A potbellied pig led police on a wild chase through a central Pennsylvania town last week before being caught and placed in an animal sanctuary.

Police had received reports about a wild pig running loose in Lancaster Township for a few days before a resident of the Hamilton Park neighborhood called on June 15 to report a porker sleeping underneath a trampoline in his backyard.

When officers and animal sanctuary workers tried to capture the apparently exhausted animal, the pig — nicknamed Hamilton by police — bolted and ran into the street.

“A foot pursuit of the escaped swine ensued, and yes, we see the irony in three cops chasing a pig. As it turns out, Hamilton wasn’t as tired as we thought because we’re fairly certain he’s the fastest pig alive,” Manheim Township police wrote in a statement. Manheim officers are contracted to do police work in Lancaster.

The pig slipped into a closed-in yard at a pediatric care facility, where it was eventually penned. It was taken to the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary.

“But we didn’t really like the ham/Hamilton association. We were saying names to him and he actually looked up and then he stood up and took a few steps toward us when we said Gregory so we said, ‘That’s it! It’s Gregory,’” sanctuary official Sarah Salluzzo told WPMT-TV.

After being neutered and treated for parasites, Gregory will join the four other pigs at the sanctuary.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.