Arnold (left) and Charlie (somewhat 
obscured at right) taking a nap in the hay.

Sadly, all our pigs are gone now.
We may adopt more in the future, but we aren't sure yet.  
I'm going to leave the pigs' pages on this site, though.

After a long period of unsuccessful house-hunting, we finally found the place in which we live now and agreed to meet the realtor to take a closer look at it.  We arrived before the realtor did, so we sat in the yard and waited.  After a few minutes, we noticed a tail moving through the grass toward us, the rest of the animal obscured by plants.  We assumed it was a dog, but once it made its way through the grass and came closer, we were delighted to see it was a friendly, black-and-white pot-bellied pig.  When the realtor arrived, she informed us the pig's name was Charlotte and that there were two more pigs, Arnold and Charlie, on the property as well.  

Charlotte followed us around as we looked at the place, so we jokingly asked the realtor if she came with the house, which we'd decided to buy.  The realtor replied, "Well, actually, she's going to need a home..."  Thus, we wound up with the house and one pig.

Arnold and Charlie were supposed to go to one of the former owners of the house; however, that plan fell through, so we kept them as well.

Not long after we moved in, I heard about another pig who needed a home and figured we might just as well have four pigs as three, and so Chuckie joined the clan.

All four pigs were already named when we got them, and it was a bit confusing having Charlotte, Charlie, and Chuckie.  The pigs didn't seem to take offense when we called them by each other's names, though.

A dog looks up to you, a cat looks down on you,
but a pig views you as his equal.

I don't know where this saying comes from, but it's right on target.  My husband and I went from having no experience with pigs to living with four of them rather abruptly.  One of the first things we learned is that you don't "own" pigs, you just happen to occupy the same property as pigs do (and of course, provide for their every need)!

As soon as we moved in, Charlotte and Arnold, the two more dominant pigs, began testing us to see who was going to be Boss Hog.   Arnold's strategy involved nipping at ankles, while Charlotte repeatedly attempted to knock me over.  After they learned we would stand our ground, they quit.  They treated Chuckie in much the same way when he first came to live with us.

Charlotte remained Boss Hog over the other pigs until her death, but treated us with respect - most of the time.

I have included a page with some basic pig care information and tips.  Just click the Basic Info button below to get there.