Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Mystery pig lands in back of squad car
DANIA BEACH – He’s the mystery pig who didn’t want to get caught.
The little porker came out of nowhere Saturday night in a blaze of black, racing down busy Federal Highway.
Soon, a handful of people joined a trio of Broward sheriff’s deputies in a mad dash through the streets of Dania Beach, trying to catch the critter, a miniature potbellied pig that weighs all of 35 pounds.
“It was funny,” said Matt Freeman, a restaurant manager at Historic Dockers, who watched the spectacle unfold. “I stood there watching all these cops and customers chasing the pig down the street.”
And when the little piggy finally got caught, he was not happy about it.
“He just squealed and squealed,” Freeman said with a chuckle. “He was screaming like a stuck pig when he got caught. I asked the cops, ‘How are you going to write this one up?’”
Mr. Pig was plopped in the back of a squad car for more than an hour while the deputies figured out what to do with him.
The county pound doesn’t take swine, so they couldn’t take him there. And the South Florida Wildlife Center was closed.
While deputies waited for word on where to take the little guy, curious onlookers snapped photos of him through an open window of the squad car.
“Everyone wants a photo of the pig,” one deputy muttered.
Finally, the authorities found the perfect temporary home until they can find the owner: A cattle farm in Southwest Ranches.
“I have him in a little pen in my barn,” said Josh Dykes, owner of the farm where three little potbellied pigs already live.
For now, the mystery pig is on his own, separated by gender.
“They’re female and he’s male,” Dykes said. “I’m not sure if he’s been [fixed] yet. Pigs breed like rabbits.”
But he seems happy, Dykes said of his new charge.
“He’s real friendly,” Dykes said. “He’s sweet. Definitely somebody’s pet.”
Dykes says he usually gets calls from the cops asking him to help out with a horse or goat or sheep — and occasionally a pig — that’s gotten loose.
“The cops usually call me to catch them,” he said. “This time, they caught it.”
It was unclear Monday just where the pig came from, although witnesses said it was heading south on Federal Highway from the north.
“I guarantee someone had it in their back yard and it got loose,” Dykes said. How far did it travel? “Who knows,” he said. If the owner doesn’t come forward to claim the pig within 30 days, Dykes said he may keep him as a pet.
Dykes said he’d consider giving the pig to a loving home, but anyone who wants to roast, grill or sauté him is out of luck.
“I’m not going to give him to anyone who wants to take him home and eat him,” he said.