Not too long ago I received a phone call from a little boy and his first question was, "How much are your potbellied pigs?" When I answered his query he gave a big sigh, indicating that the amount quoted was too much money. Then I asked him, "How much did you think a pet pig would cost? Buying a potbellied pig is like buying a registered dog. Do you have any other pets?" He told me he had four dogs in addition to a pig he had obtained from a neighbor by trading a Nintendo game. This pig was an intact boar and the boy wanted a female for breeding purposes. Upon further questioning I found that the boar lives in a very small area with some chickens and has no name. When I asked if the boy ever played with his boar he told me "No," but that he fed the nameless pig daily even though he was, in fact, a little afraid of him.

I explained to this child that my pigs have names and receive special attention such as time out of their pens daily as well as occasional special goodies. He laughed, indicating that he thought these were indeed peculiar ways to treat a pig. He said the boar's previous owner used to have many pigs, but they had all died. When I tried to obtain further information in this regard, he had no answers.

I told the young boy that I wasn't the person to get a pig from and suggested he neuter his boar, and make him into a pet. I further stated that it wasn't fair to treat his boar in the manner he did and that all my pigs are in homes where they are being loved and cared for like a member of the family.

This interaction made me sad and depressed. I wondered, as I often do, how many pigs are being neglected, receiving neither love nor even proper care. I also felt concern for the young boy. Where was his role model who should be teaching him appropriate care and respect for animals?

Another phone conversation I would like to share is less severe but, nonetheless, troublesome. A fellow was searching for a home for his year-old barrow. I inquired as to why this was necessary. He said that every time the pig came into the house he knocked over the dining room chairs. My analysis of the situation was that the pig was either hungry, bored or both; so, I asked how much they feed their pig and how they structure his time. Upon hearing the pig received two cups of pig chow daily plus additional treats, I dismissed the idea that the pig didn't get enough to eat. Boredom did, however, appear to contribute to the pig's unacceptable behavior. I suggested that the owner teach his pig not to knock over chairs and provided him with some training techniques. I also recommended that when the pig comes into the house that he be confined to a designated pig area away from the dining room chairs. Another suggestion was to provide the pig with some forms of entertainment.

Then came the bottom line. I gave the caller my assurance that training the pig was definitely doable, but that if what he was really telling me was that the pig was no longer his cup of tea, then this was an entirely different matter. If he needed help placing the pig in a caring home, I was happy to assist. The conversation ended with him indicating he would try some of the training suggestions, but my gut feeling was that he really just wanted to get rid of the pig.

Most of the calls I receive are from pet owners, though not all of these are with problems. Many calls are from folks needing resources or answers to specific questions. When I hear from breeders, they generally have more pigs than they are able to place and ask for my help or suggestions. Here's an example: a breeder had some fifty pigs who were between six and eight weeks of age. I asked him why he had so many. He replied, "I'm so proud of my girls. They really outdone themselves with such big litters." I pointed out that he must, indeed, have some wonderful sows, but if he couldn't place the baby pigs, what was the point of breeding all of them? I proposed that he cut back the number of sows bred and supplied him with the names of other breeders who might be able to help him find homes for his pigs. Irresponsible breeding practices can cause immense problems for the breeder, but my main concern is the welfare of the helpless, homeless piglets.

Unfortunately, there are both disreputable breeders and irresponsible pet owners. The primary concern should always be the health and well-being of the pig. Besides adhering to sound breeding, health, and management practices, breeders should be socializing, neutering, and spaying pigs prior to their sale. They should supply resource materials including the care and training of a pig, veterinarian and nutrition information, and they should be available to help the new pig owner in every way possible. On the other hand, the prospective pig owner should do his homework on the nature and requirements of a potbellied pig rather than blindly entering into such a relationship without an understanding of the commitment and care that will be necessary. It is also the buyer's job to check out the breeder, asking key questions, and obtaining information that allows for an informed decision about the quality of the pig being supplied.

Many people are of the mentality that they are far superior to animals. I totally disagree with this notion and believe that the ideal to strive for is both man and animal living in harmony with mutual respect and regard. We, in most cases, are the caretakers of animals and this is a responsibility not to take lightly. Animals have the right to live in a pleasant and healthy environment and be treated with compassion and kindness.

© Nancy Shepherd 1997


From The Outermost House by Henry Beston, copyright l928, l956.

We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth.