Pound a sow note for runabout pig
A pig that caused a commotion during a romp through Denmark’s CBD last week has been reunited with its owner after spending some time in the lockup.
Denmark woman Annette Stock was startled and amused to spot a large black pig lounging on the lawn outside the Denmark Police Station on her way to work about 8am last Thursday.
“I called into the shop and told our staff I was going to see if I could catch it and did a few bog laps around the block trying to find it,” she said.
“Apparently it had been running around for about half an hour after escaping from a backyard up near the Tavern.”
Mrs Stock’s pursuit of the porker along Strickland Street was bolstered by Shire of Denmark gardeners Colin Pommery and Perry Sara, with the trio managing to corner the pig in front of pizza shop Massimo’s Place.
“We have pigs on our farm, so I am used to handling them,” Mrs Stock said.
“If they don’t want to be caught they are bloody hard to hold onto.
“I told them to grab its back leg and hold on like hell … we managed to hold it down and I grabbed a rope and hog tied it. It was quite a novelty.”
The sassy sow, which is estimated to be six months old and weigh 60kg, was picked up by Shire rangers David Lonie and Charmaine Shelley and taken to the pound.
Shire of Denmark community and regulatory services director Gregg Harwood said the pig was claimed by a Denmark man the next morning, after spending the night behind bars.
“In living memory, it is the first pig we have held in the pound,” he said.
“It was someone’s pet they were feeding up, presumably to eat.”
Mr Harwood said the strange sight had caused a stir.
“It was the first sunny morning after some wet weather so everyone was out and about and feeling optimistic in the sunshine and the pig was just doing the same thing,” he said.
“It was a light-hearted and unusual incident that could have been serious if someone had hit it in a car but there was no damage or any injuries.”
Denmark police tweeted a picture of the pig in the pound with the caption: ‘Miss Piggy at large this morning! Seen outside Police Station before being apprehended by locals.’
