Loose pig captured - order restored

Havre can once again rest easy after a pig seen wandering loose in a neighborhood Monday was apprehended by local authorities.

The teacup pig that reportedly goes by the name Wilbur, had been walking along Sunset Avenue unattended and straying into nearby yards.

Eventually, a neighbor, who wouldn't give her name, said she called the city's animal control officer on the grunting loiterer owned by David and Leann Johnson.

"I just can't have a pig," said the neighbor. "I have my limits."

The neighbor said she first saw Wilbur romping about at around 10 a.m.

On at least two occasions, Wilbur stopped to pause in the middle of the street, staring down pickups passing through the neighborhood, with drivers both stunned and amused by the spectacle

Earlier in the day, the pig had also startled a postal worker who came across the rapscallion while on her mail route according to the neighbor.

Sometime around 2:30 p.m. Gordon Inabnit, the animal control officer, arrived on the scene. With a harness in hand, he made several unsuccessful attempts to corral the four-legged fugitive.

Each time, Inabnit would slowly approach the creature before it would then dodge him, unleashing a torrent of squeals as the animal bolted over to a neighboring yard,

Finally, after about five attempts, Inabnit realized the simple harness was no match for the small swine. He returned to the pickup, reaching into his arsenal to produce a control pole, a device used for capturing animals that consists of a long metal pole with a loop of cable at its end. Inabnit cornered him yet again in a nearby driveway, and as Wilbur began to flee, he was caught in the loop that dangled from the pole.

The animal continued to resist capture, unleashing the most shrill, earsplitting screams and thrashing about in an attempt to break free, before the officer forced him into the back of a covered pickup.

Because of a ban on keeping swine within city limits, Wilbur would be impounded at the Havre animal shelter.

The Havre Daily News telephoned Leann Johnson for comment on these developments, she denied Wilbur was in the city's custody, saying the pig was on an unspecified farm.

A staff member at the animal shelter contradicted Johnson's claim, saying Wilbur was still in city custody and was awaiting her arrival so she could take the pig to a farm.