Visit Pumba, South Tacoma’s beloved potbellied pig, before he moves away
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pumba the traveling potbelly pig has become a local celebrity in South Tacoma.
- Owner Jenessa Johnson plans to relocate Pumba to Maryland later in 2025.
- Tacoma recently passed an ordinance allowing potbelly pigs as legal city pets.
Pumba the potbellied pig likes attention. Especially when it means he gets a treat out of it.
Inside his home enclosure a couple blocks from South Tacoma Way on Wednesday, Pumba beat the heat by bobbing for apple slices in his kiddie pool and devouring a small watermelon. Although he’s only lived in Tacoma for about a year, neighbors have grown to love the 2-and-a-half-year-old pig, who greets them at his gate and enjoys walks around the Haunted Farmers Market and South Park.
Pumba is not like other pigs. He’s traveled to 13 states and loves sitting in the front seat. He’ll sit, come and turn around on command (when he feels like it). He gets the zoomies and loves getting cups of whipped cream at coffee stands. He can walk on or off a leash, play chase, is potty trained and recognizes up to 30 people (and holds a grudge to those who tease him or make bacon jokes), according to his owner, Jenessa Johnson.
Johnson adopted Pumba while on a road trip to find herself in Texas. At the time he weighed only a half a pound (he now weighs close to 70). An Instagram account @pumba_the_traveling_pig captures his many adventures, which include paddle boarding on Lake Tahoe, tubing in Olympia and hiking Rattlesnake Ledge in Washington.
“He’s a very socialized pig,” Johnson said. “He’s been on just about every ferry boat,” including the Vashon Island ferry and Bremerton ferry to Seattle.
Pumba is a vegetarian, and his favorite foods are cheese, apples, green bananas, watermelon, Cheerios and spring mix. Johnson also owns a cat and snake. She said pigs make good animal companions.
“They’re very smart,” she said. “He’s kind of been my plus-one everywhere.”
Pumba will be moving to Maryland in a few months as the family follows Johnson’s husband, who is in the Air Force. Johnson encourages anyone who wants to meet him to find them at the farmer’s market and say hi.
“When he’s a grumpy boy, he snorts. But he also wants his belly rubs. He loves attention,” Johnson said. “He’s very talkative. He’s super sweet. He’s a super good boy.”
Johnson said she doesn’t know of many other pigs in Tacoma and was glad to see the city of Tacoma recently passed an ordinance allowing pigs as pets in city limits.
Neighbors Darrell and Diana Fullerton often come by twice a day to feed Pumba snacks and say he’s got a celebrity status around the neighborhood. People will walk their dogs by his gate and others will pull over to take photos, often doing a double take.
“He’s got us trained pretty good,” Darrell said Wednesday. “He gets kind of ramped up.”
“Every morning around about 5 or 6 o’clock he oinks,” said Diana.
“He’ll shake the gate a few times, sometimes he starts barking [and calling for us],” Darrell added.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
