ORANGE — It appears these three piggies didn’t stay home — and now the Orange Police Department is asking for the public’s help to find the swines’ owners.
The department took to Facebook on Tuesday to announce three domesticated pigs were found in a backyard and to ask if anyone knew someone who had lost them. An update thanked Crimson Acres Equestrian Center for transporting the animals to its Daniel Shays Highway facility and asked people to call North Quabbin Regional Animal Control at 978-249-2494 if they know the pigs’ owners.
Butch Whitmore, owner of Crimson Acres, said a young woman who works at the local courthouse heard about the dilemma. She also rides at the equestrian center and called Whitmore’s son, barn Manager Philip Whitmore, to see if the center could help.
Butch Whitmore said he and Philip drove a trailer to the house on South Main Street and lured in the potbellied pigs, which they brought to the equestrian center. The elder Whitmore said the family kept the animals overnight, giving them water and feeding them corn.
“They’re very friendly,” he said. “They come right up and eat out of your hand.”
Jennifer Arsenault, animal control officer at North Quabbin Regional Animal Control, said the pigs were taken from the equestrian center to her friend’s farm on Wednesday. She said it is important for the pigs to remain outside so they are not acclimated to warm temperatures by the time they return to a farm setting.
Arsenault said that, like stray dogs, the pigs will be kept for seven days (a timeframe that began Tuesday), at which point she will reach out to rescue centers or put up the animals for adoption.
Arsenault said the animals are pets and will not be sold to a slaughterhouse. She also said every effort will be made to ensure the pigs don’t go to someone with intentions of turning them into meals.
“We will look for a forever home, and not in anybody’s belly,” Arsenault said. “We’re looking for a pet home.”
North Quabbin Regional Animal Control services Orange, Athol and Royalston.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.