LITCHFIELD — It’s a mystery of four not-so-little piggies.

Four pigs weighing 300-plus pounds each were killed and dumped down an embankment on a country road here where the stench got the attention of passers-by.

Animal Control Officer Jeff Flaherty said he received the initial complaint from children walking on Gustin Road on May 15, investigated, and found two dead pigs.

“By the time we got there a day and a half later (to remove them), there were two more dumped,” he said.

The animals had rolled about 15 feet down the embankment and were caught by trees that kept them from going into a stream.

“We had to scramble to remove them,” Flaherty said.

He suspects the pigs were sick. If they hit the water, Flaherty believes he would have had to call in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“You don’t know what diseases they could carry or how long they’ve been there,” he said. “There is a reason that somebody dumped four pigs like that. They could have had a virus. They didn’t have to do that, all they had to do was call me.”

It took three hours for the town’s backhoe and dump truck to remove them. The pigs were taken away and buried.

“That’s a lot of dead flesh, put it that way,” Flaherty said.

He said Tuesday that he’s still investigating. Charges could include littering, illegal dumping and, depending how they were killed, animal cruelty.

“Stuff like this, I do not stop investigating it,” Flaherty said. “Eventually, small towns, people talk.”

kskelton@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link