Stray Pigs Find a New Home in Bethany

This article was written by Bill Bittar and contributed to by Jaimie Cura.

The two stray pigs taken in by the Monroe Animal Shelter two weeks ago no longer have to worry about being served up as bacon. Kathleen Schurman of Locket's Meadow Farm in Bethany adopted the animals last Wednesday and plans to nurse them back to health.

"Well, clearly, I am a sucker for a sickly pig, and these babies need some special care, so we loaded them up and brought them back to the farm," Schurman said on the Locket's Meadow Farm Facebook page, where she posted photos of the pigs.

"I have to say, I have never seen a piglet look as skinny as the boy, so we hope the 'Curse of Locket's Meadow' — an instant 10 percent weight gain upon arrival, hits him hard," she said. "Oh, yes, and a mess of people did call the pound and ask about them, but they all wanted to fatten them for slaughter. Not gonna happen."

The pigs were seen wandering on Old Coach Road and digging up landscaping mulch in a man's yard to find food on July 25. Monroe Animal Control officers took the pigs in and tried to find the owner, but nobody came forward.

One of the animals weighed an estimated 30 pounds and the other was only 10 pounds.

Risko said the pigs were in poor health, adding the little one was all bones and the bigger one had scabs all over its skin and a discharge in its eye. 

In her Facebook post, Schurman wrote, "They have been injected with penicillin, given a few supplements, fed some wet mash and given soft bedding. Tomorrow I will give them a hit of Ivermectin."

While the boy pig has a name, Schurman is waiting to reveal the name of the girl. She shared how the boy pig got his name in one of the Facebook captions:

"I asked this one his name and heard, 'Ignatius.' Ignatius, I thought? Hmmmm. With pigs there's usually a punch line. And there was. My husband came home and helped me give them shots, and he called him 'Iggy.' At which point I then realized he was Iggy Piggy, I had to giggle, and all was right with the world."