Page 16 - SMH 2017 2nd edition

Notes by Debra Ferrell and through reading the book, The Miraculous Story of Charles
the Pig, written by Amy and Rob Holmes/Illustrated by Rob Holmes

On November 28, 2016, Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains suffered one of the most sever wildfires ever. One
such residence, the Holmes family, were trapped in their home and literally had to run for their lives to escape the
deadly fires with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The fire was spreading so quickly and came unexpectant.
They fled over to a neighbor’s house, then onto a hotel.

The Holmes family had a pet pig that was their daughters. Unfortunately, they had to leave him behind in order to
quickly escape. They lost everything in the fire that day and returned home to find ashes and debris. But then came
the good news. They received a call from their neighbor that astonishingly, Charles the pig was alive and somehow
survived the fire by digging himself a safe zone in the mud. Holmes said, “It was amazing as he couldn’t imagine how
anyone or anything could have survived this disaster.” He went on to say, “the Lord took care of us and blessed my
family. He made us whole by giving back our pig Charles.” The temperatures were 800 degrees+. Miracle! Charles
was treated at the University of TN Veterinary Hospital and is doing fine today.

For more information on “Charles the Pig” visit his Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/charlesthepig

You may also order his book on the Charles the Pig website as well as
Amazon.com. The book comes autographed with his” hoof-agraph” and
is an inspirational story about survival.

Photos and Illustrations
courtesy of Rob Holmes

16 Smoky Mountain Hiker