A California family’s missing pet pig was found but while police went to get the animal’s owners, someone slaughtered their beloved pet. Princess the pig—a 400-pound sow—had escaped her enclosure at owner Carrie Hogan’s mother’s house in Arcata, California, on March 23, according to MailOnline. The pig wandered around the neighborhood and was spotted by locals. Humboldt Paws Cause, a lost and found pets service in Humboldt County, California, posted photos of the missing pig on its Facebook page. “Found a massive pig in our yard this morning up Fickle Hill,” Humboldt Paws Cause wrote, citing an individual named Brianne. A lively discussion ensued about animals on the loose and whether the missing animal was a pot-bellied pig or someone’s 4H/FFA youth development project. “That’s not a potbelly that’s a Hampshire/ mix probably for FAA or 4H it looks pretty young. Hope it finds its home!!” wrote Anna Marie. “Buffalo on the highways and a piggy strolling around Arcata! Lol only in Humboldt!! Yee haw!!” commented Susan Wentworth. To read more on this story, click here:Escaped Pet Pig Slaughtered by ‘Helpful’ Neighbor in California
Cesar Millan, “The Dog Whisperer,” made headlines when a
dog appeared on his show attacking a pig. According to TMZ, an investigation is
underway by LA County Animal Control. Officials visited Millan’s dog training
center in Santa Clarita, California. Millan was not present, but has been given
24 hours to respond. The call was due to a barrage of complaints flooding in
when Millan’s show, Cesar 911, featured the dog attacking and injuring a pig
during a training session.
Millan is staunchly defended by NatGeoWild, which airs the
show on its channel. But dog trainers all over the country are saying they have
been trying to get the message across about Millan’s methods for the past
decade.
According to NBC Los Angeles, professional dog trainer
Laura Nativo has helped organize a petitioncalling for the cancellation of Millan’s show. Close to
10,000 people have signed it so far.
Other trainers have echoed these sentiments for years,
according to an article by author and internationally acclaimed trainer Jean
Donaldson on UrbanDawgs.com.
According to Donaldson, Lisa Laney Patrona, a certified
professional dog trainer and a graduate of the Companion Animal Sciences
Institute, wrote a letter to National Geographic prior to the airing of The Dog
Whisperer.
“The intended program depicts aversive and abusive training
methods – treatment for some serious anxiety and fear based issues – being
administered by an individual with no formal education whatsoever in canine
behavioral sciences. The ‘results’ that are shown are more than likely not long
lasting changes, but the result of learned helplessness, or fatigue, neither of
which impact behavior to any significant long term degree – at least not in a
good way. For those of us who are pioneering the effort to end the ignorance
that drives the cruel treatment administered upon our canine companions, it is
disappointing to see that this programming will reach the masses – especially
on the NatGeo Channel. The ignorance that this program perpetuates will give
equally ignorant people the green light to subject their dogs to abuse. In turn
these dogs will react even more defensively, will bite more people – and end up
dead.”
In a 2006 article in the New York Times, Mark Derr called
Milan’s program a “pack of lies.” He points out the sexist angle of Millan’s
training.
“Women are the worst offenders in his world. In one of the
outtakes included in the four-DVD set of the first season of Dog Whisperer, Mr.
Millan explains that a woman is ‘the only species that is wired different from
the rest.’ And a ‘woman always applies affection before discipline,’ he says.
‘Man applies discipline then affection, so we’re more psychological than
emotional. All animals follow dominant leaders; they don’t follow lovable
leaders.'”
In a 2011 blog article by the Huffington Post titled “First
Do No Harm,” Law and Order actor and “dog worshiper” Richard Belzer calls out
National Geographic for sponsoring Millan.
“The fact that the Dog Whisperer has been nominated for an
Emmy should give serious pause to all those in the business who are about to
vote for the awards. Dog owners and dog lovers would be disturbingly misled if
Mr. Millan and his program are honored in such a high-profile way.”
Chiming in with countless other statements, Dr. Nicholas
Dodman, a professor and the head of Animal Behavior at Tufts University, wrote,
“Cesar Millan’s methods are based on flooding and punishment. The results,
though immediate, will be only transitory. His methods are misguided, outmoded,
in some cases dangerous, and often inhumane. You would not want to be a dog
under his sphere of influence. The sad thing is that the public does not
recognize the error of his ways. My college thinks it is a travesty. We’ve
written to National Geographic Channel and told them they have put dog training
back 20 years.”
The recent episode where the pig was attacked is not the
first time that animal professionals have waved the red flag about Millan. The
question is, will National Geographic finally take notice?
Update:
In a report by Fox News, Cesar Millan stated that the
public’s reaction to the pig incident was overblown.
“I do have a large group of fans and a small group of
people who don’t agree with me. They are taking this the wrong way and blowing
it way out of proportion.”
Watch the pig-biting incident in this video by Inside
Edition.
The micro-mini pig craze has exploded over the past few
years. There are YouTube pig celebrities. There are "trendsetters"
like Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton cooing over their tiny pigs. There was
even a teacup pig appearance on How I Met Your Mother. But the acceptance of
mini pigs as pets is the result of misleading claims (dating back to the 1980s)
that can truly hurt innocent pigs.
Teacup pigs are really baby potbellied pigs
At first glance, it sounds purely adorable: a pig who will
never weigh more than a human baby. But as the executive director of PIGS
Animal Sanctuary Melissa Susko confirms, this isn't the case. "There
really is no such thing as a teacup pig, micro-mini, Juliana, etc.," she
tells The Dodo. "Miniature pigs are mini compared to a domestic farm pig
that can reach 600-plus pounds. So-called teacups are actually potbellied pigs
who are either underfed to stunt their growth or who are sold under false
pretenses."
Potbellied pigs ( Sus scrofa domesticus) are wild boar
cousins from Vietnam who are in fact miniature pigs when standing next to huge
farm pigs (who can weigh more than 1,000 pounds) or even wild hogs (who can
weight 450 to 700 pounds). However, potbellied pigs still grow to between 100
and 150 pounds on average — nowhere near small enough to fit into a teacup. In
fact, the smallest size that is healthy for these little guys is around 60
pounds (though that could be underweight, depending on the pig).
They can breed when they are just 3 months old
To convince customers of their pig's minuscule size,
breeders may invite them to look at the piggy parents. Don't be fooled, says
Susko. Because these pigs "can breed when they are as young as 6 to 8
weeks old, the parents of a piglet may be piglets themselves." Therefore,
she says, "their size is not an accurate measure of how large their
offspring will be in adulthood. Potbellied pigs can grow until they are 5 years
old and reach well over 100 pounds."
Keeping pigs that small is simply unhealthy
Some breeders inbreed their pigs to try to achieve a
smaller size, but that produces a host of health issues resulting from reduced
genetic diversity, such as squished snouts, which cause breathing problems
later in life. And breeders often instruct buyers to feed their pig a diet that
amounts to starvation.
Susko says her sanctuary takes in numerous pigs turned in
by people who said they "were told by the breeder that the pig will only
get big if you feed him too much. Many pigs come in malnourished and emaciated.
Underfed pigs also suffer from weak immune systems, sensitive skin and hoof
problems." Indeed, underfed pigs — like too-little Wilburt here — tend to
come with a host of health problems caused by malnutrition. Wilburt was fed
guinea pig food to keep him small, but after being surrendered to a shelter,
this curious 2-year-old is on a more appropriate diet of fruits and vegetables.
And it makes them unhappy
Potbellied pigs need other piggy friends and lots of space
to roam — otherwise they can become depressed or angry. Pigs love to root, dig,
roll in mud and splash in water. Their intelligence makes them exceptionally
curious animals who will probably get into some trouble when they're bored,
just like a toddler, and they can get territorial and moody, too. Pigs simply
being pigs is oftentimes enough of a reason for teacup pig owners to abandon
their pigs or surrender them to sanctuaries like Best Friends Animal Society or
Pig Placement Network.
The Dodo reached out to Janette Reever, the Humane
Society's deputy manager of animal fighting response for the Animal Rescue
Team, for comment on the pet pig craze. Between her former job as an animal
control officer, her current position at the Humane Society and her active
volunteer work at PIGS Sanctuary, Reever says she has "seen firsthand
countless pigs that were surrendered to shelters, rescues, and dumped because
the 'teacup' pig grew to 100-plus pounds." Reever shares her home with two
such rescues from PIGS Sanctuary — Annabelle and Arnold (pictured below) — and
she "can attest to how smart they are, how closely they bond to their
families and the specialized care they require."
Keeping pigs is more
expensive than you may think
Because customers expect these
piglets to stay tiny, they can't possibly imagine the mountainous costs
associated with keeping a fully grown potbellied pig. As Susko puts it,
"Many people think they are buying a teacup Yorkie and end up with a Saint
Bernard. Not many people can handle a 100-, 200- or even 300-pound pig in their
house."
There's the initial price of
the pig, which may be several thousand dollars, the proper food (no dog or cat
kibble), the space needed, the vet bills (finding a good vet for these piggies
can be almost impossible), sterilization costs and the expenses for a qualified
pig-sitter if the humans go out of town and don't take their pal along.
They also may be illegal
No matter what teacup pig
purchasers may think or how small their pig may be, in the eyes of the law,
these little pigs are livestock — just like farm pigs or cows. Many local
governments outside of farm country forbid the keeping of livestock, so it
might be illegal to keep these pigs as pets, even if you do have the money and
the ability to care for them.
Unfortunately, the prevalence
of misinformation about the care of these complex creatures means that most
teacup pigs live only about five years, even though "the average life
expectancy for a potbellied pig is 12 to 18 years," according to Susko.
"We've had some that barely made it past two years of life."
And their popularity doesn't
seem to be waning anytime soon. "I have been at the sanctuary since 2002
(going on 13 years) and have worked with well over a thousand pigs during this
time," Susko says. "We get an average of 30 requests a week to take
in pigs that people have purchased under the assumption that they will be micro
or teacup pigs. When the pigs start growing, they call us. We have 120 potbelly
pigs here at PIGS and 85 percent of them have been pigs that people bought
without doing their research and fell for the teacup pig myth."
Don't be "pignorant"
— find more information about "teacup" pigs here. When you see photos
or videos tagged "teacup" or "micro" pig, remember that
many of these pigs have a hard time finding a forever home after they no longer
fit into that teacup. "It is an unethical industry," cautions Reever,
"and the victims are the pigs."
Instead of an actual pig, why
not gift a pig sponsorship this holiday season? There are also plenty of
opportunities to donate to shelters that provide the proper care for abandoned
or surrendered pigs.
Latoria Middleton of Atlanta has raised and loved her pet
pig since he was just a week old. From just a tiny, bottle-fed piglet to a
full-grown hog that loves Reese’s Pieces, Rick Ross has lived with her happily
inside her home.
But last week, the curious pig got loose. Middleton was
heartbroken, and frantically set out to look for her pet. Luckily, her dog was
able to lead her to a manhole, in which her pig was a little shaken up, but
otherwise unharmed. Middleton then called authorities for help hoisting the 200-pound
piggy out from this deep hole.
To her surprise… no one would come to her rescue. She says
that the fire department essentially told her that there was nothing to be done
for her pet pig, and that poor Rick Ross’ last days were to be lived down that
dark hole.
Totally shocked and appalled by the community’s
unwillingness to help out, she climbed down into the hole with her pig and
alerted the media to this ridiculous situation. If it were a dog or a cat stuck
down there, there’s no chance that the fire department would have left him down
there. So why let a pig suffer?
While the fire department claims that they responded right
away, it’s clear that there was some sort of injustice to sort out. Whether it
was a miscommunication or not, Middleton is just happy that her
attention-grabbing stunt finally got her baby to safety.
Fridays are for farm animals. For the second week in a row,
a police department in metro Detroit has rounded up a farm animal - this time
it's a big pig!
The pig, named Pig, had somehow gotten loose and was on the
run.
The Shelby Township Police Department got the call Thursday
to a report of a pig running loose near 24 Mile and Wolf Drive (sweet irony!).
The responding officers arrived, wrangled Pig and eventually got him into the
cop car!
That was apparently the easy part. He left a huge mess in
the backseat of the cruiser, because, you know, he's a pig! That's what they
do! You'd probably be this happy looking too if you left that mess for someone
else to clean up!
The good news is that the owner of the pig picked it up
from the station and even cleaned out the police car.
The calls started coming into central dispatch at about 7:00
p.m. Thursday. A pig had escaped from her pen on 24 Mile Road.
The humor was not lost on Deputy Chief Mark Coil.
"I've heard them all," he said. "Pigs and
pigs, pigs capturing bacon, what's for dinner.
"Shelby Township has that 'Ark-feel' - we seem to have
animals at large of all types and varieties."
A dog pole was used to direct the pig into the police car
where it made a mess.
It became a biohazard relatively quickly," Coil said.
"Luckily for the department and the officers the owner volunteered and
cleaned the car for us."
"I just want to say thanks to the Shelby Township police
for getting the pig and not writing me a ticket for having poop in the
car," said owner Brian Davis.
Davis said he plans on bringing coffee and doughnuts to the
officers who helped return his prized pet.
Bentley the piglet has been in the hospital for a little over a month now, recovering from an illness, believed to be meningitis, that has left him blind. Adoptive mom Corinne DiLorenzo, the founder of Illinois-based EARTH Animal Sanctuary, goes to visit Bentley most days. And when she does, the trained opera singer sings an old Irish lullaby, the "Connemara Cradle Song," to her 9-month-old, 14-pound piglet. "It just comes out naturally to me, when there is someone who needs comfort," DiLorenzo says. Traditionally, the lullaby's lyrics celebrate fishing for herring. But DiLorenzo has changed the words a little, so now the song's about sailing with the herring instead of sailing with them caught aboard the boat. "We need to start changing the way we view animals," explains DiLorenzo. Until Bentley is discharged, she'll keep going to the hospital, singing a version of the cradle song that she used to croon to her own son when he was a baby. Home for Bentley, DiLorenzo, and her now 13-year-old son is a 7-acre farm in central Illinois, where DiLorenzo takes in primarily, sick, elderly and special needs animals. "Mostly our sanctuary is for the unadoptables," says DiLorenzo, who bought the property about a year and a half ago. She hopes in the future to open a bed and breakfast and vegan restaurant on site. More >>>
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The precious friendship between Libby Bonnice and her farm animal pet Pearl from Pennsylvania has been documented in her mother's adorable photographs capturing moments between the two.
Mother Lindsey Bonnice, a professional photographer, bought three-month-old Pearl as an early birthday gift for Libby last month, and has been sharing pictures of them during play time, having tea parties and during morning snuggles on her Live Sweet Blog and Instagram.
