MACON, Ga. —  A Georgia family is upset with their local sheriff's office after a deputy shot and killed their pet pig. Janice Jones said that Gator, a black, potbellied pig, was a friendly animal that her family had owned for five years and that her two children, ages 5 and 7, adored.

"I have to explain to our children that Gator is no longer a part of our family," Jones said. "Pets are not disposable to us."

David Davis, a chief deputy with the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, said a new neighbor of the Joneses called the sheriff's office Wednesday morning, telling them that a wild hog was in her flower bed in her yard.

The hog had no collar and looked like a wild hog, he said. A sheriff's deputy responded to the call and spent about two hours in the neighborhood, trying to decide what to do before finally shooting the pig, Davis said. Authorities also tried to call the Department of Natural Resources for help during the incident.

"We didn't just go out there and shoot a hog," Davis said. "If we'd have known he was somebody's pig, we'd have called them."

The pig rooted around, had tusks and occasionally charged, Davis said. The sheriff's office estimated that the pig weighed close to 200 pounds, while the family estimated 90 pounds.

The Macon Telegraph, http://www.macontelegraph.com