Newport: Pig owners reunited with Gertie who was dumped on a mountain

Gertie has her own swimming pool

A 20-stone (127kg) pig has been reunited with its owners after apparently being dumped on a mountain.

It is thought two-year-old Gertie was stolen and possibly hidden for a time - after she was found 40 miles (64km) from home.

Owner Holly, from Newport, said she was "over the moon" after finding her wandering on the old Llanharan opencast mining site in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

This was on Saturday after she had been missing for two days.

"I sobbed when I saw her I just burst into tears, I didn't expect to find her alive," Holly said.

• Pig-walking days out in the Brecon Beacons

• Abandoned micro-pig gets a new home

"If she was alive I expected her to be injured but she's OK.

"It's appalling. Who takes a pig, maybe hides her, and dumps her 40 miles away?"

Gertie is now back home with her family

Holly, from Newport, said she will make a report to the police and had previously contacted the council and dog warden.

She added: "They can't just take livestock and get away with it.

"She's just so big and so heavy - the only way she would have been there was if she was transported."

Gertie enjoying Christmas with the family

Gertie has free roam of the family's farm and has lived with Holly since she was a piglet.

Her previous owner bought her thinking she was a micro-pig and could not look after her anymore.

At first Holly said she could not "think of anything worse" than having a pig, with Gertie the size of a "fat pug dog" at first.

Now Gertie is part of the family - she is given treats and even has her own swimming pool.

Exhausted and confused

Holly said she and the family spent hours looking for her when she went missing on Thursday.

There was then a text message replying to her social media appeal saying she had been spotted running across the top of Llanharan opencast mine.

"It took me 45 minutes to get there. She was exhausted when I found her, she was confused. We had to walk a mile and a half, she followed me back to the car," Holly said.

"I am worried now and I've got to lock her in. Why would somebody do that? It's so much effort."

Holly is now rethinking how much she lets Gertie wander around the farm, adding: "She doesn't think she's a pig, she thinks she's a dog."

• WILD MOUNTAINS OF SNOWDONIA: Five farming families open their gates and share their lives

• IOLO: A WILD LIFE: Iolo delves into the archives from the past 25 years