 | | | Pot-bellied pig petting farm employee (center) plots his escape
Photo Kristy Downs
| | | | | | A miniature pot-bellied pig, spotted trotting through yards and along the bike trail near Las Trampas pool over the last two weeks, has finally been corralled and sent home to Brentwood to rejoin his petting farm buddies.
On Wednesday, August 8 children attending vacation Bible school at Lafayette Christian Church were treated to a visit from a petting farm. They had a great time practicing gentleness by using gentle hands and voices with chickens, rabbits, miniature goats and pigs.
As the petting farm folks were getting their animals back into their crates, the miniature pig - a newcomer to the petting farm circuit - made an escape and ran down into Las Trampas Creek alongside the church. As hard as they tried, no one could coax the little piggy back up. His heart seemed to be set on adventure.
Although concerned about the wild critters, including coyotes and foxes that inhabit the creek area, the owners had to take the rest of the animals back to the farm and they drove home.
Just over a week later on August 16 the pig was spotted rooting around the redwood trees in the courtyard where the petting farm pen had been. Having survived the rough and tumble world of Lafayette's wild lands, he seemed not at all interested in anything like petting. Neighbors who had spotted him earlier in the week had been leaving food for him in various places and Wilbur was living the high life! When approached, he ran back down to the creek with a grunt of indignation.
Three days later, Pastor Steven Moore stopped in mid-sentence during his sermon at the Lafayette Christian Church, an astonished expression crossing his face as he focused his attention over the heads of the parishioners out the front door of the sanctuary. There, several of the youth members were dashing across the parking lot in hot pursuit of a black and white miniature pig that was clearly getting the best of them. Chaos ensued as the pig led them and several adult members who had leaped from their seats to join the chase, back and forth across the front of the church, causing drivers to slow and stare. Amazingly, five humans were bested by one little piggy and Wilbur remained on the lam.
Members of the church, coached by the farm owners, tried several strategies to catch the pig, but Wilbur managed to pig out on all the goodies used to entice him without getting caught until the next morning, when he finally made his mistake. He just had to have that lovely bowl of fresh fruit that was carefully placed in a raccoon trap in the courtyard, and that was that. As he reached the bowl the trap snapped shut and he became a pig in a pokey.
Wilbur is currently being rehabilitated and will continue his petting farm duties soon.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA