- Princess had wandered away from her pen in Arcata, California on March 23
- She ended up in the yard of a man who told police he would look after the pig
- When the police returned within an hour, poor Princess had already been killed
- Now owner Carrie Hogan is hoping that charges will be pressed against the man
A California family has been left devastated after their beloved 400lb pig named Princess was slaughtered by a neighbor after going missing.
Princess had wandered away from her pen at owner Carrie Hogan’s mother’s house in Arcata, where she was being kept, on March 23.
She made her way around the area and was eventually spotted in a neighbor’s yard.
An Arcata Police Department officer struck up a deal with a man at the residence to keep an eye on Princess, who had no identifying tags, while they tried to find her owner.
By the time the officer returned to the man’s property an hour later, Princess had been slaughtered and cut up for meat.
APD Chief Brian Ahearn said the officer had thought he reached a ‘reasonable arrangement’ with the man.
‘We were totally shocked and surprised to learn that the pig had been slaughtered,’ he told the Lost Coast Outpost. ‘There was no reason to believe that that individual was going to do that.’
APD Lt Todd Dockweiler said the department often receives ‘loose livestock calls’ in the area and commonly ask residents to keep watch while the rightful owners are located.
A California family has been left devastated after their beloved 400lb pig named Princess (pictured) was slaughtered by a neighbor after going missing
‘Believe it or not, that’s not a super uncommon call for us,’ he told SFGate. ‘Obviously that was a bit of a shock to everyone involved.’
‘Given the stage of the butchering process he was in, he must have slaughtered the pig very shortly after the officer left.’
‘It’s just a really bizarre case,’ he added. ‘It’s just not clear what the thought process was. He obviously knew the pig didn’t belong to him and he didn’t have the right to slaughter it.’
Hogan said she is upset that the officer let a stranger watch over Princess.
‘He took it upon himself to give my animal away,’ she told the Lost Coast Outpost. ‘And then it got butchered.’
Hogan said Princess was a ‘very sweet’ pig who was never aggressive and liked ‘to be around people’.
She had raised Princess since she was a piglet, feeding her with a bottle in her very own living room. Hogan said Princess was part of the family.
Princess’ death has also devastated local residents, who were first informed of her disappearance after pictures were posted on the community’s Facebook group.
‘This makes me literally sick,’ one resident wrote. ‘I hope the guy that butchered this poor pet gets held accountable.’
‘What the heck happened? Why didn’t the police hold on to it or get ahold of the owners?’ another asked. ‘The officer who placed the pig into that man’s so-called care and the man who killed the pig, should both be punished.’
Hogan’s mother was so upset by the death of Princess that she confronted the man when he was still cutting up the family’s beloved pet.
‘He told her, “You have no right to be on this property,”‘ Hogan said.
Now Hogan is fighting to retrieve Princess’ meat. She has no plans to eat her pig, but doesn’t want anyone else to either.
‘I think that the hardest part of this is knowing that there’s somebody out there that’s this kind of savage,’ she said.
The department believes the man committed ‘theft of livestock’ and will pass the case to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, which could press charges.
