DURHAM – A veterinarian and two employees are charged with abandoning pigs in a parking lot.

The incident happened last month in which employees say the pigs’ owner brought them to the Affordable Animal Care to have at least one of them spayed. When he found out the cost, he left the pigs at the hospital.

They say veterinarian and owner Paula Bullock tried her best to care for the pigs but was unable to do so.

Several people called deputies about pigs running around in the parking lot.

The pigs' owner, Jamie Wrenn, told deputies that he was planning to come back and pick up the animals.

"If the agreement would've been fulfilled where I could've transported the pigs back to my house, I would've carried them that day." 

One of the employees facing charges said they contacted authorities, but they were no help.

“It’s not our responsibility to keep their pigs because that is their pigs,” said Daisee Trejo. “We handed them their pigs and they just abandoned them. They left them in the parking lot.”

Wrenn says he planned to retured to get his animals. Authorities will keep the baby pigs and return the adult one back to him.

Bullock has been in trouble before. She’s out on bond on fraud and identity theft charges after police say she used a customer’s credit card and stole one of her employees’ identity.

However, Bullock still works at the hospital and it is still open.