Wayward Pig Is Apprehended
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Yalobusha County deputy Josh Costilow opens the door as Garritt loads Sam in to a horse trailer. Sam escaped from his pen and traveled more than 16 miles before he apprehended and returned home last Thursday.
COFFEEVILLE – A wayward pig was on the lam for almost a week before he was apprehended Thursday morning after traveling almost 20 miles in a cross-county adventure. Sam escaped from his home on Hwy. 315, just north of Water Valley. He was captured on Hwy. 7, just north of Coffeeville, in an effort that took several hours.
The search for the missing pig started the day before his capture after Alexis Pedigo posted a video of Sam on Facebook asking if anybody had seen him. It didn’t take long before reports of Sam sightings were posted. Sam first headed north and was spotted near the Lafayette/Yalobusha County line before heading south. He appeared interested in a job as he was spotted near Solero. Next he wanted to be an athlete as he checked out the fields at Crawford Sports Complex.
“I got a call that he was down by the Dollar General on the south end of town Wednesday,” Water Valley’s Animal Control Officer, Mike Scroggins, reported. “I looked for him, but he was gone when I got there.”
Sam must have sensed the search and decided to cover some ground, continuing on his journey south for greener pastures. He was traveling along Hwy. 7 Thursday morning and several passing motorists became concerned he would meet his demise with the front bumper of a car. Elizabeth Wright was headed to the Multi-Purpose Building in Coffeeville and stopped to try and keep Sam out of the highway. She shooed him off the road and posted his picture on Facebook before heading to her destination.
“Elizabeth was teaching a baby-sitting class at the Extension Office. She came in and said there is a pig walking down Hwy 7,” Yalobusha County Extension Agent Missy Burney reported.
With the sighting only a few miles from her office, Burney decided to check it out. Before she found him, her phone started ringing with more reports of the traveling pig.
While pig wrangling is not technically in her job description as the county’s ag agent, Burney said something had to be done. She also posted a picture on Facebook and followed the pig along the highway, keeping him out of oncoming traffic. Initially she thought she might could catch him and put him in her vehicle.
“Sam found a mudhole and started wallowing in it,” Burney continued.
Sam finally made his way into a nearby yard, giving Burney time to go hook up to a horse trailer and summon for more help. She called the homeowners and told them what was going on and by the time she made it back, they had lured Sam into a duck pen. They put him in the horse trailer and Burney and Sam headed to Water Valley for his homecoming.
As for her job training to handle unusual situations such as Sam, Burney had a quick explanation.
“Growing up on a farm,” she said. “And Sam was some pig, eluding capture and keeping his distance from passing cars.”
