ANGOLA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Still jet-lagged less than a day later, Piggy relaxes with his new foster mom, Kelly Kirkpatrick, in her Angola home.
"He's been doing great. He's a lot of fun, kind of resting and chilling out and playing a little bit, he got his bath today," Kirkpatrick said.
It was in early Spring that U.S. Army veteran and Cheektowaga native, Zach Knorr, found an abused stray at an army base in Afghanistan. That stray was Piggy and Knorr made it his mission to nurse him back to health.
"He had his ears cut off, his tail cut off. We basically fed him and nursed him back to health," Knorr said in an April video.
"You would never know the abuse in the past and the two days of travel to get here," Kirkpatrick said. Thousands of dollars were raised through a Gofundme to bring Piggy back to Western New York, but he needed a foster family. That's where Kirkpatrick came in.
"It's an honor, it's a huge honor," she said. Kirkpatrick has fostered dogs for years, now through Buddy's Second Chance Rescue. Piggy will live with Kirkpatrick and her family until Knorr returns home in October.
"This not only helps an animal that was abused in the past, but it's also giving back to a veteran that has given so much for our country," Kirkpatrick said. She continued, "I cannot wait for Zach to get home and be reunited with Piggy and I just want to see the reaction on Zach's face and I just want to see him happy. I can't wait for that outcome. That's why we do this."
