Elusive pig named Petey finds new home at farm sanctuary
By Jessica MacAulay
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Pennsylvania (KYW) — A stray pig that’s been on the lam in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, for a month now has finally been brought to safety thanks to some hardworking community members.
The pig, who goes by the name Petey, was captured Saturday and brought to the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary in Mount Joy, where he’s currently decompressing and getting to know his new digs.
“He is exhausted and still not sure of his new life. He was captured near a very busy road and we can’t imagine how much time he has spent on high alert these past many weeks,” a social media post by the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary from Saturday read in part.
Lancaster County neighbors spotted Petey multiple times over the last several weeks, but were unable to secure him and get him to safety, despite their efforts. In a video capturing the highs and lows of Petey’s time on the run, the pig can be seen walking through neighbors’ yards, interacting with pets outside and running down paved paths.
Neighbors in the Bent Creek neighborhood set up a pen for Petey and trail cams to try to keep track of him, but the stray pig took off after a few weeks and was next found a couple of miles away in East Petersburg, Lancaster County.
The farm sanctuary said it took a patient resident named Karen, who spent time earning the pig’s trust by feeding and familiarizing herself with him, to get the ball rolling. Another East Petersburg resident, named Tom, helped set up a pen for Petey in Karen’s yard, where they ultimately contained the pig — the first step into his new life.
Members of the farm sanctuary then went to the Karen’s to transport Petey to his new home Saturday morning. Petey still needed to be neutered and given his vaccines, the farm sanctuary said.
“The first minute he arrived [at the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary] he went right to his bed and went to sleep. He just seemed so exhausted,” a post from the farm sanctuary on Sunday read in part. “But after getting about 24 hours of rest he started perking up.”
In this latest Petey update from Sunday, the pig is happily munching on some cookies being hand-fed to him.
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