by M Dee Dubroff

Created on: August 25, 2006   Last Updated: March 03, 2007

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals." ~ Winston Churchill

Why are more and more people adopting and also abandoning pot-bellied pigs? What is it about these lovable intelligent critters that we humans can't quite figure out? Read on to discover what we can learn from these distant relatives to the African Hippopotamus.

My first encounter of the porcine kind was with a most engaging black and white sow named Miss Delta Mae. She and her owner strutted their stuff among the Beagles, Standard Poodles, Persian Cats and Labrador Retrievers who called the grassy fields of my condo complex "home." Her owner, a rather dour, rail-thin young man, whose facial expression always reminded me of one who had just swallowed a lemon, kept her on a thick leather leash suspended by a rhinestone studded red yoke. They were indeed the very oddest pair! One day they were gone. There were whispers of zoning regulations, farm animals and undesirable residents. I wondered if they were referring to the owner or darling Delta Mae. I guess I'll never know, but just the thought of that pig's warm and loving nature warms my heart to this day.

Miss Piggy of Muppet fame and The Three Little Pigs of fairy tale land all have their place in our cultural hearts. There was another sow, a miniature pot-belly, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, but whose achievements impressed me very much. I shall call her Piggy Sue, as I do not recall her real moniker. She saved her owner's life in the most imaginative way. A few years ago, the television series, Unsolved Mysteries, featured this story about a woman who lived with her animals in a rustic cabin near a highway. She suffered a heart attack and couldn't reach the phone to call for help. Her dog kept barking and the cat was nowhere to be seen, but her Piggy Sue ran through the cat door, scraping her stomach in the process and out to the highway to play "dead piggy in the road." Returning several times to check on her mistress, she then ran out to the highway again, scraping her poor tummy against the door every time. She did this until someone finally stopped and followed her back to her ailing mistress.

I love dogs and cats and this is not meant to put a damper on the fortitude and loyalty of these wonderful furry creatures. Many have demonstrated amazing valor in protecting their owners, but Piggy Sue really pushed the envelope in the courage department. She also displayed the intelligence of a showman,

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