850-pound pig sprints across yard to greet his favorite recycling crew each week

While most people look forward to the weekends, Floppy — an 850-pound pig — cannot wait for Thursdays.

The reason? It’s recycle day.

As soon as the pig notices the Apple Valley Waste company’s truck approaching, he sprints (which, for Floppy, looks more like a waddle) to the front of his yard to greet the recycling crew.

“There’s nothing that’ll stop him from going to say hi to them,” Floppy’s mom, Chelsey Weaning, told The Dodo. He’ll drop whatever he’s doing — whether it be lounging in mud or playing with his dog siblings — to run over to them.

“He knows the sound of the truck by heart,” Weaning said. “He can hear it down the street.”

For Floppy, the recycling team’s enthusiasm is infectious. “He matches their energy,” Weaning said. He’ll wag his tail, much like a dog, which is also a sign of excitement in pigs.

Floppy loves people. But not everyone gives him attention. Sometimes neighbors pass his yard and are too busy to stop. He’ll go up to the gate and look at them, hoping they acknowledge him. They walk on by. “I can tell he’ll be disappointed,” Weaning said.

But Floppy never has to worry about being ignored by the Apple Valley Waste crew. “They always save time for pets,” Weaning said. “They’re the highlight of his week by far.”

Likewise, the crew feels fondly about their interactions with Floppy. “I can be having the worst day, and when I get there, it just turns around,” Mike Caprio, a driver at Apple Valley Waste, told The Dodo. “It really puts a smile on my face.”

His friendship with Floppy started about three years ago. With each week, Caprio’s bond with Floppy grew stronger.

“When I get down on my knees to talk to him, he looks right at me,” Caprio said. The pig started to recognize his voice and the beeping sound his truck makes when he pulls it in reverse.

Now it’s routine for the pig to beeline to the crew and give them a warm welcome each week. The recycling team takes a few minutes out of their day to say hello to Floppy.

“My work supports it,” Caprio said. “They think it’s great.”

Floppy has become somewhat of a celebrity amongst the team at Apple Valley Waste, with many eager to meet him.

Caprio will bring different helpers with him each week so everybody gets a chance to interact with the pig. “They just can’t believe it when they see him,” he said. “He’s so big and so gentle. You can’t help but want to grab ahold of him and hug him.”

To show her appreciation of the recycling crew’s friendship with Floppy, Weaning sets a table outside of the pig’s gate around Christmastime with gifts for them to pick up and enjoy.

After a decade of driving for Apple Valley Waste, Floppy is still the first and only pig that Caprio has ever encountered on his route. Floppy lives in a suburban neighborhood in West Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C., where it’s not typical to see a pig in a yard. Floppy isn’t a farm animal. He’s part of Weaning’s family and lives at home with her and her husband, Wesley.

The couple took Floppy in at 2 days old to help a relative. The pig, who required around-the-clock care and bottle feeding, was born with a neurological condition called shaking head syndrome, which prevented him from nursing. It was one of the worst cases the veterinarian had seen, and he wasn’t expected to live past a couple of weeks. Floppy is now 6 years old and thriving. “You can barely tell that he has a condition,” Weaning said. “He’s adapted and is a happy pig.”