Date: Fri 20-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

Digger-pig-Sandy-Hook-Diner

Full Text:

Penned In - Digger The Pig's Two-Week Adventure Ends

Even a pig on the lam gets hungry. That, combined with a front page mug shot,

put an end to Digger The Pig's great two-week adventure in the woods off

Church Hill Road.

"That was the last thing I expected to see in the back yard," said Bob Graves

of Church Hill Road. "I thought it was a dog at first, but then thought, `It's

too close to the ground. Could be a bear cub, but - heck, no! It's a pig. '"

When Mr Graves went inside to tell his wife, Janet, about their snout-nosed

visitor, she said a missing pig had been featured in The Bee . Mr Graves was

then able to call Digger by name and tempt him with some slices of bread while

Mrs Graves called Digger's digs (the Sandy Hook Diner).

Bill Boorman, who had already been on 20 false pig-alarms (there's another pig

loose, on Bradley Lane) walked up the road and nabbed the pig. He carried the

porcine fugitive across the street and down to the diner.

"I had to carry him through the diner. Everybody was clapping and yelling,

`Digger's back!'" said Mr Boorman. "He's more of a celebrity than President

Clinton. He was squawking. It was hilarious all the way around."

Mr Boorman phoned the dog warden and the police and told them to call off

their pig-alert. The pig had slimmed down during his adventure but is already

fattening up, he added.

Digger, "a spoiled little pig" who could care less about fame and fortune, is

already trying to burrow his way back to freedom. His sister, Twiggy, doesn't

understand the desire to roam because she thinks it's pig heaven in the pen

behind the diner.

"He was a nice little pig and he needed a home," said Mr Graves, who has lived

in town 26 years. "I got invited to a meal [at the diner]," he said, adding

that he has only one question about the menu: "Are you serving pork chops?"