Helen The Pig Found Living Alone In Foreclosed Barn; Now Recuperating

The Express-Times recently ran a story on Helen the Pot Bellied Pig, a 5-year-old swine that had been living alone in a barn on a 10 acre property containing the barn and a farmhouse that a bank foreclosed on. Reportedly, the farm's former owner had been cleaning her shelter, changing her water and feeding her a steady diet of dog food, pizza, doughnuts and frozen waffles. Her diet not only undoubtedly spoiled Helen's figure, as she weighed in at about 20-30 pounds overweight (120-130 lbs. vs about 100 lbs.), but the excess weight is causing her some physical problems. With the help of the Pig Placement Network, a nonprofit pet pig rescue and adoption service, it is expected that she'll take off the excess weight, hopefully overcome her health problems, and be ready for adoption in about a year. For more, see:

• This not-so-little piggy cries wee, wee, wee on her diet, and
• This little piggy gets some care - Bucks County (Pa.) Courier Times.

Go here for other posts on Helen The Pig.

For more on potbellied pigs, see the North American Potbellied Pig Association (NAPPA).

For another story on the health problems of a pig who was allowed to get overweight, see Woman Claims Pet-Sitter Made Her Pig Fat (A woman wants abuse charges filed against an acquaintance who was pet-sitting for her potbellied pig and allowed the animal to get fat. Michelle Schmitz said her pig, Alaina Templeton, weighed 50 pounds when Schmitz left her with a co-worker who offered to care for the animal in February, when Schmitz went on medical leave to recover from ankle surgeries. Nine months later, the pig weighed 150 pounds and it took veterinarians 4 1/2 hours to surgically remove the animal's collar, the Winona Daily News reported).

Go here for more on pets and foreclosures.