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Cats and dogs are the heart and soul and FAPL’s residents. When potential adopters walk through those front doors, it is usually to add a companion to their household that will either require a litter box or a leash, a scratching post or a Milk-Bone. There are also the unconventional animals that come our way looking for loving homes, not always the first pet on the minds of the aforementioned adopters. There are the gerbils, guinea pigs and hamsters of Lorain County that occasionally find their way to us. Let’s not forget our long-eared, lettuce-loving friends as there is always at least one rabbit that calls FAPL its temporary home.
Still, there are those moments when an even more uncommon animal ends up here. After all, it was only a couple weeks ago when a ferret was surrendered to us. The rascally young lass, affectionately named Slinky, had a personality all her own and found her new forever home in about a week. So that sounds like that’s about it for our “unique animal” roster for a while, right? Not so, my friends! We will take the hand that’s dealt when it comes to an animal needing help. That logic is no different in the case of Bear. No, we didn’t get a homeless grizzly. Bear happens to be the name of a 20-pound, 8-month old mini-pig.
After being bounced around from home to home, Bear’s eating slowed dramatically, a symptom of her unstable living situation. I’m not a veterinarian. I’m not an animal behaviorist. However, one of the best pieces of advice I can give to anyone looking to take on a pet is do your research. A pig is a pig. I know what you’re thinking, “These are words of wisdom? A pig is a pig?” Actually, yes, they are wise words because all too often an individual or a family pursues an animal for wrong reasons.
When the Disney’s live action film 101 Dalmatians came out, it seemed like everyone and their brother wanted a Dalmatian. Yes, they are beautiful dogs, but yes, they are also very energetic and can be very stubborn. That is a breed that requires a great deal of patience as well as an energetic human to keep up. In the case of Bear, she is not a dog, nor is she a cat. She is a pig, and the care a pig requires is different and needs to be addressed as such. While they are quite the intelligent creature, they are not going to bark on command or confine their bathroom behavior to a litter box.
Right now Bear is slowly but surely coming around back to her normal self at a foster home. Ideally, she would change homes one more time, but only once more as it should be to her forever home. If you have a familiarity with the breed and are thinking of being Bear’s permanent human companion, feel free to give us a call. Bear would love to settle into a caring home that knows how to cater to her style!
