This is a long one but I’m going to share the story of my first 2 pigs. I rescued a donkey and he needed friends since they are social animals, really like most animals. I contacted a lady about some goats. When i went to get the goats, she had 2 pot belly pigs. You could tell one was really sick and she said she had another one that had died recently. They were really young pigs. Probably just about 3 months old. I started saying how cute they were. She said, if you want them, you can have them. She said she knew one was sick but she didn’t know what was wrong and didn’t have time for them. I knew nothing about pigs and had never wanted a pig. I did know at the same time that I couldn’t leave them there. My husband said no, we are not taking them. Well, that was a challenge for me. Finally after a bit my husband said, if you can catch them, you can have them. Luckily for me, the pigs were scared and had run into their pen. When he said that she just locked the gate. So, I caught them!! We get them home and the only place I had for them was an old kennel. It was still too cold for them to be outside. I absolutely hated doing that to them, but as sick as the one was, I’m grateful for it now. On the way home, my husband names them Treat and Spam. Ok, so I got them set up with straw. All I had to give them was corn and veggies to eat. I don’t do this anymore. I had no idea how to care for them. I had to learn quickly. A day or so later, Treat was starting to have trouble breathing and her skin was terrible. I called a couple friends to see what to do. I even recorded her breathing so they could hear it. She sounded like she had pneumonia and that’s what both of them said. It was late Sunday night and I couldn’t get a hold of a vet. I’m panicking. My husband was out of town, too. I was at the vet in town at 8 am the next morning. He said, well it looks like a skin problem and asked me about her breathing. He didn’t even take her out of the crate. Had no idea about her skin and trusted me to tell him what was wrong with her. He gave me antibiotics for the pneumonia. A few days later I really thought I was going to loose her so I took her to another vet. He was on it. He diagnosed her with pneumonia and mange. He gave me shots for her and a spray to kill the mange. This poor baby was miserable. By this time, Spam had mange also. For the next month, they were stuck in the kennel with little room in it so I could get them better. They didn’t trust me and with the shots and sprays, they trusted me even less. As soon as Treat got better, she started breaking out and would be gone for days at a time. Each time I would search for her for hours, through briars, snakes, mosquitoes, you name it. She always came back for Spam. Each time this would happen, Spam trusted me even less and would literally throw herself with her nose at a chain link fence until she bled. It was a horrible time. During all of this, we built them a pen outside. We finally got it finished and got them in the pen. They still didn’t trust me. I received a rehomed pig during this time and put him in with them (he is fixed, no babies to come). He is the sweetest thing. He is very affectionate. So as I would give him kisses and belly rubs, I always stay in the pen with them all. It’s been 5 1/2 months since I got Spam and Treat and they are finally giving in. Treat will now give kisses and wants belly rubs. Spam was always her protector so she is still trying to trust, but she wants belly rubs now and that has just happened in the last couple weeks. It’s been a rough go of it, but they are doing really well now. In total, I have 7 pigs now. They are all different and have unique personalities. It takes time, patience and love with these animals but once you get there, they are very loyal and loving pets.