Chris P. Bacon

## Overview

Chris P. Bacon is a domestic pig player, born in January 13th, 2013 with a congenital defect that affects the use of the hind legs. Veterinarian, Dr. Len Lucero, adopted this player and continued making prosthetic wheelchairs to fit the growing pig. The wheelchair even has its own license plate.

## History and Rise to Fame

A farmer brought in this pig to a veterinarian as she did not know what to do with it. Since the pig was a burden and would suffer from the defect, she thought of putting it down. However, this veterinarian wanted to help give it a normal life. He engineered a wheelchair with a harness, starting with his son's toys and later, modifying a dog wheelchair. Comically, the doctor decided to name him "Chris P. Bacon". The first video posted online of this pig was on Dr. Len Lucero's Youtube channel on January 27th, 2013 that quickly gained nearly 600,000 views in just over 2 weeks. Chris P. Bacon made headlines in several news channel such as WPSD Local 6 and ABC Action News and quickly became viral on FaceBook and Youtube. In late 2013, a book was published about Chris P. Bacon, summarising and presenting its life in a light-hearted way. In March 2014, Len Lucero and Chris P. Bacon made a visit to the Franciscan Children's Hospital to spread the story of its adversity and inspire more human players.

Most notably, Chris P. Bacon was known by many as the disabled, little pig bound to a wheelchair with a hilarious name. It made the news reporter of the WPSD Local 6 break down in continuous laughter. The clip shared on Youtube had garnered 14 million views as of July 2023.

Two more books would be written and published about the player - One in late 2014 sharing life lessons, and another in late 2015 about the pig growing up to 2. The Youtube channel would be active until August 2016.

## Death

More than 20 animals were killed in the Baldswinville barn fire, which Chris P. Bacon was housed in. Sandra Seabrook, the farm owner, says that surveillance video shows the fire started when a hawk who had invaded the barn knocked over a heater while being chased by ‘Pete the peacock’, one of the farm’s animals who was protecting the other birds in the barn.

In February 2021, it was reported that Chris P. Bacon had passed away due to smoke damaging the lungs during a barn fire in Purpose Farm. Donations were given and the veterinarians at Cornell did everything they could to revive him but to no avail. It is not totally coincidental since Chris P. Bacon died to the lung damage, not by the burns it had.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.thirteen.org/programs/nature/nature-meet-chris-p-bacon-pig-wheelchair/
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z0lZwFWp-4&ab\_channel=AssociatedPress
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z-uO5TPQfM&ab\_channel=chrispbaconpig
4. ↑ https://www.google.com.sg/books/edition/Chris\_P\_Bacon/vHB5DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
5. ↑ https://franciscanchildrens.org/blog/chris-p-bacon-visits-fhc/
6. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMA3x-bc8iM&ab\_channel=BradRickard
7. ↑ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23247404-how-to-roll-like-chris-p-bacon
8. ↑ https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/601487/woo-hoo--chris-p-is-2-by-len-lucero-with-kristina-tracy/9781401949983
9. ↑ https://cnycentral.com/news/local/baldwinsville-barn-fire-started-by-hawk-chased-away-by-pete-the-peacock-defending-flock
10. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/PurposeFarm/posts/3731134997000887?ref=embed\_post
Check out the Twitter account: https://twitter.com/chrispbaconpig?lang=en