Pig's Saga

Pig came to live at Happy Home in 1995. She had grown up at a landscaping nursery, but had gotten too big for the environment. When she brushed past small children, she would often knock them down. Pig was always gentle and a lover of fine food, human company and especially sweets. She was too heavy to get far so she needed no pen to contain her. She slept on a small hill in back of our house in her shed. She could sleep on the cool dirt in the summer and we stuffed it with straw in the winter. Each morning she made her rounds, first to her food dish which we set yards away from her shed to encourage exercise. Next was down to the patio for fresh water.

Pig, or Pumba (her given name), was a great hit with children of all ages. She would lay on her stomach, ears in the air, soft nose wriggling and watch them watch her. Few children were brave enough to pet her, but they all wanted to see her. Pig, however, didn't suffer fools. When two of the older young people that frequented our house out and out teased and frustrated her, she did chase them, at least as much as she could chase. It was scary enough to put their nonsense to an end. It was somehow satisfying hearing them cry for help, knowing what they had done and also knowing Pig was simply putting on a show and had no intention, indeed no way of harming them.

Pig diligently pursued her vocation of keeping snakes away from our house, because this is one attribute pigs possess. She was never bothered by any predators and live a happy and contented life at Happy Home.

I am talking about her in the past tense because Pig passed away last Tuesday on the patio she loved to visit. Pig was @ 4 years old when we brought her home for my son, Caleb's birthday 13 years ago, which made her 17 years at her death. I am told that is over 90 years old in pig years. Caleb was the one who found her and it was a sad day.

Pig never "did" much of anything, but be there. She was a fixture and a storybook adventure to little children. I will miss her because she was gentle and silly looking. Iwill miss her because she liked me and like for me to scratch her ears and give her treats.

So this is my salute to Pig, who crossed my path and stayed for 13 years. She did no harm and only enhanced life.