The porcine outlaw who spent days feasting on yards and lawns across Aurora before his capture in late September has a new home in eastern Colorado.
Fred, a 400-pound Yorkshire pig, has begun a new life on a farm run by the Eads High School Future Farmers of America program in Kiowa County.
Fred was first seen eating landscaping while wandering the city on Sept. 24, and Aurora Animal Shelter staff tracked his movements until Sept. 27, when he stopped to eat at a traffic roundabout. City staff and police were able to push, pull and corral him onto a trailer.
Eads High School agriculture teacher Justin Lenox heard about Fred’s search for a new home on Oct. 5, when his father sent him a video of the pig.
“I jumped on my laptop and sent an email to the animal shelter,” Lenox said. “I said, ‘Fred would make a great addition to the ag farm we have here.’”
By Oct. 13, Fred was in Eads.
“I didn’t want to see him get sent to a slaughterhouse,” Lenox said. “He’s got a great personality for a pig, and he’s already been super useful to us.”
Shelter staff believe Fred was likely someone’s pet who either broke out of a backyard or was set loose because he grew too big. Pigs are not allowed to be kept as pets in Aurora.
Students will help take care of Fred, and he will teach them about animal husbandry and artificial insemination.
“The kids love him and are always asking if they can go out and see Fred,” Lenox said.
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