6 min read Pig Can't Wait To See Her Favorite UPS Driver Every Day "I think she thinks she’s just one of the dogs ... She just comes running over.”

As a 30-year veteran of UPS, driver Scott Hodges knows to always come prepared with treats when delivering a package. And if he doesn’t, a sassy pig named Miss Porkchop will surely have something to say about it.

Miss Porkchop waiting at the door of Hodges' delivery truck | Scott Hodges

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.”

Scott Hodges

Since Miss Porkchop lives at the vineyard, she regularly greets visitors coming in for a wine tasting. But Hodges quickly became Miss Porkchop’s most-anticipated visitor, due to all the snacks — and over the past few years, delivering to the winery has become the highlight of his week, too. “She’s super friendly. I think she thinks she’s just one of the dogs,” Hodges said. “A lot of the time the dogs will come up into my truck waiting for their treat, but she can only get her front legs up on the steps since they're too short to climb all the way in. Which is good because she’s 400 pounds and I’m not sure how we’d get her down.”

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.

Miss Porkchop bringing her piglets to meet Hodges | Scott Hodges

“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.

Scott Hodges

In addition to Miss Porkchop, Hodges has also made friends with a few horses from an equine sanctuary on his route, and a few llamas and goats who are homeowners’ pets. With an ever-growing list of animal friends, Hodges is always fully stocked with special treats for each one. On an average week, he goes through about three boxes of dog biscuits and rotates carrots, grapes, apples and alfalfa cubes for the farm animals.



A horse peeking into Hodges' delivery truck at a local horse sanctuary | Scott Hodges

Although it might be a lot to keep up with sometimes, the extra work is all worth it. “I just love seeing the animals — it’s one of my favorite parts of my job,” Hodges said. “It’s a really fun thing to look forward to every day.”