Submitted photo Oreo, a 400-pound pig, was found in the dark in a basement room in Campbell that smelled heavily of urine and feces.

CAMPBELL — An animal rights group with a worldwide audience has taken an interest in an animal abuse case out of Campbell, in which a couple is accused of keeping a pig as an emotional support pet in what police described as “dungeonlike conditions.”

Lady Freethinker is a nonprofit based out of Los Angeles and has sent a petition to the Campbell prosecutor, with tens of thousands of signatures seeking a maximum sentence for the couple that is charged, as well as a lifetime prohibition on owning animals.

Lex Talamo, a reporter and senior editor at Lady Freethinker, created the petition Sept. 8. When it was sent to the prosecutor Sept. 19, it had accumulated 33,737 signatures and as of Sunday night, it has 36,553 names.

The petition can be accessed online at https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-justice-for-sweet-pig-kept-in-dungeon-like-basement/.

Talamo said her organization has readers worldwide, including in all 50 states, so it looks for cases nearby readers, not just on the West Coast. She said the organization looks for cases of extreme abuse or neglect, or cases that speak to a greater trend. This case became of interest to the organization because of the conditions in which Oreo the pig was kept, and because emotional support animals are a hot topic right now.

“This is definitely bigger than just Oreo’s case,” Talamo said. “Sometimes people think that just because they consider an animal their property or because that animal is providing a service to them, they can treat it however they want.”

THE CHARGES

Campbell Prosecutor Brian Macala could not be reached for comment.

Shawn Kline and Cortney Kline-Carnes, of Chambers Street, face eight charges between them after police executed a search warrant in July and found a 400-pound pig living in the basement of the home.

Officers found Oreo lying in the dark in a room that smelled heavily of urine and feces, according to a police report. The room had no windows or artificial lighting, and dirty mattresses and blankets littered the floor.

Oreo’s hooves were so overgrown that she could not walk to her nearby water, the police report states. The animal rescue employees who assisted police said the pig was dehydrated and likely suffering from arthritis because she is so overweight. It took six people to get the animal on a stretcher to carry her out of the basement.

Each of the couple is charged with keeping and maintaining wild animals, cruelty to animals and neglect of animals. Kline also is charged with aggravated menacing because he threatened to kill the officers if they tried to remove the pig, according to the report. Kline-Carnes was also charged with obstructing official business.

They have each entered not guilty pleas and will be in Campbell Municipal Court on Oct. 21 for a pretrial hearing before retired Alliance Municipal Court Judge Robert Lavery.

Oreo is in the care of Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ravenna, which took her in after she was removed from the Campbell home. Lissy Kuhn of Happy Trails said the sanctuary is very pleased with Oreo’s continued improvement. More recently, she became able to walk outside by herself. She continues to lose weight and is on a healthy diet. Kuhn said the weight of potbelly pigs can vary, but a healthy adult should be between 100 to 150 pounds.

PIGS ARE THINKERS

The Lady Freethinker petition states that pigs are very intelligent animals, which Talamo said people do not always understand, making the abuse more severe in this case.

Lady Freethinker’s mission is to speak up for animals, as they cannot speak for themselves, according to the organization’s website. Talamo said the organization does this through investigating abuse, creating petitions to persuade officials and by donating to on-the-ground animal rescues.

Once involved in a case, such as Oreo’s, the organization will see it though and continue putting pressure on officials to, according to the petition, “hold the individual(s) responsible in this animal cruelty case accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” This includes “any needed intervention services and a maximum ban on owning or caring for animals in the future.”

Talamo said in this case, she is concerned that the couple could just replace Oreo with another animal for emotional support, unless a lifetime ban on owning animals is handed down.

escott@tribtoday.com