The Amazing Adventures of Hank

It all happened by accident.....mostly! We were planning a visit to the east coast for my husband's Marine Corps reunion and were scheduled to stay at a friends house along the way. She sent me a picture of the cutest and tiniest KuneKune pig and asked if we might want to take him home. At first I said said NO WAY! I mentioned that my husband would not be okay with a 200 pound pet pig running around the yard (that was how big he would get when he was full grown). But after talking with my husband about it, imagine my complete shock when he said, "Sure, that would be great". We agreed that if we got Hank, we could find him a wife later and they could make baby pork chops. At this point I have no "real" idea what raising a pet pig is about (remember, Sugar passed away shortly after I got her), so I'm scouring Google and YouTube for every piece of information available. Hank was going to be royalty in our house and I wanted to make sure he had all the stuff a pet pig could need.

The trip went great and arrival day to meet Hank was filled with excitement. Hank was absolutely adorable! He was becoming quite independent and moved around the property the way he wanted which was pretty cool. We came back a few days later after the reunion ready to get our cute little bundle of pig when I realized that this guy was still being bottle fed.

Anyone that knows about bottle feeding animals will tell you that it's like having an infant again which means you will not sleep.....for weeks....and weeks. Filled with ignorance and bliss, we took off to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. We had campground reservations secured for our stops which was good because it allowed us time to relax and unwind........I'm sorry, I mean be sleep deprived, feed baby pig every 2 hours, stop at truck stops to let him potty only to have him try to run away, no leash because he would scream if you put it on him and most enjoyable of all was the incesent squealing if there was a second he had to wait while I made his bottle. Bottle prep, every night, every morning! I was a walking zombie by the time we got to Texas.

Thank God our friends in Texas had a rabbit barn because those rabbits were going to get to listen to Hank squeal during the night....not this girl! This girl was going to get some sleep.....for at least 3 days that is! We got back on the road and stopped at our final campground and the 2 hour bottle feeding started up again at night. I know, I know....I shouldn't have given in BUT I would like to remind everyone that I did not in fact list having an animal on the reservations so at this point, I need my little guy to be super quiet!

Back on the road and finally home! We gave our dogs some well deserved attention for a while before we sprung the "unwanted" guest upon them. I figured Chesty would get along great with Hank because he was a younger dog and really friendly. I was mostly worried about our "Ole doggy", Barrett Mauser Von Rommel. Anyone that knew Barrett when he was getting old would know that he was getting cranky, set in his ways and could eat your face off if he wanted to. To everyone's amazement, Barrett and Hank took to each like beans and cornbread. I think Hank liked him so much because Hank loves blankets and Barrett was a long haired German Shepard who loved to take naps. And that kind of looked like a blanket on the floor to Hank (who also loved naps). And Barrett liked Hank, for the most part, because he had a warm cuddle buddy that laid right next to him who never complained if he snored, kicked in his sleep or farted so bad it could peel the paint off the walls. Hank did not care one bit!

Another "things I didn't know" about pigs is that they do not like sleeping in their own urine or feces. So, Hank potty trained himself! I did have to pick him up twice to take him outside when he started to pee in the house but after that, no issues. Hank slept in the bathroom on his blanket every night with a few piddle pads off to the side in case he had to go in the middle of the night. He would literally get up and go to the pad and pee then walk back to his blanket and lay down. Such a smart little guy!

Mornings with Hank looked like this: He woke up and ran out to eat his breakfast in the kitchen then went outside to potty. He would explore for a bit then come inside for a few hours of naps, play time on his activity mat followed by lunch, more naps and activity mat time, etc. I would call him outside to potty after he ate every meal just so he avoided the mere temptation of wanting to go in the house. Kind of like dogs, right!

As you might expect, he has grown a TON....not literally but a lot. We got him a piggy pin for sleeping outside and that is a touchy subject for Hank. He prefers sleeping under the carport between the rabbit hutches and lawnmower. He seems to be a free spirit who doesn't like to be "shut in" anywhere. I think once it starts getting cold, we will build up a wall of hay around this pin and put more hay on the ground for warmth. Either way, Hank will sleep in comfort where ever that may be.

Another interesting thing about Hank is that he can laugh. Yes, he laughs! When he is being naughty busting through a group of chickens or "sneaking" up on Chesty, he will laugh. The first time he did it was on that trip I told you about. He nibbled my toe and I pulled my foot away and said, "Ouch". He started laughing and my son said, "Mom, did you hear that? He laughed!" And he has done it ever since which I honestly enjoy because hearing him do that makes me bust out laughing myself.

Curious would be a word I would use in describing Hank as well. He once got stuck in a cat kennel because there was milk and cat food inside. A determined pig will squeeze into the darndest places! My husband had to break apart the kennel just to get him out and there was not even a "thank you for saving my life" from Hank. Nope, he was upset we interrupted his feast! Never mind the fact that not a single inch more of Hank could have fit inside that kennel and he could not turn his head around much less his body. And he was NOT getting out without assistance.

I post a lot about life with Hank on my Facebook page, so if you're interested in following the many misadventures of Hank, go follow me there. Raising a pet pig is by no means easy but when it comes to "choose your hard", I'd take Hank anyday!

The scene of the "Kennel Crime". The barn cats were not too pleased either.