Carlton is a huge fan of pumpkins. The saved pig is unable to control himself. Carlton will steal every pumpkin that he sees on anyone’s doorstep, regardless of its size or color. Even worse, neighbors videotaped him sneaking out of his house to find his prized gourds.
“I came outside one morning and there was a mangled jack-o’-lantern on the porch with pieces of it trailing down the sidewalk,” Amanda Quick, Carlton’s mom, told The Dodo. “Carlton was back in the yard, but the evidence was clear. He had made a break for it and had eaten the face off of someone’s carved pumpkin!”
After that first taste, the clever pig couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into as many pumpkins as he could find, which meant Quick needed to keep a close watch or he’d disappear to investigate the neighborhood.
“It didn’t matter what I tried, changing locks, changing the leash,” Quick said. “He was going to find a way to get out and get people’s pumpkins.”
You can watch Carlton’s pumpkin thefts caught on camera here:
Following the incident, Quick expressed his regret to individuals Carlton had harmed. Fortunately, neighbors supplied the determined pig extra food to eat after finding the pig’s pumpkin-centric hunger amusing.
Quick said, “The neighbors were really considerate about it. At some point, [they] started asking Carlton to visit their home and consume their pumpkins. Even pumpkins would be left on my doorstep over night for Carlton to find when he woke up.
Quick sent the leftover pumpkins to Central Texas Pig Rescue, where she and Carlton originally met, because she knew Carlton couldn’t consume that many of them. He still has plenty to eat, so don’t worry.
The rescued pig occupies himself in the interim with various activities.
“He is always looking for something to get into and then immediately checking to see if I noticed,” Quick said. “He’s the reason the phrase ‘hamming it up’ exists. He always has a little twinkle in his eye from all the mischief.”
When the happy-go-lucky pig isn’t stealing pumpkins, he’s burying the seeds all over Quick’s front yard, which became an accidental pumpkin patch. The hardest part is keeping the pumpkin-loving pig from eating them before they’re ready.
In order for some of the pumpkins to grow, I need to fence off areas of the yard from him, Quick said. We wouldn’t ever have any large ones if he didn’t devour them all as soon as they ripened! The yard of our neighbors down the street has really been overrun by his pumpkin patch, but they don’t seem to mind.
No more thieving is necessary because Carlton now has all the pumpkins he could ever need.
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