Couple Grieves After DNR Officer Shoots Their Pet Pig

A Marquette couple is grieving after learning that an officer from the Department of Natural Resources shot and killed their pet pig.

Ely Township residents Tony Gervasi and Brandy Savelle were raising Caesar, a miniature pig, along with two dogs.

“He just instantly became one of us, cuddled, slept in our bed. Just like another dog,” said Gervasi.

The couple recently began to let Caesar roam around their 28-acre property.  Last Thursday, Caesar didn’t come home so the couple set out to find him.

“When I followed the prints and saw where it was it was like a puddle of blood. At first I didn’t believe it because it was a weird color, it was kind of pinkish purple so I stuck my finger in it and looked, and I just knew,” said Savelle.

They found blood and drag marks near the end of their driveway…but not body.

They then took to social media, looking for answers.  A DNR officer visited them the next morning.

“When he first told me that he was the one responsible, that was the first thing, like oh did you run him, did you hit him because that’s what it looked like, that’s what we thought and that’s what I was prepared for. He said no and I instantly knew, I said, you shot my pig and he said yes I did,” said Savelle.

The DNR officer said that the thirty–pound pig charged at him, so per department policy, he shot and killed Casear. Then the officer loaded up his body and took him away.

“The only thing that he said was that he was following orders; those are the instructions to shoot pigs. When I asked him how he could shoot something so small he said that there is such a problem with wild pigs in our area so he was just doing his job. If Caesar did in fact go up to him it’s because he associates humans with food. Just picturing Caesar seeing this guy and thinking ‘oh a new person. I’m on my way home but you might have food so I’m just going to…’ and him just walking up and him getting a bullet instead makes me very upset,” said Savelle.

Tony and Brandy were told that they likely won’t get their Casear’s body back, unless its in ashes.

“They knew it was our pet and they still decided to ship it off which doesn’t make any sense,” said Gervasi.

Lieutenant Pete Wright of the Michigan DNR said, “It’s the agency’s intent to never, ever shoot someone’s pet. Swine running at large on private or public property is considered to be a nuisance.”

Lt. Wright added that people in Michigan have killed 500 feral pigs in the state since 2001. Wright also called the recent incident ‘Unfortunate and Regrettable.’