Beer-drinking, red-haired pig named after Pauline Hanson missing on Sunshine Coast
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It is not your average missing pet advertisement: Pauline, the beer-drinking, leash-walking, flaming red-haired male pig is missing from a Sunshine Coast property after failing to return from a Saturday stroll with the household dogs.
The Tamworth pig, named after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson because of his red hair, also answers to Boris or pig, and lived with the Adams family at Cambroon near Kenilworth.
Helen Adams said her children purchased the pet pig off the internet six months ago and he quickly became one of the family.
Along with the family's three dogs, three chickens and neighbour's horses, Pauline lived happily among 10 acres on the Mary River and usually stayed close to the house, until this weekend.
"He went for a wander with the dogs on Saturday last week and he never came back," Ms Adams said.
"The dogs and the pig get on fine and the pig loves the chickens as well."
Ms Adams said she hoped Pauline had befriended another family and met with freedom, not foul play.
"I just hope, because we do have pig shooters out there, I hope he's not someone's roast dinner," she said.
Residing on the banks of the Mary River is a tough life for a pet pig.
Ms Adams said the unlikely pet slept a lot, loved his belly and eyebrows being rubbed, and would wallow in the river for a refreshing mud bath about eight times a day.
As well some other unique behaviour.
"He loves beer, apples, dog food and he barks like a dog when he's scared," she laughed.
Wait. What could possibly scare a domestic pig?
"If we get visitors the dogs all run and bark to the front gate, and if he is asleep he gets startled and runs out with them," Ms Adams said.
"Usually getting startled does it.
"He has a doona he lays on at my feet and when he sleeps his snout has to touch my foot.
"He didn't mind having the harness on. He'd go for a walk no problem at all like a dog, and he'd go and stop when you commanded him to. He was good."
But she said teaching other behaviours had not gone quite so well.
"The laying was good … all you had to do was tickle his tummy and he'd fall over and lay down straight away.
"We tried to get him to sit but he'd just squeal like a pig."
At 100 kilograms now, seven-month-old Pauline will eventually grow to more than 300 kilograms.
His unique appetite cost the family about $30 a week.
"We got a bag of pig food in but he hated it, he wouldn't eat it," Ms Adams said.
"He just keeps on going over and getting in the dog food and he probably ate constantly all day every day."
Topics: offbeat, animals, kenilworth-4574
