'Not a normal house pet': North Saanich woman enjoys hard-earned friendship with pig
Anette never expected that she’d be going for daily walks around her neighbourhood with a pair of pups and a 300 pound pig.
“Man it’s a pig!” Anette laughs at the situation. “It’s not a normal house pet!”
Yet, after her son Kayden has been collecting plush pigs for a decade, and pushing for a real one for even longer, Anette did a lot of research, and finally welcomed home Wilbert.
“It was just like having a puppy,” Anette says, showing me videos of the piglet playing around the house. “He’s bouncing around, doing circles on the carpet.”
There were a few differences. Wilburt was potty trained, skateboard trained, and trick trained far faster than their dogs.
“It’s crazy how intelligent pigs are,” Anette says, showing me videos of the piglet opening doors and doing fist-bumps with his snout on command.
Although Kayden couldn’t have been happier with his pet, and the dogs couldn’t have been more welcoming, Anette was still hesitant about the hog in their house.
“They’re not soft and cuddly like a dog,” she says.
And when it comes to immediate, unconditional loving, they’re more like a cat.
“They’re very picky about their people,” she adds.
Sure, Wilburt would help her weed in the garden, watch TV with her daughter, and hang-out on her husband’s lap, but Anette wasn’t feeling the emotional connection she hoped for with a pet.
“But if you invest the time in them,” she recalls thinking. “Like any animal, it could work.”
'HOT PANTS'
So she started taking the pig for long walks with the pack, which led to long talks with Wilburt.
Anette shows me video of their exchanges. She asks questions and he answers with a series of different sounds that seem to make sense in the context of the conversation.
But after a few months of daily hours-long hikes with the hog – often to the summit of a nearby hill – Wilburt woke Anette up one morning, and started making prolonged panting noises at her.
Annette was concerned and contacted an expert.
“And she’s like, 'Oh my gosh! That’s every pig owner’s dream!'” Anette says, before breaking out into a big smile. “[She said], ‘It’s a 'hot pant.' It’s them showing their love for you!’ It was so awesome hearing that.”
It was also awesome realizing she was loving him back.
“He’s taught me a lot about the emotional connection you can have with an animal like that.”
Anette says that Wilburt now begins most days with hot pants around her, and she feels grateful every day for her family's decision to adopt the pig.
“I’ve seen him bring a lot of joy to people,” Anette says, as a group of fellow walkers pat and take pictures of Wilburt – the pig’s tail wagging enthusiastically like a dog. “And he’s certainly done that for our family.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
'A huge difference': These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
OPINION No reunion between Prince Harry and the King signifies a setback for royal unity
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
How Drake and Kendrick Lamar's rap beef escalated within weeks
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
NEW For their protection, immigrants critical of China and India call for speedy passage of Canada's foreign interference legislation
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
Spanish prosecutors recommend 2nd investigation into Shakira's taxes be thrown out
Spanish state prosecutors recommended Wednesday that an investigating judge shelve a probe into another alleged case of tax fraud by pop star Shakira.