GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — It had only been a week, but Tiffany Enriquez’s family had fallen in love with their miniature pig, Chopper.
Enriquez and her husband Jose Santana got their kids Chopper as a Christmas present. But, on Jan. 1, the family let him out to the yard and placed him in his pen - and that was the last time they saw him.
"We put him outside to use the potty and enjoy the sun before the cold weather came that night," Enriquez explained, "but he managed to get out of the fenced backyard."
The mother of three said the pen Chopper had been inside appeared to have flipped over. She said she assumes that’s how he was able to get out.
The family began to look for him and was told by witnesses that they saw him across the street.
Surveillance video from the Kensington Motor Lodges shows Chopper being picked up by a group of people, but investigators with the Grand Prairie Police Department aren't ready to say the pig was stolen.
A spokesman for the police department said they are investigating what happened, and said it's possible that the people who picked Chopper might have been trying to help.
"A good citizen thinks they are rescuing a lost animal to prevent it from being struck by a car," explained Mark Beseda with the Grand Prairie Police Department, who said it happens often. "Most people will take those pets to the animal shelter, but (I'm) not sure what they would do with a pig."
Meanwhile, Enriquez said her family is offering a reward to get Chopper back. Anyone with information should contact José Santana at 214-697-8205 or Enriquez at 830-263-3645.
"We all care," Enriquez said. "My kids are sad of course--they're children. They were really happy to have their first pet here in our first home."
