Kevin Bacon pig 1

A pig has been on the loose in the Swedesboro and Woolwich areas for more than a week.

SWEDESBORO — No, you weren't hallucinating. You really did just see a pig running through your yard.

Residents throughout Swedesboro and Woolwich have been reporting a pig-on-the-loose for more than a week and thanks to Facebook, he has become a local celebrity and everyone is out to catch him and get him back where he belongs.

The porker’s saga began when a group of Kingsway seniors decided they wanted a class pet, kind of a mascot for the class of 2014.

Since they are the Kingsway Dragons, and dragons aren’t too easily accessible these days, they figured a pig would be cute, fun and easy to care for.

Through the trusty online marketplace (Craigslist) they were able to obtain one from a farm in Woodstown for only $50.

Shane Murray and his friends went to pick up their new friend — which they named Dubbs or Dubbsy after their assistant principal Edward Dubbs — and built a little pen for temporary safekeeping.

The plan was to bring it to another friend’s house in South Harrison, where the family has a farm and enough space to take care of it properly, but as soon as the kids’ backs were turned, Dubbs made a break for it.

“We tried cornering it in my backyard, but it goes out into Locke Avenue in Swedesboro and then it just darts into the woods,” Shane said. “We tried chasing it multiple times and, darn that thing is fast. I never knew how fast a pig could be.”

That’s when the rest of the neighborhood began to spot Dubbs, but not knowing the boys had purchased, and accidentally lost, a pet pig, there was a lot of confusion.

Residents in Woolwich’s Lexington Mews and Four Seasons developments began snapping pictures when they saw the pig and posting them on the Facebook pages “Woolwich Township Residents for a Better Woolwich” and “Residents of Four Seasons at Weatherby.”

Everyone seemed to have their own nickname for the 8-week old piglet. Pork Chop, Hamlet, Pig Newton and Porkins were all contenders, but the moniker "Kevin Bacon" stuck and an additional Facebook page "Fans of Kevin Bacon" was created.

Now, everyone is trying to catch Dubbs/Kevin, or at least report where he is so he can go wee, wee, wee and get all the way home.

“At this point, he’s all over the place,” Shane said. “It’s going anywhere and everywhere it can.”

Mainly, Shane and his friends are worried that Dubbs is going to get hurt or that someone is going to get hurt trying to avoid him on the road.

“We want to bring it to my friend’s farm as soon as possible and keep him healthy,” Shane said. “I don’t want it to get hurt or for anyone else to get hurt.”

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Contact staff writer Rebecca Forand at 856-845-3300 or rforand@southjerseymedia.com.