Impounded Piglet Awaits Retrieval By Owner

By Andrew Gorosko

A petite porker is now resting at the town’s animal shelter on Ethan Allen Road, calmly waiting for his owner to claim him, following a string of porcine antics earlier this week that had town officials scurrying about Berkshire Road in trying to capture the animated piglet who had escaped from points unknown.

Following a report of stray piglet running about Berkshire Road near the Newtown High School athletic fields on Monday afternoon, Animal Control Officer Gerri Breyan and Police Patrol Officer David Kullgren joined forces in attempting to capture the erratically moving 30-pound animal.

Catching the short-legged critter was no simple feat, explained Ms Breyan. Aided by a nearby office worker, the trio eventually captured the frightened animal by backing it into a fence and placing a blanket over it. The animal was later placed in a small animal carrier for safekeeping.

Ms Breyan said it took about 45 minutes to catch the stray piglet, after it was found wandering along Berkshire Road. It had been loose for at least 30 minutes before that, she said.

Ms Breyan traveled through the area that afternoon, in seeking to find the piglet’s owner, but to no avail. She then transported “Wilbur,” as the compact pig has become known, to the animal shelter where he is being kept in the hope that his owner will claim him. The animal has black spots on a white coat.

Ms Breyan urges that the owner claim the animal at the animal shelter, telephone 426-6900.