HIGHWAY THE PIG enjoys having her tummy rubbed and will roll over for her owner, Kim Fevold.

By DARCY

DOUGHERTY

MAULSBY

“mailto:yettergirl@yahoo.com”>yettergirl@yahoo.com

PIONEER – Call her the luckiest pig in Iowa.

HIGHWAY THE PIG has become such a celebrity that she likes to pose for the camera with her owner, Kim Fevold, who runs the Stylin’ Pooch, a dog grooming and boarding business west of Pioneer.

An exuberant one-year-old hog named Highway lives a free-range life west of Pioneer, where she dines on dog food for dinner and enjoys adventures with her canine and equine friends on the farm.

“Highway thinks she’s a dog,” said Kim Fevold, who adopted Highway after the spunky pig fell out of a transport truck more than a year ago.

“She’s got a lot of personality and is a bit of a diva.”

The story started last fall, when Highway fell out of a semi-trailer truckload of pigs rolling down U.S. Highway 20 near Early.

Some people from Sioux City who were headed east saw the little pig go tumbling head over hooves on the road.

After rescuing the little piglet, they stopped at a couple veterinary clinics before they found one in Humboldt that could help out.

“The piglet weighed about 10 pounds and had a lot of road rash,” said Dr. Jim Illig with the Humboldt Veterinary Clinic. “She was hurting.”

He called Kim Fevold, who runs the Stylin’ Pooch dog boarding and grooming business in the Gilmore City area, just west of Pioneer, where she also runs a dog rescue facility.

“Kim is very helpful,” Illig said.

While Fevold didn’t expect the battered little pig to survive, she didn’t hesitate. “This little pig needed help, and I thought I’d see what we could do.”

This little piggy didn’t go to market.

Not only did the little pig survive, but she thrived with Fevold’s care.

More than a year later, Highway is full of personality and is the most high-profile hog in the area.

Not only has she become a social media star, but she was featured in a television news segment.

Highway has also posed for photos with the North Iowa Knights, a semi-pro football team, for a 2016 calendar that will help raise funds for Fevold’s Stylin’ Pooch dog rescue.

“Highway likes to get her picture taken,” said Fevold, who added that Highway likes to have her belly rubbed.

Life is good for Highway, who basks in her celebrity status and roams where she pleases.

While she has plenty of fresh bedding in a shed on the farm, Highway often prefers to rest in the yard or sleep in the grove.

She has the run of the farm, since she isn’t fenced in. “She never tries to run away,” Fevold said.

Throughout the day, Highway patrols the farm with her best pal, Bane, a Presa Canario dog.

She also hangs out with the Fevold family’s horses and is especially fond an 18-year-old Arabian gelding named Cowboy.

“Highway is one of the family now,” said Fevold, whose daughters Payton, 11, and Marlo, 5, help take care of Highway. “She’s one-of-a-kind.”