Scott Hodges, a 30-year UPS veteran, is aware that it’s best to always have snacks on hand while delivering a box.
If he doesn’t, Miss Porkchop, a snarky pig, will undoubtedly speak out about it.
One day three years ago, Hodges was making a delivery to a vineyard in Newberg, Oregon, when he was greeted not only by the winery owners’ dogs, but also their pet pig.
The dogs seemed to have tipped her off about the treats they always got from delivery people — and there was no way she was missing out on the goods.
“She came right up to me along with the dogs, so I gave her a piece of my granola bar,” Hodges told The Dodo. “After that, she started coming out to greet me every time I’d come for a delivery.”
Miss Porkchop welcomes guests arriving for a wine tasting on a regular basis because she resides at the vineyard. Due to all the food, though, Hodges rapidly earned the title of Miss Porkchop’s most eagerly awaited visitor. Over the past several years, Hodges has also come to see deliveries to the vineyard as the highlight of his week.
She is quite amiable. Hodges added, “I suppose she thinks she’s just one of the dogs. She can only get her front legs up on the steps because her back legs are too short to climb all the way into my vehicle when the dogs are waiting for their reward, which happens frequently. Which is fortunate as I’m not sure how we’d get her down considering she weighs 400 pounds.
Since the winery sends out quite a few orders, Hodges is usually there up to four times each week to pick up new shipments. While the dogs usually get biscuits, Miss Porkchop will get granola, carrots or apples depending on the day.
Since having piglets last year, Miss Porkchop has even brought her babies along for a few visits to Hodges. The small family recently moved into a new barn and outdoor enclosure next to the main building to keep them safe from cars, but the special treats still continue.
“For a long time she was roaming free on the vineyard, but it tends to get really busy so now her and the piglets are in a large pasture with a fence,” Hodges said. “But even now, she’ll still meet me out there to say hi. She just comes running over.”
As shown on the popular Facebook page UPS Dogs, where Hodges also serves as a page moderator, delivery drivers often form special relationships with the animals on their routes — even when they aren’t dogs.
Along with Miss Porkchop, Hodges has become friends with a few horses from a nearby equestrian refuge, as well as a few llamas and goats that are kept as pets by local residents.
Hodges always has plenty of unique snacks for each of his ever-expanding animal companions. He alternates carrots, grapes, apples, and alfalfa cubes for the farm animals and uses around three boxes of dog biscuits every week.
0 Comments