Willie enjoys spending his days relaxing on the golf course and eating apples.
If Willie were human, these activities wouldn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
Willie isn’t human, though. He is a runaway pig.
The 120-pound swine has been on the lam in the Alverton and Mt. Pleasant areas since July 11, according to owner Margaret Cortlessa.
Willie’s wild adventure began when the pig was on his way to be neutered.
The family loaded Willie into a trailer, but, as they drove to the veterinarian, a tire blew out and the trailer overturned into a field.
Willie escaped, and no one has been able to catch him for two weeks.
“I’m praying that a miracle is going to happen,” said Cortlessa, of Alverton.
Willie has been spotted several times since his getaway. He’s a friendly pig who enjoys being fed and petted by humans, but when anyone tries to catch the hog, he escapes.
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Cortlessa is enlisting the services of a local trapper, who offered to help catch Willie for free.
Thus far, the pig has stayed within a several-mile radius of Alverton.
“He’s doing his thing,” Cortlessa said.
Cortlessa expressed concerns that Willie could encounter cars, coyotes or hunters while he’s on the loose. It isn’t typical to see a free-roaming pig in Westmoreland County, but wild hogs have been found in Butler, Bedford and Cambria counties.
The family adopted Willie and a female pig about three months ago. Pigs often struggle adjusting to a new home, and since Willie has gone missing, his female friend is “10 times grumpier,” Cortlessa explained.
“It’s hard to take a pig from someone else as a pet and make it your pet,” she said. “They are suited for the owner they are used to.”
If someone spots Willie, they can reach out to Cortlessa on her Facebook page.
In the meantime, she is praying the pig will return soon.
“It’s going to be a true matter of God’s will for him to be found at the right place at the right time,” Cortlessa said.
