San Bernardino Police Officers Use Doritos To Lure Runaway Pig Back Home

Humongous pigs might be a common sight on a pig farm, but it was an uncommon sight for some people in a southern California town that spotted a giant sow trotting down the street. However, the fun really began when a concerned caller contacted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department after seeing a swine “the size of a mini horse” roaming loose. Fortunately, the officers involved were able to resolve the problem of the wayward pig, and they wrote about their unusual way of handling the problem on their Instagram account, KTLA5 reported.

This wasn’t the pig’s (or maybe his owner’s) first contact with San Bernardino law enforcement. Due to previous calls, the officers said that they knew where he lived. With a little thought, they devised a plan to lure the critter back home with treats. As luck would have it, one of the deputies had packed a Ziploc bag of Doritos inside their lunch bag. Knowing most humans can’t resist pigging out on Doritos, the officers figured the big fella wouldn’t be able to resist, either.

According to the deputies, they made one of the most delicious trails that anything could want and would ultimately lead the piggy back to where he lived. The pig was apparently a Doritos fan, and he followed the trail and ate the tasty little tortilla chips all the way home.

Deputy Ponce, who was one of the officers on the scene spoke about the trail of Doritos.

“We were able to put him back in and secure the gate. It was fun!” Ponce said. “Crime fighting, to safely securing a mini-horse sized pig, we do it all.”

Before you fault the hog’s owner for letting him get out, it’s important to know that pigs are well-known for being great escape artists and puzzle-solvers — it’s surprising what they can get into and escape out of.

The crafty animals have been known to crawl under fences, chew through chain link fences, lift wooden poles off their supports, and even soldier on through patches of sharp and thick briar patches. Some have even been known to climb or jump.

The San Bernardino officers were fortunate that the escaped pig was not in distress, because when they are, it’s a situation that needs to be handled differently. Per Pet Care Tips, if a runaway pig is distressed, it may not respond to treats because it is distracted by all the goings on around it. What might work is to talk to it in a high pitched voice in order to grab its attention.

After you get the pig’s attention, you may need to “grab it, tip it, and tie its feet with a rope,” says Pet Care Tips. The pig will probably scream bloody murder when this is happening because they hate confinement. The pig can then be lifted and put into something like a wheelbarrow and carted home.