Caribou County boy auctions prized pig to raise money for friend with cancer

CARIBOU COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI)– Flint Van Buren, 9, has become a local hero after he decided to auction his beloved 4-H pig, Piggy Smalls, to raise money for his friend who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this summer.

In the 4-H program, Flint cared for and raised the pig to be shown and auctioned during the Caribou County Fair, then the news came that his friend was sick.

"We heard that he had cancer, so I decided to donate all that money to him so I can help him," said Flint.

"We told him, 'yeah, that'd be great if you want to do that,'" recalled Matt Van Buren, Flint's father. "'But you don't really need to feel like you have to–you've worked hard for it and that's yours.' And he persisted that that's what he wanted to do."

After making the decision to use the money for his friend, the Van Burens used fliers and Facebook posts in hopes of gathering support from the community.

When the time came for Piggy Smalls to be auctioned, the community showed up. The pig was sold for around $5,000, then donated back to be auctioned again and again for a total of three sales.

"In the last sale you could see Flint smiling the most humble smile," said Nicky Van Buren, Flint's mother. "If there was a dry eye in that sale barn, it was few and far between."

In total, Piggy Smalls netted around $12,000, all of which was given to Flint's friend.

"He was pretty happy about it," said Flint.

Flint's friend is at Primary Children's receiving cancer treatments, but the Van Burens still keep in contact and said that treatments are going well.