SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Drake Dissing will celebrate his 15th birthday soon.
But that’s just one of the summer highlights for the Parker teen.
Drake showed a pig at the Sioux Empire Fair on Thursday.
His parents Stan and Cyndi were in the bleachers watching their son who has autism.
“This is a great opportunity for Drake to get out and show pigs, show livestock,” Stan Dissing said.
Drake showed the animal thanks to Pig Pals, a program hosted by South Dakota Pork.
It’s an opportunity for kids and teens with disabilities to show pigs alongside 4-H and FFA members.
“We have an amazing group of our Sioux Empire Fair showmen that are going to be the volunteers and mentors for these kids to say, ‘Alright, this is what I do on a day-to-day basis. We can brush my pig out really quick and then I’m going to show you how to work, essentially, the whip to make sure that pig is moving where you want to go,'” SD Pork Director of Programs and Communication Abbey Riemenschneider said.
Most of the participants were from LifeScape and others were from the surrounding area.
“It’s a really awesome opportunity for these kids because, for one, a lot of them are inner-city kids, so they don’t really get to work one-on-one with animals,” Riemenschneider said.
While Pig Pals was at the Sioux Empire Fair for the first time on Thursday, Drake has participated in it at the South Dakota State Fair in the past.
“It’s kind of like Special Olympics, only with pigs, so he does that too and this kind of gives him more opportunity to experience different things in life,” Cyndi Dissing said.
Pig Pals will be happening at the State Fair on September 1st.
There is still time to sign up.
Click here for more information.
