had surgery, and she can’t drive for two weeks, so she’s trying to find someone will pick him up for her.”
Wilbur’s name was originally listed as Tootsie, and according to the site, he got along well with dogs and was “very interested in what everyone was doing.”
The facility has a stray hold policy for all its animals, so when they come in, they are held for five days and then officially put up for adoption.
“This isn’t common,” Cochran said of housing the pigs. “We do, on occasion, get them in here, but we don’t take them from the public. For instance, if someone had one that they wanted to surrender, we don’t take it, but if Animal Control gets a call about it, they’ll go out and trap the animal and bring in goats, or sheep, anything small like that, including chickens.”
The second pig, Lucy Lou, was brought in Tuesday morning after being found along Route 151, and she will be available for adoption on Monday, Aug. 17 for a $30 fee.
“The last pig we had didn’t get any interest from the public locally, but Rose Cochran, a woman who runs kind of like a humane society at her house in Webster County, took the last pig we had,” Cochran said. “Every one of these farm animals we’ve had has made it out of here with somebody through adoption or through a rescue.”
She said another pig they housed found a new home in Doddridge County.
“It’s been about a year ago, and he went somewhere Doddridge County because they had another potbellied pig, and they just wanted a playmate for their pot-bellied pig,” Cochran said. “Usually people have farms, and they already have one and they just want to add another one to the bunch.”
Cochran said if someone is interested in adopting a pot-bellied pig, they should have a couple acres of land for the pig to run around, provide some kind of shelter and they should do their research first because pigs like to root around and tear up yards and will look for ways to escape traditional fences.
The facility is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, and the first Sunday of each from month 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
