Edwina Griffin and her beloved Peppi the pig in happier times. Peppi has gone missing from her Snowy Mountains farm and Edwina is asking for help to find her. Photo: Supplied.
The last thing on Edwina Griffin’s mind last year was to adopt a pig.
Living on her 400-hectare property at Berridale in the Snowy Mountains, working as a wellness coach and mediator, life was good for her, dog Teya, alpacas and chooks.
But then along came Penelope. A tiny pig which a local ranger from the Snowy Monaro Regional Council had found and was looking for a home.
“I was in Wagga doing work and a friend said a farmer had found her and was going to shoot her but he couldn’t because she was so friendly,” she said.
The pig was being kept in a small concrete area while a permanent home was being sought, a situation Edwina knew she had to remedy.
“I hadn’t thought about getting a pig but we had an old chookyard up the back and I thought she could stay there for a bit until she found a home,” Edwina said.
It only took Penelope, later to be known as Peppi – “Penelope is too formal for this pig”, two days to work out how to get through the door – and straight into Edwina ‘s heart. And increase her fruit and veg bill dramatically.
“It was so obvious that she was meant to stay,” she said. “I no longer walked the dog, I started walking the pig and the dog. She followed me everywhere.”
Edwina also gave up one of her favourite breakfasts – egg and bacon rolls. “And of course I would never touch pork now,” she joked.
So when Peppi went missing last week, it was devastating for human and animals.
“She’s such a sweetheart. We miss her so much. The dog is just sitting there, waiting for her to come back.”
Edwina said Peppi apparently went walkabout after an electric fence on the property failed.
Although the pig knows the farm well, recent sightings of her indicate she was heading away from where Edwina usually walks her – and the area she was familiar with.
Peppi the pig might hog the chook feed, but she is sadly missed from her Snowy Mountains home. Photo: Supplied.
“I wasn’t worried at first because she knows the property well but when there were sightings of her going in the opposite direction to where she knows, I really started to worry.”
Peppi was last seen near Stony Creek Road, west of Berridale. Despite local noticeboard posts of a few reported sightings, she is still missing.
Edwina said locals had been very kind, helping her search for the pig, “even offering to float her home in a horse trailer”.
“One farmer drove me around his place for four hours at the weekend trying to find her.”
Edwina said while wild pigs were known to travel up to 50 km in a 24-hour period, particularly when foraging or relocating, pet pigs tended to stay in the areas they knew best, close to home. This meant she could be up to 250 km away, as far as Canberra, Moruya or even on her way to Victoria.
“I just want her safe,” Edwina said. “Peppi loves cuddles, my dog Teya, and hanging out with the chickens – she’s not built for life on the run.”
Edwina said her main concern was that she would be shot, mistaken for a wild pig.
“We just want her to come home and be safe,” she said.
A Facebook page has been set up to help find Peppi. Anyone with any information about her whereabouts is asked to email edwina@edwinagriffin.com
Original Article published by Sally Hopman on About Regional.
