1995 (?) - November 26, 1999

Chuckie was already named when we got him and I'm not sure why that name was selected.

Probably sometime in 1995 or possibly 1994.

On the small side.  He was a bit overweight when we got him, but he lost the excess weight quickly and remained quite svelte (for a pig) after that.

Chuckie was midway between the wrinkly-faced and smooth-faced varieties of pig and was really very handsome.

Chuckie made some of the most unusual noises when the vet examined him.  He started out with the typical squealing, but as he got more irate, he made a low, guttural, muttering/growling noise that sounded positively satanic.

Most of the time, however, he just grunted like a normal pig.

Chuckie was raised from a piglet by the staff of a preschool and grew up around children.  This arrangement was fine for a while, but as Chuckie got older, he became less patient with the children and occasionally got a bit snappy.  For everyone's safety and well-being, it was decided he needed a new home.  His owner called the wildlife rehabilitation line to see if a rehabber might want him, and I decided having four pigs would probably not be much different than having three.

There were major clashes between Chuckie and the other pigs when he first arrived, which was traumatic for everyone.  In a couple of weeks, however, they'd sorted out their differences and Chuckie and Charlotte had become best friends.

Chuckie was a gregarious, cheerful pig for the most part, and enjoyed meeting people.  His previous owners had taught him to sit on command and we always had him do that when guests came over, as people really got a kick out of it.

There was one exception to his cheerfulness: he did not like dogs.  There were a couple of altercations between him and our dogs, but they soon learned to avoid each other and kept the peace that way.  The dogs were definitely not the instigators of the altercations.

Irritable bowel syndrome / intestinal stricture.  See Details. 

Chuckie's best friend was Charlotte.  As bossy as she could be - even to her friends - when Charlotte realized there was something seriously wrong with Chuckie, she refused to leave his side until he died.  She stayed with him a couple more minutes afterward, then apparently understood that there was nothing more she could do for him.