A sizeable and mischievous pig is on track for a new life after spending days disrupting traffic and damaging property in Aurora, Colorado.
Fred, as he’s now named, was first spotted on the streets on September 24, when the city received “its first call about a pig in traffic,” city spokesperson Michael Brannen told HuffPost in an email.
But Fred evaded animal control officers that afternoon, and over the next few days the city received multiple sightings of the pig, mostly “trotting near traffic and digging up landscaping.”
At some point, Fred gained a rope lasso seen trailing around his neck, indicating that someone had tried and failed to catch him. It’s unclear who the attempted captor was, since Brannen clarified the lasso was not the doing of animal services.
But on September 27, Fred’s troublemaking ― dubbed a “multi-day crime spree” by local news outlet Denver7 ― came to a close.
But the pig didn’t give himself up easily.
“He was being loud and a little dramatic,” animal field supervisor Augusta Allen told Sentinel Colorado.
It ultimately took five animal services employees, three parks employees and “at least” two employees to successfully capture him, which involved creating a makeshift alley out of wooden panels and corralling Fred into a trailer.
Since his capture, Fred “has been living the comfortable life in the Aurora Animal Shelter,” Brannen said. His shelter digs include a trough ― which the shelter had to buy, since they aren’t used to housing pigs ― and a children’s swimming pool where he can wallow, according to the Sentinel.
Though he’s been described in the media as weighing 400-600 pounds, nobody knows his weight for sure, since the shelter does not have a scale big enough to weigh him.
What they do know is that he has a delightful personality.
“He’s been very very friendly,” Allen told CBS News Colorado. “He’s such a sweet guy. If he were a dog, I would take him home.”
Since no one has come forward to claim the delinquent pig and he had no microchip or other ID, the shelter is working to find a “safe, permanent home for Fred so he can live a happy life,” Brannen said. And while Fred is not available for public adoption, the animal shelter still has numerous dogs, cats and other small animals looking for homes.