How “courageous” pigs herded sheep to save them from dog attacks – and then fought back

A rescued piglet returned the favor to the woman who took it in by saving her other farm animals from a dog attack.

Lindsay Lenz takes in abandoned, injured or lost farm animals at her hobby farm, Just One More Farm, in Missouri. One member of her farming family is a pot-bellied pig named Possum that she took in as a dwarf whose growth “fell way behind,” she said Newsweek.

After Possum and his sibling Wilby gained some strength thanks to Lenz’s hand-feeding, she took them into her herd of sheep and goats – and quickly realized that Possum had a talent that many know from the film baby.

“I saw my herd come into the night stable fresh from the pasture expansion. I started filming because it’s always fun to watch them run. Imagine my surprise when I saw the back of the herd come through the gate and realized that Possum was hot.” “They’re on their heels and rounding them up,” she said.

A video of Possum tending the herd went viral, and followers quickly tuned in to Lenz’s updates about farm life to see Possum tending the herd.

“Possum will gather the herd when I call, making sure no stragglers are left behind. “It makes my life so much easier,” she said.

But disaster struck earlier this year when two large dogs came onto the property and began chasing the sheep. Possum worked to protect his herd, as shown in a viral video posted to Lenz’s TikTok account @justonemorefarm on September 21.

With nearly 2 million views and 250,000 likes, the clip tells the story of how Possum sensed danger and “drove the herd up the hill toward the house.”

Lenz said Newsweek: “The entire herd came running over the main hill and ran straight into the stable and stable. As always, Possum was at the bottom. I almost looked away, but then I saw Possum stop, turn around, and fly away like a bat. Coming back from hell, I looked over my pasture and saw two large dogs running towards him.

When Lenz and her husband realized that their protective farm dog was trapped outside the fence because they had installed a panel to prevent a baby goat from escaping, they sprung into action and charged at Possum and the dogs.

“As I got to the top of the hill, Possum came running past me and I could tell by the red color that he was badly injured. “I ran down the hill after the dogs, who were now heading into the back woods on my property,” she said.

After the dogs were fought off, Lenz went to Possum, who had “dozens of bites” with his left ear “literally hanging on to a strip of skin.”

“He needed immediate surgery to remove the ear and wash out the dog bites. He came home with multiple surgical drains in his head and face, as well as painkillers and antibiotics,” Lenz said. “We went back to the vet every four or five days and he had to go to the hospital twice for wound treatment and a CT scan.”

When Lenz’s video went viral, she set up a GoFundMe page called “Help Possum the Hero Sheep-Herding Pig Heal” to help with his injuries and has been overwhelmed by the support she has received so far. She also praised the veterinarians for their care of Possum, saying they “love Possum and pamper him whenever he needs to visit or visit.”

Organizing the fundraiser “wasn’t something we did lightly, asking for help with his medical bills,” Lenz said, but the couple soon realized how much his injuries would cost. The first emergency hospital bill had depleted much of her winter wage savings, and Possum was suffering from multiple ear infections.

Lenz, who also posts on Instagram under the username @just.one.more.farm and on Facebook as Just One More Farm, has “lost sleep” over concerns about the dogs’ return. But is grateful for the “overwhelmingly kind and supportive” response to Possum’s story.

And while he slowly recovers, “he will not be able to return to the life he loves, life with the herd and leading the herd,” Lenz said. “The rain, dust, grass debris, mud and water from the lake would potentially give him further infections that could permanently weaken him. It would be devastating for him.”

However, there is hope. Possum could undergo a total ear canal removal, an expensive procedure that would “cause his ear hole to close and heal without the risk of him getting infections.”

Lenz and her husband, both retired Army combat medics who have deployed multiple times, keep a close watch over Possum. However, she fears that he is “deeply emotionally damaged” and has not been fully himself since the attack.

TikTok users were moved by his heroic story, with one referencing it babywhere a pig learns to skillfully herd sheep. The user wrote: “That’s enough, pig. That’s enough. What a brave and precious baby. I hope Possum does you justice.”

“I’m sobbing what a brave little soul,” said another, adding: “We love you possum.”

One user wrote: “The way he made sure no one was left behind, what a hero.”

And as another put it: “Pigs are so intelligent. He’s beautiful.”

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