HE trotter-ed halfway round the world but at Christmas there was no place like home for the long lost Dartmoor Happy Hogs lucky mascot!
Staff arrived at the shop premises at Whiddon Down on Christmas Eve to find the hog on top of the barn roof covered in tinsel.
'We expected he might be home for New Year but Christmas Eve was a surprise and we don't know how he got on the roof — nobody heard a thing during the night,' said shop assistant Mark Whitehead.
The three-foot high fibre glass pig always stood proudly outside the shop but when it went missing four weeks ago, owner Peter Pavitt was distraught and even offered a reward of 100 sausages for its safe return.
A postcard from Spain confirmed that the pig was safe and well and getting a nice roasting and he had a brief dabble with Germany and Malaysia before clicking his trotters and saying 'there's no place like home'.
A note attached to the pig on the barn roof said: 'Who said pigs cannot fly — I've come back for my Xmas bonus, please give this to charity. Do not leave me in the cold again otherwise I will have to find shelter elsewhere.'
The lucky mascot is now sheltering inside the shop and is a real talking point with customers.
Mr Pavitt said he was concerned when the pig, which was a present to him, vanished but when he realised it was a joke he saw the funny side of it too.
'It created a bit of fun for Christmas,' he said. 'I even got a call last week from a customer who thought they saw the pig in a North Tawton pub.
'It's nice to have him back and I am going to donate his Christmas bonus of £50 to a local charity and throw in some sausages,' he said.