The founder of the Satanic Temple’s Illinois chapter is asking a federal judge to intervene in a custody dispute over a 330-pound “emotional support hog” named Chief Wiggum, who not only provides psychological relief to its owner, but soothing rubdowns, as well.
In an affidavit filed Tuesday for an emergency restraining order, Kenneth William Mayle claims Chubby Goat Acres, a nonprofit animal sanctuary in Southwestern Michigan that took in Chief Wiggum in 2018 while the Chicago-based Satanist was going through “temporary housing difficulties,” has refused to return his pet.
“I acquired Chief Wiggum as a piglet in or around March 2016,” it states. “Chief Wiggum serves as my Emotional Support Animal and has been trained to provide therapeutic benefits, including massage therapy and emotional support during anxiety episodes related to my bipolar disorder. The therapeutic bond between Chief Wiggum and me has developed over approximately ten years.”
But, following a dispute in 2023, the sanctuary banned Mayle from its property and obtained an order of protection against him, according to the affidavit.
“Since being banned, I have been unable to visit Chief Wiggum,” it contends.
Now, Mayle, who is representing himself in court, fears the sanctuary will adopt Chief Wiggum out to someone else, meaning he “may never be able to recover him,” the affidavit states.
“Loss of Chief Wiggum would cause me irreparable harm,” Mayle’s affidavit maintains, noting that he and the large black hog have a bond which “cannot be replaced.” Not having Chief Wiggum around “would severely exacerbate my bipolar disorder,” the affidavit states.
“No amount of money can compensate for this loss,” it argues.
Bipolar disorder, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is a mental health condition causing extreme mood swings that fluctuate between manic highs and debilitating lows.
Mayle, who is allergic to dogs, has in the past battled the City of Chicago – unsuccessfully – for access to local parks with Chief Wiggum in tow. (The Americans with Disabilities Act limits service animals to dogs and miniature horses.) He has also lost suits against the State of Illinois to allow bigamy and adultery, and the federal government over the motto “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency. The unemployed Mayle does not receive any sort of public assistance, has no savings or cash on hand, and his sole asset, a companion filing reveals, is a 2010 Toyota Sienna with a book value of about $4,000.
Mayle’s legal filing names Chubby Goat Acres and co-founder and executive director Christen Kreutz as defendants.
Attorney Kimberly Backman, who represents Kreutz and the sanctuary, told The Independent that Mayle’s court filing misstates the core facts of the dispute.
“The pig that he’s talking about, he voluntarily surrendered it in 2018,” Backman said, an assertion backed up by a February 2024 blog post by Mayle in which he called Chief Wiggum a “permanent resident” of Chubby Goat Acres, and said he was living a happier life there than back in Chicago.
Backman, a veteran litigator who provides pro bono legal services to animal rescue groups via her nonprofit Animal Law Alliance, believes animals desperately need more legal protections than they currently have.
