This little piggy went home

By Glen Atwell
THE runaway piglet that caused chaos along Berwick-Cranbourne Road last Tuesday has found a home in the backyard of her rescuer.
Veteran animal rescuer Nigel Williamson, with the help of Cranbourne police, spent several hours searching for the piglet after Pearcedale resident Grant McKay first spotted the distressed animal as he was leaving Casey Fields. Mr McKay said he first thought it was a strange looking dog running towards him.
“This little creature was running away from High Street and towards the sports facility. I thought it was a dog and then I was baffled,” he said. “When I finally worked out it was a piglet I thought it was quite strange.”
Mr McKay called animal rescue and Mr Williamson, an animal rescuer for the past 23 years, was soon scouring the scene in search of the missing piglet. The team of rescuers, which included two police cars, drove up and down Berwick-Cranbourne Road and searched every bush, drain and patch of grass in sight, but the little piggy had seemingly disappeared. Then Mr Williamson’s phone rang.
“A resident in the Blue Hills estate called to ask me to save a lost pig, which had found its way into their backyard,” he said. “I happened to be standing in their driveway, so 30 seconds later we walked in and located the little creature.”
Mr Williamson said the piglet was quite distressed after the ordeal and his team was forced to use a net to safely capture it.
“At one stage this little pig would have had to cross the road, so he was fairly upset,” he said.
Mr Williamson said he took the pig home, named his new friend Ruby and even built a pig pen in his backyard.
“My wife and I are really enjoying getting to know Ruby, she’s great fun. It didn’t take long for her to settle down and now she runs straight up to us when we come in to say hello.”
Mr McKay was thrilled with the end result, and congratulated Mr Williamson on a job well done.
“He really is the best animal rescuer around, I never thought this story would have such a happy ending,” he said.