This potbellied pig was spotted at the Burger King location in Ferrellton, Somerset County, by Ashlee Shawley of Jennerstown.

FERRELLTON, Pa. – When Ashlee Shawley saw a Facebook post Thursday morning that a barnyard animal was loose near the a local Burger King, she didn’t quite believe it.

When she stopped there to take her son to the bus around 7:30 a.m., though, she saw it: a black, potbellied pig.

“It was standing in front of the doors, greeting people, trying to get in and out, trying to get food, Shawley said. “I lost sight of it for a minute, and then I looked over, and there was a truck at the drive-thru. The pig was standing beside the truck as the driver was ordering something.”

Shawley got out to snap some photos – hoping to help reunite the animal with its owner.

“I didn’t really expect this to go viral,” she said. “I was just trying to help somebody their piggy back.”

She captured some shots of the hog, which she described as a hungry-looking fellow, maybe about 100 pounds.

“He seemed fairly friendly,” she said, adding that the animal bit at her left foot while she was taking the photos but didn’t do any damage.

The quirky scene unfolded for another hour or so, she said, until state police in Somerset showed up and so did the owner.

Though the trooper who responded  to the loose pig was not immediately available for comment, state police said the animal was a pet who belonged to someone who lived nearby.

Bal writes for the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Tribune-Democrat.