EL PASO – Dogs, cats, birds, and even snakes can make nice house pets, but Corrie Simpson chose a miniature pot bellied pig. Corrie fell in love with Porky the moment she saw him on a friend’s ranch, knew instantly that it was meant to be and she had to have him.
When Corrie first got Porky he was only about a month old and they both bonded instantly. She could carry him in her arms but that soon changed as Porky quickly ate his way up to over 50lbs. Porky will eat everything and anything is sight. Nothing is off limits. Porky has eaten everything from his own high protein diet feed to grass, pizza, chips, candy, and even candles.
He’s learned that when the refrigerator door opens that means snack time. There’s nothing elegant about the way Porky eats. He likes to chew and smack his food as loud as possible. It seems that he loves the noisiest foods best.
People think that pigs are dirty, but Porky is a dandy. Pigs are odorless and since they give off no scent bugs are not attracted to them. Grooming pigs is fast and easy. Porky grooms himself throughout the day in his pool and the only thing that really gets dirty is his snout when he roots in the backyard. Once Porky has finished digging he’ll clean off his snout in his water bowl and rest up.
Corrie dresses up Porky for different holiday occasions. He wears bunny ears for Easter, a Santa Baby shirt for Christmas, and for the spring he wears a head-band with flower pedals.
At night Porky enjoys resting his head on the bed with Corrie. Corrie has a pillow for Porky on the floor next to her bed but Porky will only stay there for about 20 minutes until he decides the bed is much more comfortable. Once on the bed Porky likes to get under the covers and snuggle up close to Corrie until the morning sun wakes him up.
Every day is a new adventure with Porky. He knows how to cheer Corrie up and make her smile no matter what kind of a day she has had.
I read your post with interest as pot bellied pigs are becoming very popular. When my wife sufggested to me that we buy a “mini pig” I was dubious. Firstly I could not see how we could leave a pig at home whilst we were both at work but she had other ideas in that I could take it in the van with me ( I work as a painter and decorator here in the UK). I was not too keen as I felt the people i would be working with would ridicule me. I did however agree and I became known as the decorator with the pig and I think it got me some work. I was amazed at how clever “Ricky” was and unbelieveably did not smell as I thought he would. HOWEVER. I suddenly noticed that he was getting to be no longer a mini pig and got quite a bit bigger. I went back to query this with the seller and needless to say he had stopped selling them and blamed it on his supplier. In the end as much as I got attached to the animal I reluctantly gave him to a local farm adventure attraction and he is well looked after. I am now dubious as to whether there is such a thing as a “mini pig”