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Dead pigs found on campus, student houses

Sept. 26, 2007

Courtesy photo A dead pig lies in a volleyball court at the house on Eighth Street and James Street. Dead pigs were found on at least three off-campus residences and at the feet of the Judge Burleson statue Wednesday morning.

By Anita Pere
Staff writer

Dead pigs, recently shot in the head, were found resting Wednesday morning on the doorsteps of at least three off-campus residences occupied by Baylor students.

A dead pig was also dropped off at the feet of the Judge Burleson statue.

Neither Baylor police nor Waco police have any leads in the slayings or placement of the pigs.

Colleyville senior Katie McKinnon found a large black pig bleeding on her front porch when she came home around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

She called her roommate inside the house, telling her to come out to the porch. McKinnon explained to her roommate, "A hog. Oink-oink. Pumba is laying in our front yard."

McKinnon called 911 immediately.

"The emergency guys were laughing at me saying, 'There's a dead hog on your porch? Is this a joke?'"

McKinnon said she believed that police could have been more sensitive and helpful.

"They didn't really want to help me figure out who did it in the first place. They didn't take the initiative. They spent more time laughing at me and my response to it than really helping the situation," said McKinnon.

She also said the police officers sent to her home disposed of the pig themselves instead of following protocol and contacting the city department of refuse.

The officers recommended she pour cola over the area where the pig lay to wash away the blood.

Amarillo senior Megan Boyd, Sugar Land senior Lindsey Coffman and Tulsa, Okla., senior Katherine Baker used bleach on their porch. They, along with two other roommates, live in a house off-campus.

Coffman found a dead pig on their doorstep at about 7 a.m. Wednesday morning as she was leaving for school.

"I thought it was a stray dog sleeping maybe, but upon closer inspection (I noticed) it had hooves," Coffman said.

Coffman called the Waco police, who instructed her to call the City of Waco refuse department when they open at 8 a.m. Upon calling the department, the women were told they had to move the carcass to the curb in order for it to be picked up.

Boyd rolled up her sleeves and moved the bleeding, stinking pig to the curbside. She wrapped the pig in some old rugs and covered the hoofs with trash bags.

"Luckily, I was careful. I was concerned about getting blood all over me, (or) if the pig had rabies (...) it was just gross," said Boyd.

Ken Anthony, director of the Waco city refuse department, said his office cannot pick up animal carcasses on private property. He explained that trash trucks are equipped with a large claw to scoop up animal parts. The truck and claw could damage property, so animal carcasses must be at the curb or in the street to be disposed of by the city.

Boyd, Coffman and Baker were also concerned that the refuse department took more than 24 hours from the Wednesday morning call to pick up the pig.

The women said the pig had attracted flies and gave off a pungent odor by the time it was picked up.

Anthony explained that in Waco, the refuse department is responsible for picking up residential and commercial trash from 8,000 residences per day, as well as any animal carcasses.

Unlike some cities, Waco does not possess a humane department to deal with the disposal of dead animals. Despite this workload, crews pick up dead animals as soon as they can.

Anthony suggests calling the refuse department and talking to a supervisor for a pick up which is not handled in a timely manner. He also said employees in the refuse department have no special medical training to discard dead animals.

"Our people are not equipped for biohazard type waste," he said. "I don't know who to call about biological waste."

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