MINOT – Ham is where the heart is.

Officials learned this week that the town has been caring for two pigs since animal control officer Robert Larrabee was called Dec. 3 to check on a pair of transient porkers seen walking along West Minot Road.

Larrabee picked up the two 100-pound pigs wandering near Grange Avenue and temporarily placed them at a farm in Auburn.

Upon learning of the town’s latest acquisitions, selectmen attending the meeting reacted in jest.

“Someone must have squealed on them, taking them for hitchhikers,” said Selectman Steve French.

“The two were just going hog-wild,” said board Chairman Dean Campbell.

Actually, Larrabee said, the pigs are far from hog-wild: They’re well-behaved, friendly and much in need of a home.He wondered why no one had come forward to claim them.

“It’s clear someone has put some care into them. They’re well-fed and have received medical attention,” Larrabee said.

Minot officials agreed the town must now try to locate the pigs’ owner. If that fails, they’ll follow standard procedures for securing new owners for the livestock.

If the owner isn’t found, state law requires the town: to keep the pigs for two months, to get two appraisals of the animals and to post a warrant in two places at least four days before auctioning them. Funds raised must stay in the town treasury for six months from the day they were found. After six months, if no owner appears, all bills are to be paid and the sale proceeds are split between the town and the animal control officer.

People with information about the owners of the pigs are asked to call Larrabee at 743-8213.