Pig on loose returns home in Albion

‘Socks’ reunites with pot-bellied siblings

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Marquardt: This pig named Socks created a lot of buzz in the Albion community while it was loose for nine days. Socks is now back home with her siblings, two pot-bellied pigs.

ALBION – The black pig that was on the lam for more than a week in Albion is back home. The pig named Socks came out of a wooded area last night and reunited with her two pot-bellied sisters.

Stephanie Marquardt said she called out to Socks, a pig that was on Keitel Road near the Route 31 intersection. The pig walked over to Marquardt and stepped into a horse trailer with her sisters.

Socks was sold to another person last Tuesday. That person hit a bump on Lattin Road, the tailgate fell and Socks jumped out of a vehicle and into the countryside.

Socks, right, is happy to be back home with a sibling.

Many people posted pictures of Socks on social media, typically wandering along Keitel Road or Riches Corners Road. The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office posted on social media on Wednesday that it was well aware of the pig on the loose.

“She was just a little home farm piggy and now she has so much publicity,” Marquardt said. “She is the mascot of Albion. Everybody has been stopping me and calling me the pig mommy. We are extremely surprised that are little pig has caused so much commotion.”

Marquardt and her family have been raising pigs in a fenced-in area in their backyard on Lattin Road. They want to keep Socks and will be putting in some fencing reinforcements. She expects to start a GoFundMe if people want to help pay for the stronger fence.

Socks is a four-month-old pig, and weighs about 85 to 100 pounds. Her mother is a Duroc and the father is American Guinea. Marquardt said the pig get top 400 pounds as it gets older.

Marquardt didn’t initially know Socks was on the loose until she saw the frenzy on social media. The pig was supposed to be with a new owner.

Marquardt said Socks seemed to enjoy all the attention and food people were leaving for her. Socks was hard to corral because many people were chasing her, Marquardt said.

She waited until Thursday night when the neighborhood was quiet and she called out to Socks. The pig then emerged from a wooded area.

“She comes when she is called,” Marquardt said.