Last week we posted an article titled “How to Raise a Taobao Pig (Part 1)”. This article intrigued many readers and sparked an interest in the growing ‘Taobao Pig Raising Movement’. Today’s article is the second part of this series. Enjoy!
Last week we posted an article titled “How to Raise a Taobao Pig (Part 1)”. This article intrigued many readers and sparked an interest in the growing ‘Taobao Pig Raising Movement’. Today’s article is the second part of this series. Enjoy!
A Puppy pigs with Hooves
Pigs’ reputations sometimes precede them; messy, sloppy, ugly, delicious … If you call your partner an adorable pig on Valentine’s Day, you’ll spend the rest of the night sleeping on the couch.
My girlfriend had already grown disdain for the pig. However, Taobao offered no return policy on $ 55 micro pigs. Winston (she was cute enough to make it an androgynous name) and I headed for my apartment, shared with four others on the 32nd floor .
We celebrated the move-in by sharing a Big Mac. If hardcore animal dietitians are reading this, do not get flustered. We balanced out our diet with that vitamin water
Winston proved to be an intelligent, cute, playful companion. We went on frequent walks at nearby parks where she confidently strut her stuff about, making friends with any canine and human she encountered. I’d load her into her transport bag and we ‘d take field trips around the city; from poker sessions at uncle Matt and Craig’s place in Jing’an to local pubs where free beers were given out in exchange for pictures with Winston (needless to say These places did not have green smiling faces for health / cleanliness grades).
When metro security would peek inside the transport bag (only to see a jovial piglet peering back at them) ranged from utterly shocked to stoic. As if they just saw someone with a fever turn down hot water or like it was not the first animal in a bag they’d seen that hour.
Winston secure in her transport bag with her Godfather, right after a laoban blessed us all. Or he could have been cussing us out, coin flip really.
If she was a good piggy and went potty outside, she was rewarded by being allowed to sleep in bed with poppa. I will shamelessly admit that piglets are great cuddle buddies, akin to puppies with hooves. Like a puppy, she loved a good belly rub, running around and sliding all over wooden floors, wagging her tail when meeting new people, and oinking when she felt ignored.
Winston enjoyed cuddle sessions with poppa when she was a good pig. Otherwise, she snuggled up in an old Santa suit, which was softer than a chinchilla’s cheeks, in the bathroom.
One day her lunch was skipped for various reasons. A pineapple and ham pizza was presented to her as a peace offering. Not sure if it was instinct or a conscious decision on her part but that little piggy used her snout to get all the ham off the pizza before devouring the rest.
Winston, the piglet that would eat my shoelaces and twenty-two chicken nuggets in one sitting, refused to eat her own kind.
Remarkable.
A downside to living with a pig on the 32nd floor is the daily elevator trips to get outside. She hated any alteration in gravity and showed it with bowel movements and squealing. Other than that, things were going wonderful with my baby girl.
A depiction of one elevator trip in particular that went horribly wrong
After a few months of living together, I left her with Auntie CharChar while I traveled around China for two weeks with my family. After arriving back from the trip, it was evident that Winston had gone through one or two or three phases of puberty. She needed to be carried back to my place in her crate. Yet the usual ten-minute walk took twenty minutes as Winston had nearly doubled in weight.
Something was not quite right …