FRAZIER PARK, Calif. (KERO) — On Friday morning, a student at Frazier Mountain High School went to feed his pig, Pancho, whom he was preparing for the Kern County Fair. But what he found was his pig barely clinging to life.
With the fair less than a week away, Pancho had been stabbed nearly to death.
“September 12 at approximately 7:30 a.m., I got a call from the student,” said Cindy Holloway, who sponsored the FFA student. “I was in town picking up feed, and the voice was pretty shaken. The only thing I got out of it was ‘pig’ and ‘come to the high school.’ So I obviously raced here.”
Stepping into the barn doors at the Frazier Mountain High School’s barn, Holloway says she ran into a heartbreaking scene.
“The pig had been stabbed multiple times and was left for dead,” said Holloway.
After approximately 12 hours following the attack, a local veterinarian had to euthanize the pig.
“It took us probably close to 30 minutes to get a vein,” said Holloway. “We gave it some sedative, and then we hit it hard with a euthanasia solution. He did close his eyes and died.”
Pancho was brought to a UC Davis extension lab, where they found 17 lacerations, one spanning 47 centimeters.
“This pig was 223 pounds,” said Holloway. “They’re very strong, they’re fighters, they don’t die easily. I can guarantee you, this pig fought until he couldn’t fight anymore.”
The suspect remains unknown, with security footage showing this person entering the barn on Thursday night.
“We’re at school, we have break-ins all the time. Unfortunately, that’s part of the location, the rural area we have, we can’t fence a mountain, and our school’s on the side of a mountain. So what we can do is we could be reactionary to situations that arise,” said Mike Vogenthaler, the principal of Frazier Mountain High School.
Following safety concerns, Vogenthaler says they’re working to take extra measures to create a safer environment.
“We’re certainly going to put in whatever security equipment we need that might not necessarily prevent something from happening, but hopefully help catch the people who are doing this,” said Vogenthaler.
While the student raising Pancho chose to remain anonymous, another FFA student shares her reaction.
23ABC Neighborhood Reporter Avery Elowitt asked, “What was your response when you heard what happened Thursday night?”
Mia Willson, an FFA reporter with Frazier Mountain High School, replied, “Shock at first. It’s not something that I would expect to happen in our town.”
She added, “I haven’t raised an animal myself, but I know so many people firsthand who put not even the technical stuff, not even the money or the time, but just the compassion and the emotional aspect into their animals. And to have something like that happen is devastating.”
KCSO said deputies received a report of the incident on September 12 at about 8:16 a.m. They said there is so much unknown at this time, and currently, it’s an animal cruelty investigation, but there isn’t much information or evidence.
In the meantime, the school has started a fundraiser, raising at least $1,200 for the student.
If you have any information about the suspect, please call the KCSO.
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