Animal Centre's Beloved Mabel Dies
UK - Mabel the pot-bellied pig, who lived at the RSPCA Mount Noddy Animal Centre in Eartham, near Chichester, West Sussex, for more than 15 years, died on Sunday.![]() |
The much-loved white, pot-bellied pig was caught wandering aimlessly around Islington, North London, when she was a little piglet. She was taken to the Harmsworth Animal Hospital, made famous by Rolf Harris' TV programme, before being transferred into the care of the animal centre.
The fashion at the time was for people to keep pot-bellied pigs as pets in their home and it was thought that at 15 inches, Mabel had grown too big for her owners and been turned out onto the streets.
Mabel lived in her very own 'Field of Dreams'
Mabel had a very bad skin problem and had to undergo extensive treatment by the local vets. At first she was kept in a fenced-off area of the goat pen, until being moved to her own section of the centre's 'Field of Dreams', where she had her own watering hole and house.
Because of her fair skin, centre manager Anna Stevens had to ensure that sunscreen was applied to Mabel's body every day.
The cheeky pig will be dearly missed
Her one moment of disgrace was when the then director general of the RSPCA, Jackie Ballard, visited the centre and petted Mabel - only for the cheeky pig to bite Jackie's fingers!
Anna said: "She will be dearly missed by everyone who came to see her, not least the staff at the centre who looked after her.
"Thanks to the loving care shown to her by everyone at Mount Noddy, she lived a lovely, long life. I will miss the grunts and groans she made whenever she heard a friendly, recognisable voice approaching her."