A large pig spent days last week running loose through a Pennsylvania neighborhood, befuddling and terrorizing residents all while eluding capture, according to local police.
The Manheim Township Police Department received numerous calls regarding the fugitive swine before officers finally were able to track it down Thursday morning to a home in Lancaster County, the department said in a post on its website. But finding the animal was only half the battle, as the department said it was ill-equipped to catch, contain and even transport a hog of that size.
“Typically, 40 years of combined police experience will solve almost any problem quickly,” the department said of the three officers dispatched to the scene. “And had this been a dog or cat, it would have been resolved within the hour. But livestock on the loose? Not exactly in our wheelhouse.”
Eventually, the department requested the services of nearby farm animal rescue group Lancaster Farm Sanctuary. With the expertise of volunteers with the nonprofit organization, located in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, the pig dubbed by police as “Hamilton” was safely corralled and hauled off to the sanctuary’s farm for medical treatment.
But not without a fight.
‘We see the irony in three cops chasing a pig’
A video that the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary shared on its Facebook page Thursday shows roughly a minute of the lengthy chase beginning in a backyard and spilling into residential streets, where police said Hamilton was nearly hit by a passing vehicle. Eventually, the pig found its way to the outside of a nearby pediatric facility, where the pursuit mercifully came to an end.
“A foot pursuit of the escaped swine ensued, and yes, we see the irony in three cops chasing a pig,” the police department said on its website.
Sanctuary volunteers positioned their vehicle outside the gate of the facility’s fenced-in play area and courtyard. About 20 minutes later, the volunteers and the police were finally able to herd the swine into a dog crate, police said.
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The pig, named Gregory, is recovering at the sanctuary
The pig, a male that the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary has renamed “Gregory,” has spent the last several days living at the organization’s farm and receiving medical care, it said on Facebook. Gregory was suffering from parasites when he was taken to the farm, but had no other apparent major medical problems, sanctuary volunteers said last week.
In an update on Sunday, the sanctuary’s volunteers said on Facebook that Gregory had made “a sudden turnaround” and was walking around his pen and drinking water.
“Thank you everyone who has been donating to his care and asking about him,” the post read. “We can’t do this work without your support and we are so grateful for you all.”
As for the Manheim Police Department, the experience affirmed one suspicion:
“We are much better at catching criminals,” the department said, “than we are at catching farm animals.”
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Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @EricLagatta.
