New Cumberland Safety Patrol Driver Saves Baby Pig

After 23 years with the Pennsylvania Turnpike, not much surprises Robert Sharpe.

But last week, the PA Turnpike Safety Patrol driver rescued a tiny pig from the side of the highway, leaving Sharpie, as his friends at the New Cumberland Maintenance Facility call him, with a lot of questions, like “how did he get here?”

But, of course -- 

“The pig’s not talking,” Sharpe said. 

Sharpe found the 1-month-old pig at mile marker 244.2, just east of the New Cumberland shed, April 30.

“The little guy was bloody and really shaken up, so he probably fell out of a transport trailer truck,” Sharpe said. “But when I found him, he was sitting on the shoulder of the road, stunned, and waiting for someone to help.”

Once he wrangled the young pig in a retrieval loop – a kind of collar slipped on at a distance – Sharpe said the pig trotted right up to him, got in his truck, and settled in comfortably in the front seat.

While “the Pig Whisperer” has temporarily replaced “Sharpie” as his moniker, Sharpe was happy to help, and his responsibilities did not end on the side of the road. He went right to work to find a place to care for the young pig.

“My daughter used to work with a local rescue group, Speranza,” Sharpe said. “They responded to our call for help.”

New Cumberland Maintenance Utility Worker Robert Sharpe rescued a young pig on the Turnpike earlier this month.

Speranza took in the pig and coordinated his care with the Adams County SPCA.  

Within three days, the little pig – now named Romeo -- was eased from his trauma by patient caregivers, began eating again, and was thoroughly checked over and treated by a vet for his “road rash.” Romeo has since been adopted by a family who has a farm, where he can live a happy life with his new four-legged friends.

Sharpe was so pleased the story ended well for Romeo and admits to having a fondness for the forlorn little pig for whom he was so instrumental in providing a new chance at life.

“In this job, you have to be ready for anything,” Sharpe said. “All our customers are important to me -- whether they have two legs or four legs. I do feel really good when I can help.”

Pictured at right, Robert Sharpe rescued this young pig, now named Romeo.

By Rosanne Placey, PA Turnpike Commission, Manager of Communications and Marketing