IN the March 8 issue of The Tumut and Adelong Times there was a story about Black Pepper piglet who found a home with the Hilliers of Minjary.
Well, The Times visited the Hillier farm recently to see how Black Pepper was doing.
At the time she had been found running the street in Tumut, she was estimated to be around two days old and was put into a shoe box and taken to the Tumut Agricultural Show to see if she could be found a home. No one wanted to adopt her, so society secretary Margaret Hillier took her home.
At the time when Pepper was introduced to the office staff at the showgrounds, Margaret couldn’t believe it when she was told there was ‘a pig in a box’ and could you please find her a home.
Margaret said last week that she had estimated that Pepper was about two to three days old at the time, but no owner could be found.
“I was going to call her Peppa, after the television cartoon that kids love, but as she is black, so I just gave her the name Pepper – after Black Pepper.”
Pepper now rules the yard, the garden and in fact has the run of the farm including the horse yard.
She was sleeping with the ‘old dog’ but just recently has decided to sleep with the horses in the horse yard during the day.
She has her own pen at night and is happy to be there.
But Margaret says as she grew she has been into some mischief as well as keeping them amused.
“She used to fit through the doggie door into the kitchen – she would just push her way in, run around the kitchen to see if there were any food scraps dropped on the floor, and then settle herself in front of the wood combustion stove and sleep there for the day,” Margaret said.
“Now, she can’t fit through the doggie door anymore, so she just pushes her nose in the door and talks to me – mostly demanding food when it is feed time around 5pm each day.
“And she has a bit of a personality crisis as she doesn’t know whether she is a dog or a pig.
“Pepper goes around the farm with the dogs when the cows are being rounded up – runs with the dogs behind the buggy and barks like a dog all the way.”
Pepper also settles herself in the sun on the front veranda for most of the day with the old dog, sleeping very happily. When she is not sleeping she roams to farm – up to the top of the hill to the Hillier’s son’s home, and visits the animals up there as well. All the way up and down again of course sussing out food.
She quickly learned how to open the yard gates to get her out to the remainder of the farm – and also how to get back into the home garden again – she has her favourite hole beside one gate so she comes and goes as she pleases – but never leaves the farm.
Being a hungry, growing piglet she devours anything tasty, including what she likes around the garden and will pick up bits of food that the horses drop when feed time comes round.
And has she become a ‘pet’?
“Yes, she has,” Margaret says. “I don’t know how big she will grow, but for certain she will remain a pet (and will not end up in the freezer) – the dogs have got so used to her and they are all friends.”
“The only good thing is at the moment she has found onion grass roots very tasty and she is busy digging up most of the yard to eat that – but she is keeping the onion grass under control, which could be a good thing,” Margaret said.
Pepper is very demanding and loves cuddles, belly rubs and if not getting her fullest attention then is a little big inclined to sneak up behind people and give them a nip on the back of their legs, or a hard nudge which almost sends you tumbling.
Happy life, happy pig – Piglet or watchdog?
Oh, and almost forgot – when visitors arrive the dogs will run out to the driveway and bark just to let Margaret and Peter know there is someone there – and Pepper of course runs with the dogs and barks as well.
