Florida woman sobs after her ‘severely obese’ pet was seized by animal control

A distressed woman in Florida sobbed as her cherished ‘severely obese’ pet pig, Pork Chop, was taken into custody by animal control due to concerns about the 400-lb porker’s health.
Pork Chop was escorted out of a residence in the Northwood village of West Palm Beach by two police officers during an eviction on Thursday night.

Given his considerable weight, the officers had to use straps to support him while assisting him in walking—one at his front and the other at his back.

Kelly Jacobson, Pork Chop’s owner, aged 38, wiped away tears as he was taken away and loaded into a van, expressing, ‘I need him.’

An emotional Jacobson pledged to do ‘whatever I have to to make him better,’ adding, ‘I don’t know what else to say right now. They took Pork Chop away from me.’

Jacobson insists that Pork Chop is a service animal, but Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control officers are alarmed by his weight and have taken him into custody, seeking full custody of the animal.

This isn’t the first time concerns about Pork Chop’s health have been raised—Jacobson received citations twice in February 2023 and September 2022 for similar issues.

‘I have fought a lot of people for a long time to keep him, and people are taking him away from me,’ lamented Jacobson to WPTV.

She mentioned attempting to put him on a diet but struggled to find someone to groom him. Officers eventually removed him on Thursday night during Jacobson’s eviction from her home.

Court documents reveal that she was evicted after a Fort Lauderdale-based landlord claimed she hadn’t paid rent for three months. She had reportedly informed the landlord six months ago that Pork Chop had been removed.

A local business owner, Stephen Schmidt, noted that Pork Chop was famous in his office due to workers hearing him squeal. ‘It was quite a distraction, I do know that. They heard it across the street squealing,’ Schmidt said.

Animal control officials are now in the process of seeking custody of Pork Chop, a procedure that takes between 30 and 60 days. Eventually, he is likely to be placed in a sanctuary to address his weight issues.

Annette Wrubleski from the nearby Laughing Pig Sanctuary may be willing to take him in when the time comes. She expressed hope for Pork Chop, emphasizing the need for a lean diet of fruits and vegetables. ‘It’s going to be a long process. He can’t walk and doesn’t have that activity level to exercise, but it will come in time,’ Wrubleski explained.

Posting on Facebook, Wrubleski criticized the officers’ handling of Pork Chop’s removal but attributed it to a lack of training, stating that ‘pigs as pets is fairly new.’ She said, ‘I was absolutely mortified at the way Animal Services handled this poor pig… If they do not have the tools nor the training to safely and effectively remove a pig from a household, it is not their fault.’