When Colin the piglet tumbled from the back of a fast-moving vehicle in Wallan in March, little did he know he was about to set off a chain of kindness that would save his life.
Taking his name from a man who followed the instructions of his wife to ‘go save the pig’, the battered, bruised and bleeding Colin was bundled up and ferried by his human namesake to Edgar’s Mission at Lancefield.
“I was just on the scene and couldn’t stand by and not assist the poor animal,” Colin said.
Edgar’s Mission founder and director Pam Ahern said Colin the piglet had tried to bury himself in the culvert of the road.
“Terribly scared by the ordeal as he was, the sweet Berkshire piglet has shown the true resilience of pigs as he has not been scarred by it, save the amputation of a hind digit due to his bone revealing trauma,” she said.
Ms Ahern said Colin the pig had transformed from a ‘shivering shell of fear’ to a ‘kind and gentle soul who is even cheeky and fun loving’.
She said he had brought joy to everyone at the not-for-profit haven for more than 450 rescued farmed animals.
“Over and over, we here at Edgar’s Mission are struck by just how intelligent and clean pigs are,” she said.
“It didn’t take Colin long to realise we were the good guys and were there to help him. And it didn’t take him long either to work out that the small patch of wood-shavings in the corner of his stall were for his ablutions.”
Ms Ahern said such stories debunked the myth of pigs being dirty and unclean animals.
Colin, a Kilmore resident, was delighted to catch up with his namesake earlier this month.
“It really is so special to see him so happy and healthy today, and not the scared and frightened piglet he was when I found him,” he said.
When asked what made him step in to assist the piglet, Colin the human’s reply was quick – ‘it was the right thing to do’.
Colin the pig recently headed to a permanent home with another rescued piglet.
Ms Ahern said the pair of pigs had captured the hearts of their new human carers.
“Life does not get much better than that,” she said.
“If only more people could come to see all pigs as we, Colin the human and Colin’s new family have done, they would quickly realise that all pigs’ lives are precious and worth saving.
“So, the message here is simple – be like Colin [and] be kind to pigs.”
