BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — What started as a quiet afternoon on Victor Place in the Hamlin Park Historic District in Buffalo turned into chaos when a pig, nicknamed “Breakfast," bolted through the neighborhood.
One woman says she was knocked to the ground as the animal charged toward her, before the owner and animal control officers chased it down.
“What was that?” resident Jerome Shadwick recalled shouting from his window. “I screamed down to her and said, babe, go to the door."
Moments later, he realized what he was looking at.
“I’m like, what is this, what is this?” Shadwick said. “It’s an actual pig."
Video captured the surreal scene, a pig darting through the street, as animal control officers tried again and again to capture it.
“Never, never seen a pig,” Shadwick added.
But for his wife, she said the encounter turned from bizarre to terrifying.
Renita Shadwick said the pig charged at her.
“It was on me,” she said. "And it grabbed me by my hair like you’d shake a bag of microwave popcorn.”
While the video doesn’t show the alleged attack, it does capture an unexpected twist.
In the video taken by Shadwick, what appears to be a Buffalo police officer runs toward the animal and shouts, “That's mine, I got her!”
The pig, he yells out in the video, is named Breakfast.
WATCH: 'Breakfast' the pig runs loose through Buffalo neighborhood
When Renita tells him the animal “jumped on me and bit me,” the officer responds that “She thinks you’re gonna feed her because you smell good.” The officer can also be heard saying: “My daughter said she came under the back fence.”
For Renita, she said the encounter was frightening and surreal.
“I was able to put my arm around to protect my face,” she said. “My second thought was, this is ridiculous — this is a pig on Victor Place, in the city of Buffalo? Where did this come from?”
7 News reached out to city officials to ask whether owning a pig is allowed within Buffalo city limits. No one responded. City code doesn’t clearly state whether pigs or other farm animals can be kept as pets.
Neighbors told 7 News the officer later took the pig home.
Angie Davis-Leveritte, who lives nearby, said what happened may sound funny, but it’s dangerous.
“Your first glance is to laugh because that’s unexpected to see in the city,” she said.
“But that’s dangerous. It’s just like having a loose dog," Davis-Leveritte added.
Social media commenters are divided, with some saying they hope that the pig safely returns to its owner, and others suggesting it should be “sent straight to the butcher shop.”
For now, Breakfast the pig is back home, but neighbors say they won’t soon forget the day a pig went rogue on their block.
Council member Zeneta Everhart released the following statement on the matter:
“I was alarmed by the incident involving a pig attacking a resident on Victor Place. I did notify Buffalo Police of the incident when it occurred. I have been in contact with the victim and I am grateful that the injuries they sustained were not more serious. However what happened to the resident is unacceptable. The city charter forbids ownership of livestock animals throughout Buffalo except under some very limited circumstances – and we should revisit these regulations to determine whether it makes sense to have any exceptions to the ban in our modern era. As this incident illustrates, it is neither safe for residents nor humane to animals to raise large livestock in an urban environment like Buffalo."
