Satanic Temple leader sues for custody of ‘emotional support’ hog

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.

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“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.

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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.

“In animal law in general, they are considered property,” Backman explained. “An animal doesn't have individual rights, it’s no different than a car, some flatware, whatever. If I surrender a car, I can’t come back years later and say I want the car back. And it’s not like he gave the pig up eight weeks ago, or eight months ago – this was eight years ago... The reality under the law is that... the pig was transferred over to the [sanctuary], without a written boarding agreement or some type of contract where they would return the pig to his care.”

Kreutz, via Backman, declined to comment. Mayle did not respond to multiple requests seeking comment.

In March 2016, Mayle acquired Chief Wiggum, a guinea hog named for a character on The Simpsons, to help him cope with recurring bipolar episodes, his affidavit states. Among other things, Chief Wiggum – who traveled around town in a shopping cart attached to Mayle’s bicycle – eased his owner’s nerves by massaging his hands.

Two years later, Mayle “experienced temporary housing difficulties that prevented me from keeping Chief Wiggum in my residence,” the affidavit goes on. (Filings from a separate court proceeding say Mayle told Kreutz that municipal authorities told him that pigs were not allowed to be kept within city limits.)

To ensure Chief Wiggum would be well-cared for during this period, the affidavit says Mayle entered into what the affidavit describes as “an oral boarding agreement” with Chubby Goat Acres and Kreutz to board Chief Wiggum at the Schoolcraft, Michigan, sanctuary, about 150 miles away from Chicago.

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Chubby Goat Acres is a nonprofit with a mission “to protect domestic and farmed animals from neglect, abuse, or other cruelty and to inspire change in the way society views and treats these animals.” It also helps find appropriate homes for adoptable animals, and believes that “every animal deserves to have a life free of pain, fear and suffering.”

From 2018 through “approximately 2023 or 2024,” Mayle “provided substantial financial support for Chief Wiggum's care, totaling in excess of $40,000,” the affidavit states. During this time, he visited Chief Wiggum every month “for therapeutic purposes,” according to the affidavit. (A police report filed last November by Kreutz claimed Mayle only in fact showed up once or twice a year. Additionally, Backman said the $40,000 figure came from a work-donation matching program, which provided corporate dollars for sweat equity.)

Under their agreement, Mayle could reclaim Chief Wiggum at any time, the affidavit says, and Mayle insists he never indicated any desire to abandon or “permanently surrender” his hog.

But, the affidavit continues, a “dispute arose” between Mayle and Kreutz, after which she ordered him to leave and never come back.

“Kreutz characterized me as ‘mentally unwell’ in communications, which I believe refers to my disclosed disability (bipolar disorder),” it says.

On December 22, 2025, Mayle sent a certified letter to Chubby Goat Acres, formally demanding the immediate return of Chief Wiggum, according to the affidavit. He offered to pick up Chief Wiggums off-site, “to accommodate the fact that I am banned from Defendants’ property,” the affidavit states.

“I also notified Defendants that retention of Chief Wiggum after a specified date would constitute possession of stolen property,” it asserts. “... To date, Defendants have not responded to my demand letter.”

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Kreutz, feeling threatened by Mayle, filed for an order of protection in Michigan state court. However, Mayle contends he was never served with the order, and missed a hearing he did not know had been scheduled. For this reason, Mayle’s affidavit argues, it should be considered null and void. (In actuality, court filings from the Michigan case show Mayle was served at 6:42 p.m. on December 4, 2025.)

The protection order, which The Independent reviewed in its entirety, lays out examples of Mayle’s alleged behavior toward Kreutz, which included death threats, stalking and stripping naked while visiting Chief Wiggum.

In screenshots of texts between Kreutz and Mayle, Kreutz repeatedly assures Mayle – whose arrest record shows charges at roughly the same time for, variously, harassment, battery, and violating a protection order – that she has no desire to come between him and Chief Wiggum.

“We love you, Kenny,” Kreutz said in one message, encouraging Mayle to seek professional help.

Still, Mayle’s affidavit accuses Kreutz of “weaponizing” the court system to “set a trap: if I attempt to reclaim my property, Defendants can claim I am ‘violating’ the Order and have me arrested.”

Mayle is now demanding the court prohibit Chubby Goat Acres from “adopting out, selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of Chief Wiggum,” to bar the sanctuary from reporting Mayle to the police for violating the Michigan order of protection, to force the “immediate” return of Chief Wiggum, and to award Mayle compensatory damages, punitive damages, and “emotional distress damages” to be determined by a jury.