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| Name: |
Pork Chop
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Age: |
Four years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Vietnamese Potbelly Pig
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| Home: |
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
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Pork Chop
is a pet I knew I would have all my life. I met a pet pig when I
was young, walking home everyday from elementary school. As soon as I could
legally have one (must be zoned) and bought my home, I went for it! I tried
to adopt but couldn't find a pig to call my own, so I ended up buying from a
certified breeder. From the day she came into our lives, she never whimpered,
never whined, followed myself and the dogs everywhere! While looking for
information on care and training of pigs, I found so little, but all of a
sudden a lot of pigs were looking for new homes! So I started VegasPigPets, a
rescue and placement of unwanted and abandoned potbelly pigs into new,
permanent, loving homes! Pork Chop is my ambassador pig showing people that
you can give a pig a safe, loving home with proper education, training and of
course, love! Pork Chop also shows people what a 140-pound potbelly pig looks
like, she is not huge, she only comes up to my knees, but everyone thinks a
mini pig or a teacup pig will fit in their purse. She is quite the educator
and of course, she's my newest animal child in my family of adopted
dogs, parrots and tortoises!
Pork Chop is the pig pet everyone wants. She's just a lover, shows no
aggression, naps at my feet and I put her to bed in my closet every night!
She was trained from the day she arrived, she does an obstacle course almost
every day, sits, shakes hands and kneels. When I brought her home, I wasn't
sure how she'd get along with the dogs, as dogs are predators and pigs are prey
and it's never recommended the two types of animals be put together right
away. I set up a gate with a litter box and let her stay at the back of the
house to let the dogs and Pork Chop get to know each other slowly. She never
winced, the dogs never showed any signs of wanting to attack and she sure
wouldn't use the litter box. So the next morning I put the dogs on a leash
and took them all outside together and Pork Chop had held her business 'til she
could go outside! She walked the backyard, picked her spot and four years later,
she still does her business in the same spot! She has never had an accident
in the house and instead of doggy doors, we now have piggy doors (just a bit
wider) so they all can come and go as they please! Back to the dogs, though,
she snuggled up to them and at first they were a bit weary of this tiny ten-pound
piglet, but she laid and cuddled up to them and they must have figured out she
was okay! She is always in the middle of everything, wants to be with
everybody, animals and humans, but like any pig, she is very suspicious of
changes or strangers and will retreat to her closet until she feels
comfortable.
Her diet is very strict as pigs, being pigs, will eat anything.
She is not as active as she was, so gets 1/2 cup of mini pig pellets twice a
day and a salad of mostly veggies, and a grape or a piece of apple. She gets
her morning pellets in what is called a "busy ball" and she pushes it around
the backyard to get her pellets out. She gets no free food, but she already
knows that, so if I'm in the kitchen, she'll sit behind me and make tiny
grunts to let me know she's waiting patiently! I have been told not all pigs
are sweet and mellow like her, but the most important things that made her
that way, was that she was spayed at the recommended eight weeks old, I trained
her early on and integrated her into my family "herd" and that made for a very
secure, loving, always smiling pig! And she really does smile!
View more images of Pork Chop!
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