NORFOLK — Who’s happier than a pig in mud? Maybe a pig recently adopted from the Norfolk pound.
That’s Dexter’s story. The 3-year-old pot-bellied pig was taken from his Ocean View home in September and placed in the Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center after neighbors complained about him roaming freely on the city streets, knocking over trash cans and eating their contents.
“They would let him out and he would wander up and down the street,” said adoption center manager Barbara Hays.
Dexter’s Sept. 29 arrival at the Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center wasn’t his first stay at the pound. He had been sent there as a nuisance animal twice before, spending a few days there before his owners reclaimed him; however, the third time he was confiscated, his owners were issued a legal summons, but never showed up to court, Hays said.
So, like other pigs before him, Dexter became property of the city. The 130-pound porker spent his days lounging in a blue kiddie pool, using his nose to create mud wallows in the pound’s yard and munching on bananas donated by a nearby Starbucks.
Not a bad life for a pig, but the best was yet to come for Dexter.
Enter Barbara Gipson, the wildlife and special projects director for the Virginia Beach SPCA.
Having recently moved to a 10-acre farm in Chesapeake, Gipson was looking for a pig to adopt and add to her band of rescues, which includes two dogs, three cats, four chickens, a bird and a turtle.
Gipson adopted Dexter on Oct. 19, transporting him to her home in a crate placed in the back of her SUV. He was a little apprehensive at first but soon realized that Gipson was the keeper of at least one of life’s comforts: food.
Bananas, apples, sweet potatoes and watermelons — Gipson has it all, and Dexter can smell it.
Now, when he hears her walking toward his outdoor pen, he begins to squeal with delight. He follows her around, nuzzling her legs and using his snout to poke a pouch she carries snacks in.
“He’s starting to bond with me and seeing me as the food source,” Gipson said. “He loves to have his belly rubbed. He’s a really good boy.”
Currently, Dexter’s sleeping on a dog bed kept in an empty horse stable on the farm. He’s warming up to the place, spending his time learning how to sit, getting to know Gipson’s dogs and playing with some toys of his own, including a squeaky pig and a large, crinkly cat.
But he won’t be outdoors for long.
Gipson said that pigs are easily trained and she plans to make him a house pet, giving him a bed next to her 8-year-old English Mastiff Tessa and 3-year-old St. Bernard Tonka.
Gipson also wants to include Dexter in the Virginia Beach SPCA’s humane education program, which brings kids into settings with animals to learn more about them.
“He seems to be very happy,” Gipson said. “He’s such a love bug.”
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