Post by tootie223 on Jan 30, 2012 19:13:06 GMT -5
From today's "Journal News"
NEW ROCHELLE — This little piggy went “Wee, wee, wee!” all the way to the off-campus apartment of a trio of Iona College students.
“We were trying to be knights in shining armor, as stupid as that sounds,” Iona senior Steve DeRosa said. “It backfired on us.”
Peyton, a 2-year-old pot-bellied pig, is now in the care of the New Rochelle Humane Society. She spent most of Monday rooting around the reception area, feasting on carrots, potatoes and bread, leaning in for a head-scratch from employees and generally being ignored by Ralph, tabby cat with a seen-it-all-before attitude.
The organization is working to find a permanent home for the 55-pounder, reaching out to farm animal sanctuaries around the region that could give her specialized care.
“She needs mud baths,” explained Ashley DiDomizio, an adoption counselor at the shelter.
How Peyton ended up in New Rochelle is the result of a bold idea that appears to have been long on ambition and short on details.
DeRosa said he and his roommates, who live in an apartment on North Avenue near the college campus, were perusing the Internet recently and found an ad in an online forum in which the writer said he planned to dispose of his pet pig because it wasn’t getting along with his German shepherds.
The roommates decided it was their duty to rescue the pig. That the man and pig lived on Long Island and that the three friends lived in a small apartment with a smaller backyard did not deter them .
“Our plan was to get him to a good home and be able to say we saved this pig’s life,” DeRosa said.
“We thought it’d look good for Iona College and our organization.”
The three belong to a fraternity, Delta Upsilon, though DeRosa emphasized that their apartment is not the fraternity house.
On Saturday, the friends drove out to Long Island and picked up Peyton. DeRosa said the man told them he could explain how to roast the porker if they were interested — but that was never the plan.
“We were trying to do something nice and cool,” he said.
Once they got home, they set about trying to find Peyton a more comfortable place in the country, calling an acquaintance who has an upstate farm.
Peyton, meanwhile, paced the apartment and wandered around their back yard. It was during one of those outdoor jaunts that someone spotted the out-of-place hog and called authorities. DiDomizio and her boss arrived Sunday afternoon.
“They said it wandered into their yard a couple days ago,” DiDomizio said. “We said, ‘OK,’ but obviously it didn’t.”
She said the animal appears to be in good health, if a bit tired. Peyton’s not as messy as DiDomizio had expected.
“We wanted to take her for a walk, but she doesn’t like the leash,” she said.
DeRosa, meanwhile, is hoping people don’t get the wrong idea about his and his roommates’ intentions. He said last semester they found a lost dog and returned it to its family.
“We were looking out for the pig,” he said. “We weren’t trying to have a pet pig. That wasn’t the case.”
NEW ROCHELLE — This little piggy went “Wee, wee, wee!” all the way to the off-campus apartment of a trio of Iona College students.
“We were trying to be knights in shining armor, as stupid as that sounds,” Iona senior Steve DeRosa said. “It backfired on us.”
Peyton, a 2-year-old pot-bellied pig, is now in the care of the New Rochelle Humane Society. She spent most of Monday rooting around the reception area, feasting on carrots, potatoes and bread, leaning in for a head-scratch from employees and generally being ignored by Ralph, tabby cat with a seen-it-all-before attitude.
The organization is working to find a permanent home for the 55-pounder, reaching out to farm animal sanctuaries around the region that could give her specialized care.
“She needs mud baths,” explained Ashley DiDomizio, an adoption counselor at the shelter.
How Peyton ended up in New Rochelle is the result of a bold idea that appears to have been long on ambition and short on details.
DeRosa said he and his roommates, who live in an apartment on North Avenue near the college campus, were perusing the Internet recently and found an ad in an online forum in which the writer said he planned to dispose of his pet pig because it wasn’t getting along with his German shepherds.
The roommates decided it was their duty to rescue the pig. That the man and pig lived on Long Island and that the three friends lived in a small apartment with a smaller backyard did not deter them .
“Our plan was to get him to a good home and be able to say we saved this pig’s life,” DeRosa said.
“We thought it’d look good for Iona College and our organization.”
The three belong to a fraternity, Delta Upsilon, though DeRosa emphasized that their apartment is not the fraternity house.
On Saturday, the friends drove out to Long Island and picked up Peyton. DeRosa said the man told them he could explain how to roast the porker if they were interested — but that was never the plan.
“We were trying to do something nice and cool,” he said.
Once they got home, they set about trying to find Peyton a more comfortable place in the country, calling an acquaintance who has an upstate farm.
Peyton, meanwhile, paced the apartment and wandered around their back yard. It was during one of those outdoor jaunts that someone spotted the out-of-place hog and called authorities. DiDomizio and her boss arrived Sunday afternoon.
“They said it wandered into their yard a couple days ago,” DiDomizio said. “We said, ‘OK,’ but obviously it didn’t.”
She said the animal appears to be in good health, if a bit tired. Peyton’s not as messy as DiDomizio had expected.
“We wanted to take her for a walk, but she doesn’t like the leash,” she said.
DeRosa, meanwhile, is hoping people don’t get the wrong idea about his and his roommates’ intentions. He said last semester they found a lost dog and returned it to its family.
“We were looking out for the pig,” he said. “We weren’t trying to have a pet pig. That wasn’t the case.”
