'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
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
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.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Police in Paris detain a man wearing fake explosives vest at Iran's Consulate
A man wearing a fake explosive vest and making threats was detained Friday outside the Iranian Consulate in Paris after police locked down the area, authorities said. His motive was unclear.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
CFIA monitoring for avian flu in Canadian dairy cattle after U.S. discoveries
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.