November 22, 2019 Killeen, Texas – On November 4th, 2019 Killeen Animal Services received several complaints of pigs running loose in a Killeen neighborhood. Upon investigation, it was confirmed all the pigs were escaping from one home, the home of Lina Haygood, owner of Miso Happie Mini Pigs. Killeen Animal Services obtained a warrant and 3 days later went back to the property to seize the pigs. The pigs they seized had no water, limited food, and were living in conditions that included pigs that were already dead. These pigs were escaping to find food. There were a total of 57 pigs on the property, 55 were seized that day and 2 remain at large. Rather than face a civil court hearing, Lina Haygood chose to surrender all the pigs to Killeen Animal Services. A special prosecutor has been assigned to the case, the investigation is ongoing and criminal charges are pending.

This wasn’t the first time Lina Haygood has been in trouble with animal neglect and abuse allegations. In October 2016 she faced animal abuse charges in Bastrop County Texas. In that case, there were 68 pigs taken, many were pregnant and very emaciated. Bastrop County was unable to prove animal abuse so it was kept in civil court. The judge allowed her to keep 14 pigs that were deemed by a veterinarian to be in good health. The remaining 54 were no longer legally hers. She eventually agreed to surrender those 14 as well. By that time, Central Texas Pig Rescue had agreed to step in and help. Sadly, 24 pigs died before they could be transferred, their health was that poor due to long-term starvation. After this incident, Lina Haygood relocated to the San Jose area of California.

In California, she reopened her operation of pig and puppy breeding. She has gone by many aliases and used many different business names. Those aliases made keeping up with all her actions difficult. By February of 2019, she relocated back to Texas. This time settling on Bell County. Once again, Lina began breeding pigs and the cycle of neglect continued.

The laws regarding animal cruelty on a national level, especially in Texas, are weak. Many of these offenders only receive a slap on the wrist. There is little punishment to deter those that abuse animals to continue the cycle. For Lina Haygood, the cycle needs to stop now.

On November 19th, 2019, almost two weeks after the pigs were seized, Killeen Animal Services started to reach out to local organizations in hopes they could take some of these pigs. One of those organizations was My Pig Filled Life in Wills Point, Texas. Founder and President Melanie Bolling and fellow board member Malinda McKnight traveled to the holding area in Killeen to assess the pigs. According to Bolling, “many of the pigs are pregnant and in very poor health.” My Pig Filled Life agreed to take the pigs to their rescue where they can be rehabilitated back to health. What is 55 pigs today may be 100 pigs in 3 months when all babies are born. 

The details of transportation to My Pig Filled Life in Wills Point are currently being worked out. Several pigs have already been removed to receive urgent medical care as their conditions were dire. Not only will My Pig Filled Life need donations to provide veterinarian care, shelter, feed, spay and neuters, they will also need volunteers and families willing to adopt some of these pigs. McKnight stated this will be an “all hands on deck rescue operation” and the support of the community will be essential to making this rescue, nicknamed the #killeen55, a success.

Donations may be made directly on our website, www.mypigfilledlife.org or at https://www.paypal.me/Killeen55rescue. 

For additional information regarding volunteering or adopting, please visit www.mypigfilledlife.org. My Pig Filled Life may also be reached via email at mypigfilledlife@gmail.com.