A pig that was destined for the slaughter house is enjoying a new lease of life after being saved by a Lakenheath serviceman and his girlfriend.

Dustin Graziotti, 28, and partner Emily Keates, 25, stepped in to save Fella – a pot-belly/saddleback cross – from a breeder in Essex who was going to sell him for meat.

Now, 12 months on, Fella has become one of the family and can often be seen on walks around the town with Emily, who works from home renting motorhomes and Dustin, an American serviceman based at RAF Lakenheath, along their three terrier dogs.

The Soham couple are both vegans and decided to rescue a pig to help others make an association between the meat they eat and the animal.

Emily said: “Fella is house trained. He lives in the house and we treat him like a dog, take him for walks and cuddle on the sofa. We are head over heels in love with him, he’s so affectionate and precious. The animals share a bedroom upstairs.

“We get stopped multiple times by everyone we see on walks and we always drop in seeds of compassion into the conversation.”

Fella, who is due to celebrate his first birthday next week, has been taught to sit and wait and Emily says he is often better behaved than her dogs.

Fella still has another six months worth of growing to do and could be half as big again when fully grown. He enjoys a daily diet of boiled vegetables and a few odd scraps from the kitchen.

Emily said: “He loves visitors and says hello to everyone and other dogs in the street by pushing his snout up to them. He also does this to the horses in the fields who sprint over to the fence when they see us coming.

“Some people think it is mad to keep a pig but to us it makes sense.”