'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
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.