Wandering mates now in the dog box

Ginger the pig and Ace the dog are back home after escaping from their Pine Hill home and taking...
Ginger the pig and Ace the dog are back home after escaping from their Pine Hill home and taking a walk to Mt Cargill on Friday. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON
Some little piggies go to market — others stay home.

But this little piggy — a kunekune, affectionately named Ginger — decided it would be a great adventure to take his best friend, Ace the bullmastiff/shar pei, all the way from Pine Hill to the top of Mt Cargill on Friday.

The first that owner Patrick Quinn knew about it was when he received a text from a Dunedin City Council dog control officer, saying: "Ace is at the top of Mt Cargill with a pig. Please contact the DCC".

"It’s the first time they’ve ever left home," Mr Quinn said.

"I don’t even know how they got out, or why they did it. They must have been wanting to go on a scenic walk to the lookout.

"They shouldn’t have been out, but it was kind of funny, for a few seconds."

He said the pair were both about 1-year-old and they had been together since birth.

They share a house with Mr Quinn, and even sleep together.

The dog officer returned them home, where they got a scolding.

"Ace looked very guilty. He knew he had been naughty. But Ginger couldn’t have cared less.

"He just oinked and carried on about his business."

As a result, the dynamic duo are securely locked behind bars for now.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz