Hmmm, city pols take notice. There’s always a home in the animal shelter. From public safety spokesman Bill Kaempffer:
The mystery of the roaming pig has been solved–and she will travel to new, green pastures. Lolita, the 50-plus pound, five-month-old pot bellied pig was found roaming in the city’s North End Saturday by a family on Forestview Road.
“Someone woke up and found a pig in their back yard and contacted us,” said Gina Gambino, the city’s head animal control officer. Initially, Gambino said, she was incredulous. “In all my years as an animal control officer, I never thought I would be picking up a pig in the middle of Bridgeport. But here she was, a big, a dark-colored pig in a little garden area.”Gambino named her Cindy. She later learned that her name was Lolita. A picture of the pig posted on the animal shelter’s Facebook page drew a large response, leading people to bring in fresh vegetables to the shelter for the pig.
Gambino acknowledges she is not an pig expert, but roaming pigs are not entirely unprecedented in the state. Gambino recalled that Stratford animal control had corralled a pig on Interstate 95 not long ago. She made a phone call to them and to the state Department of Agriculture.
“They knew exactly what to do,” she said.
The Bridgeport staff put blankets on the floor for comfort and kept her in a separate wing of the kennel “because pigs do get stressed out” by loud noises.
Gambino went to a farm and bought pig food, and community members, learning about Lolita on social media, brought in fresh vegetables for her to eat.
If the owners couldn’t be located, Gambino had made arrangements for the pig to live out her years at a farm run by the state Department of Agriculture. On Thursday afternoon, the owners came forward. The owners decided to surrender the pig so she could live on the farm in Niantic.
“It was amazing when people came in with fresh vegetables for Lolita–and she thoroughly enjoyed them,” said Gambino. “She will have a great new home. But we also have amazing dogs and cats who want forever homes as well, so please come down to the shelter.”
The shelter even has a mixed-breed dog named Miss Piggy.
She is so precious! I have been following her on the BAC Facebook page. Thank you Gina Gambino, who lives across the street from me and is a wonderful animal advocate. We are so proud in Brooklawn!
I would have gone with Petunia, though.
A man is driving through the countryside when he sees a sign that reads “Pigs for sale, next left.” Curiosity got the better of him and he turned into the farm. The farmer greets him at the gate and asks him which pig he wants. The man, having no experience of buying pigs simply points at one and asks “how much is that one?” The farmer grabs the pig’s tail between his teeth, lifts the pig off the floor and says “$200.” Slightly confused, the man says “that’s a bit expensive, how about that one” and points at another pig. Again the father picks up the pig by the tail between his teeth and says “that ones heavier, so it’ll be about $250.” “Heavier?” said the man, “am I supposed to believe you are weighing them?” “Yes,” said the farmer, “that’s how you weigh pigs, everybody knows that, ask my daughter.” The man turns to his daughter and sure enough she says “That’s how you weigh pigs.” By this point the man is sure he is being conned, and is about to leave when the farmer says, “Hang on, I’ll prove this is how you weigh pigs, ask my wife.” To which his daughter added “Oh, you can’t ask her, she’s weighing the postman.”
Looks like a Bridgeport politician feeding at the public trough.
No offense to pigs everywhere.
This story is so incredibly tempting. The opportunities for posting are endless. However I am going to show some self-restraint. 🙂
Maria, now is not the time to show restraint! Fire away.