By Travis Gettys
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DAYTON, Ky. - Kahnie the Pig has looked better, that's for sure.

Her skin is a bit blotchy from mismatched paint jobs, and dents to her fiberglass body betray more than 20 years of service as a Kahn's mascot and traveling concession stand.

Technicians at Studio Nine, a Dayton display company, installed wooden ribbing to cover the concession windows on Kahnie's sides, and removed kitchen equipment from inside her body.

"We're going to unveil Kahnie's extreme makeover at the Findlay Market Reds Opening Day Parade," said Susan Cinadr, spokesperson for the Camp Washington meat processing company. That's April 5.

The pig has been a fixture at area festivals and parades since the 1980s, when she replaced Kahnrad the Bull, Cinadr said. But age has caught up to her.

Patchwork inside the pig shows the 14-foot-tall Kahnie had been driven into a bridge, said Jerry Dunlap, Studio Nine master fabricator.

"The structural integrity was pretty much shot after that," he said.

Kahnie will receive a layer of fiberglass, which won't alter her features but will make her sturdier.

"Once you pour the fiberglass, it supports itself," said Jay Woosley, production manager.

Next, Woosley said, workers will build a white picket fence around Kahnie's trailer and apply a fresh coat of pink paint, custom-mixed from shades found on the pig.

Studio Nine will give Kahn's the formula for future touch-ups, he said.

"They could almost put a patent on this shade of pink," Woosley said.

Kahnie will wear a fiberglass mock-up of a Cincinnati Reds cap, painted red with a black bill, Woosley said, "just like this year's hat."

After Opening Day, Kahnie will accompany the Sara Lee Grill Cart to local events, such as the Blue Ash Memorial Day Parade and the Flying Pig Marathon Piglet Run.

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E-mail tgettys@enquirer.com