Police: Neglected pig rescued from ‘dungeon-like setting’ in Campbell company home

An “extremely obese” farm pig whose legs could not bear her size, leaving her seemingly unable to reach her water dish, was rescued from a Campbell home earlier this month, according to city police.

The pig’s keepers have been charged with animal cruelty.

City police first learned in April that Cortney Kline-Carnes, who rents an apartment along Chambers Street — in a community known colloquially as the Campbell worker homes, as they were first built in the early 1900s to house steel mill workers — had been keeping a pig named Oreo in the basement of the home, despite a city ordinance against keeping such creatures as pets, according to a police report.

A confidential informant told police that Oreo “rarely leaves the room it is in because of its size,” reads the report. That room had “little sunlight” and “no fresh air,” and the pig was living among its own excrement, the informant said.

Officer Jim Conroy — who has extensive training in animal rescues, city authorities said — spoke to Kline-Carnes about Oreo in June and arranged for a farm animal rescue to take in the pig. A few hours later, Kline-Carnes claimed she had taken Oreo to a farm in Geauga County. A note left on her door for police read:

“If you are here for Oreo I moved her because you said she wasn’t allowed in,” Kline-Carnes wrote. “She is not a farm animal. She is my emotional support animal and like my own kid she not gotten out or bit or gone after anyone.”

Warrant served

Conroy learned days later that wasn’t true — Oreo was still in the basement of the home, he wrote in his report. Conroy and several other officers on July 8 served a search warrant at Kline-Carnes’ apartment, along with workers from an out-of-town farm rescue.

They found the “extremely obese” Oreo lying on her side. She “appeared unable to move or get up,” the report states.

“The entire basement and the back room the pig was in was pitch dark, dingy, with no windows or artificial lighting,” the report states. “The room also had an overpowering stench of urine and ammonia, as there was no way for there to be an exchange of air in that dungeon-like setting.”

The rescue workers said Oreo’s hooves were “severely overgrown,” her legs were likely arthritic, and she even appeared unable to reach her water dish, though it was nearby. Rescuers noted Oreo appeared dehydrated.

“It’s heart-wrenching to see an animal in that condition,” Conroy told Mahoning Matters.

It took six people to carry Oreo from the basement on a stretcher. She was taken to an undisclosed farm animal rescue, according to the report.

“That animal had probably not left that basement for a very long period of time,” city Law Director Brian Macala told Mahoning Matters. “[Kline-Carnes] may have a feeling that she was deriving enjoyment or support … from that animal, but that was quite clearly an animal in distress.”

Kline-Carnes and her husband Shawn Kline called police that day to yell, according to the report.

“You better not move that pig,” Shawn Kline said, according to the report. “I am on my way there now. If you even think of removing my pig I am going to rage, and I will kill all you ... there.”

‘Doesn’t belong’

Kline-Carnes had owned Oreo since 2020, when the pig was six days old, according to the report. When she first brought Oreo to her Chambers Street home, she told her landlord Tim Sokoloff that Oreo was a pot-bellied pig and claimed she wouldn’t grow to be too big.

Miniature pot-bellied pigs can grow to between 90 and 150 pounds, according to PetMD, and some breeds stay even smaller. But female farm pigs — or sows — can grow to be several-hundred pounds.

“Next thing we know, the pig is 450 pounds and not able to move around,” Sokoloff told Mahoning Matters. “A 450-pound farm animal doesn’t belong in a two-bedroom residential apartment.”

In an online petition, Cortney Kline-Carnes referred to Oreo as a pot-bellied pig who was “wrongfully taken” by city authorities.

“She is literally like our child to us. Our entire world has been flipped upside down,” the petition reads. “She is more than just a pig she is our family and family fights for each other.”

Mahoning Matters reached out to Cortney Kline-Carnes by phone Friday, but did not receive a call back.

Charges filed

Kline told police Oreo was “very well taken care of,” according to the report. She claimed Oreo was her emotional support animal and that she had the paperwork to prove it.

Macala said he hasn’t seen that paperwork. Even if a city resident wanted to own swine, they’d still need to get licensure from the Mahoning County Board of Health, and would be expected to properly care for the creature, Macala said. Authorities allege the Klines did neither.

Cortney and Shawn Kline have been charged with misdemeanor counts of keeping swine without a license, prohibitions against companion animals and cruelty to animals, Macala said.

Cortney faces an additional misdemeanor count of obstructing official business, while Shawn faces his own misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing.

Cortney Kline pleaded not guilty to all charges during her arraignment Friday in Campbell Municipal Court. She was released on a personal recognizance bond and is due back in court on Friday.

Toward the end of a separate hearing Friday on whether authorities have probable cause to seize Oreo, she chose to voluntarily surrender the animal, Macala said.

“We’re glad she saw the circumstances — that this evidence was pretty overwhelming, in our opinion, as it relates to Oreo being in distress,” he said. “We’re pleased she made the responsible decision of surrendering the animal.

“The first step that’s always important to us is securing the safety of that animal.”

Shawn Kline has not yet been arraigned on his menacing charge, nor has a warrant been issued for his arrest, Macala said. He’s been allowed to turn himself in this week, he said.

This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 5:00 AM.