About
Chris P. Bacon is a pet piglet who was born without the use of his hind legs and depends on a wheelchair to get around. In January 2013, his owner, veterinarian Dr. Len Lucero, began posting videos of Chris to YouTube, where the animal gained online fame for his disability as well as his K’nex wheelchair.
Origin
Chris P. Bacon was born on January 13th, 2013 and soon after, his previous owner brought the newborn piglet to the Eastside Animal Hospital in Florida asking if it could be euthanized due to a congenital defect affecting its back legs. After being examined by veterinarian Dr. Len Lucero, the pig was found to be otherwise healthy and instead of putting the animal down, Lucero brought the pig home with him to his farm, already home to goats, horses, dogs and cats, and built it a makeshift wheelchair out of his son’s K’nex blocks. On January 27th, Lucero uploaded the first video of Chris P. Bacon to YouTube (shown below) where it amassed nearly 600,000 views in just over two weeks.
Spread
Also on January 27th, Lucero launched a Facebook fan page[1] for Chris P. Bacon, which gained more than 20,000 likes within the first month. On January 30th, the piglet’s first video video was submitted to Reddit,[11] though it only earned 107 upvotes and 78 points. On the following day, the video and several photos of Chris were shared on BuzzFeed,[8] picking up 15,000 Facebook likes and shares. Also on January 31st, Lucero launched a Twitter account[2] for Chris, which accumulated more than 1300 followers in two weeks. Throughout the first week of February, images and video of Chris P. Bacon were shared on humor site I Am Bored[13], Inquistr[14], the Daily Mail[15] and Good Morning America on Yahoo! News.[16]
I prefer Twoinking instead of Tweeting.Maybe we should rename it Twoinker?
— Chris P. Bacon (@ChrisPBaconPig) January 31, 2013
On February 5th, an image of the pig sleeping in his wheelchair (shown below) was submitted to the Aww subreddit[12], earning 16,691 upvotes and 2277 points overall. By February 7th, local news stations had picked up on the human interest story and Chris P. Bacon was featured on Ohio’s Fox 19 WXIX News.[17] On February 13th, dozens of news stations reported on the piglet, including My Fox Orlando[6], Reuters[7], New York Daily News[9] and the London Evening Standard[5], among others. The next day, Chris P. Bacon’s photo was submitted to the Pics subreddit[18], earning 865 upvotes and 576 points. Also on February 14th, he was also featured on the International Business Times[7], Metro UK[4] and The Telegraph.[3]
Notable Images
Search Interest
External References
[1]Facebook – Chris P Bacon Pig on Wheels
[2]Twitter – @ChrisPBaconPig
[3]Telegraph – Chris P Bacon, the piglet in a wheelchair, become YouTube sensation
[4]Metro UK – Loveable piglet Chris P Bacon gets new wheelchair
[5]London Evening Standard – This is a squeal: watch disabled piglet Chris P Bacon learn to use his wheels
[6]My Fox Orlando – Chris P. Bacon: Disabled piglet hams it up on the web
[7]International Business Times – Piglet Chris P Bacon Gets New Wheelchair for Valentine’s Day [PHOTOS + VIDEO]
[8]Buzzfeed – Adorable Two-Legged Baby Pig Has A Wheelchair Made Of Toys
[9]NY Daily News – Famous Bacon: Florida piglet’s disability is no handicap to viral fame
[10]Reuters – Disabled piglet using wheelchair becomes Internet sensation
[11]Reddit – Just a 10-day-old, 2-legged pig in a wheelchair named Chris. P Bacon – [5:59]
[12]Reddit – This is Chris P. Bacon. Must have gotten sleepy wheeling around :)
[13]I Am Bored – Pig in Wheelchair: Chris P. Bacon
[14]The Inquisitr – Chris P. Bacon: Baby Pig Has Two Legs And Wheelchair Made Out Of Toys [Video]
[15]The Daily Mail Online – Sq-wheel like a pig! Adorable piglet born without hind legs learns to walk with the help of a tiny wheelchair
[16]Good Morning America on Yahoo! News – Baby Piglet Chris P. Bacon Uses Wheelchair For Mobility
[17]Fox 19 – Video: Disabled pig learns to use a wheelchair
[18]Reddit – This is Chris P. Bacon, he was born without the use of his back legs. His wheelchair is made out of K’Nex pieces…