When pigs jump? Piglet ‘jumper’ rescued in Lawrence, Kansas, after leaping from moving truck
Gilbert is a piglet who was rescued after jumping from a moving truck; the humane society refers to them as "jumpers."
By Dorissa White, Chloe Godding
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LAWRENCE, Kansas (KMBC) — If you walk into the Lawrence Humane Society, you’ll see your usual cats and dogs cozied up in the kennels. But once in a while, a stranger, pinker animal is welcomed into the mix.
Take Gilbert, for instance.
Gilbert is a piglet who was rescued after jumping from a moving truck; the humane society refers to them as “jumpers.” The jump, or fall, while dangerous, is a leap to freedom, as the trucks may have been on the way to a slaughterhouse.
The shelter has actually taken in five pigs in the last two years. In a social media post, it said that some of the pigs they’ve seen have been potbelly pigs, which reach weights of 100-150 pounds, but all of the “jumpers” are Yorkshire pigs, which weigh 600-900 pounds when full grown.
“While all of these piggies are unbelievably cute, they require specialized care and very specific homes,” the humane society said on social media.
A passerby found Gilbert and brought him to the humane society for help. X-rays were done, and he didn’t sustain any fractures, though he did “land snoot first” on the highway, hurting his jaw.
He was taken into good hands, however, offering him a second chance at life.
“Really the only difference between a pig and a dog is perspective,” said Elina Alterman with the Lawrence Humane Society.
That’s why the shelter called the Kansas City Pig Rescue Network to take him in.
“We are always happy to get a jumper because we know that this is one less piglet that’s going to end up in a slaughterhouse and on someone’s plate,” said Angela Jones-Wiley, board secretary for the pig rescue network. “So he’s going to get to live out his life with a family that loves him and treats him just like a pet because that’s what they are to us.
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