VICTORIA -- Kevin Lowe and his wife Cindy were celebrating 35 years of marriage at a small party on Saturday night with a guest list of friends and family.
“It was a special occasion,” said Lowe. “We were enjoying some time on the patio and the next thing we know we had an uninvited guest.”
A 500-pound pig named Tina had escaped and walked 20 minutes to crash their party.
“I just turned around and there was this great big head there,” Lowe said. “It was quite interested in the fire pit and the dessert area.”
They decided to post a picture of Tina on social media to find her owner.
A group of volunteers called ROAM, Reuniting Owners with Animals Missing, got involved to help share the photos of the pig.
“That post reached the southern Vancouver Island farmers page and someone knew someone,” said ROAM founder Lesli Steeves.
“In the meantime, the police arrived and got to have a good visit with Tina.”
Jessica Charlesworth lives nearby and was just about to go to sleep when she noticed the post online.
“Sure enough I looked at the second photo and went, ‘Uh oh, that looks like my pig,’” she said.
An electric fence keeps the pigs at their home, but Tina found a spot to sneak out.
“I was in a bit of a panic because pigs aren’t the nicest party guests all the time. They can be messy, eat like a pig,” said Charlesworth.
Lowe said Tina was a hit at the party. She even had some cupcakes.
“She got her money’s worth on her adventure,” said Charlesworth.
