West Hollywood Captures Viral Pig, Holds It Until Thursday for Owner Claim

Q: How did a runaway piglet go from dodging traffic in West Hollywood to eating gourmet salads at a celebrity's Malibu ranch?

The piglet’s path was: viral street chase, shelter hold, no owner claim, then adoption by Diane Warren’s foundation and transfer to her Malibu animal sanctuary. After the piglet was filmed dodging cars and would-be rescuers in West Hollywood, it was eventually captured and taken to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. Shelter officials said the animal, later nicknamed “Wilbur,” was about 11 weeks old and weighed roughly 17 pounds. As standard procedure, the shelter held him for several days to give any owner a chance to come forward. When no owner claimed the piglet, the shelter moved to adoption. Because multiple people were interested, Los Angeles Animal Services used a silent auction to select an adopter. Marcia Zwilling, managing director of the Diane Warren Foundation, placed the winning bid on the foundation’s behalf after Warren saw news coverage of the runaway pig and asked that he be rescued. That is how the pig went from a loose animal in traffic to a protected life at Warren’s Malibu property. Reports said he would live on a seven-acre ranch or sanctuary with other animals, with Warren’s team describing the setting as a safe, sanctuary-style home where he would be fed “gourmet salads every day.” Warren has a record of helping rescued animals, which made the piglet’s relocation to her ranch a natural next step once he went unclaimed.

3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Aug 18

A small pig filmed sprinting through West Hollywood on Saturday was captured and taken to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter, where it will be held until Thursday for its owner to retrieve it.
Jamaal Harrison, 37, spotted the pig around noon while riding to a Goodwill, chased it on his e-bike, and recorded several failed attempts to corner it in the street and an alley.
One TikTok clip from that chase drew more than 459,000 views after a friend urged him to post it, turning the pursuit into a local viral story and prompting TV news coverage.
Los Angeles animal services had not immediately answered questions about the pig's status, leaving only the shelter hold period as the confirmed next step.