2002
Hi Kathleen,
You would not believe how incredible "Briar" is...I'll tell you all about it! We arrived home at about 5pm Sunday eve. We did exactly what the book said and it took her about 10 min to come out of the crate. We spent the evening on the floor with her and she warmed up pretty quickly. That night she woke up once and we heard her grunting so we went out to her room and she was looking for a place to pee. We quickly picked her up and put her in her liter box and she peed a little on the floor, a little on Dick and alot in her box. The is the one and only time she has used that box and we have not had a single accident in the house. She was completely house broken in less than 24 hours.
We got her a harness on Monday for trips outside and she loves it. She has learned to go up and down stairs already! She has a routine down already. She loves the yard, we take her out for 45 min walks about every 3-6 hrs. She sleeps through the night without any accidents. She makes pet owning/training seem aweful simple. She is everything I wanted and more. She is a snuggle bug.
Of course she loves me the most, I think she thinks that I am her mom. She follows me all over the house and if I go out of her sight she will grunt and squeal sometimes. She is so funny.
We have already taught her to sit, and kiss for treats. In the evening before it is bed time she sits in our laps with a blanket and we rock her in the rocking chair, she loves that too! Her tail NEVER stops wagging and she just seems so happy here. We lay on the living room floor and she will climb on us and root at us and kiss us and when she gets really excited she does these cute little jumps in the air and swings her little butt around. It is so funny!
She was certainly worth the wait! It couldn't have been any easier for us to adjust. She has a vet appt. on 9/16 for her check up. Is there anything you would like to add or tell us now that she has been here for a week? Any input is much appreciated. Do I need to send you anything besides your crate? I sent everything to the state of NH already. I look forward to hearing from you. We have 3 rolls of film in for developing and I'll send you a "family portrait" when I get the chance.
Thanks again Kathleen, she is AWESOME!
Jennifer Parker
Hi Kathleen. Just an update. Briar went to the Vet. She does very well in the car. She climbs right in with a couple pieces of dried fruit on the floor. I swear she will do anything for food! The animal hosp is about 3/4 mile down the road. She weighed in at 19.50 lbs.
We are all doing great. Briar has made herself at home for sure. She loves to go for walks outside. She has her own pen that she runs to when she has to pee and poopie. When she is done that she will go root around her space, and sometimes in our space too. She has a 15 foot run that she is beginning to like alot. At first she did not want to be out on her run unless you stood there with her. Now she likes to be out there and she will let us do other things. She is still awesome. The kids all love her to pieces and I am amazed that Dick, my fiance, has grown to love her too. He says that she is the best pet he has ever had! Coming from him, that is amazing. This is a man that is so allergic to most all animals, so he has learned to not want to be around them for fear of being allergic. He treats the pig better than me sometimes. Just kidding!
Jennifer
Hello Kathleen,
Just wanted to send some pictures of Briar so you could see how happy and comfortable she is with us. She is such
a sweet pig and we just absolutely adore her. I hope all the other " pig parents" are
doing as well as we are with our piggies!!
As you can see, she has fit in great. Someday maybe she willhave a sister with her! I just have to
try and convince my other half!! Thanks Kathleen for raising such sweet little creatures.
Jennifer Parker
June 2004
Hi Kathleen, How are things at the piggy farm? Friday 6/18/04 was Briar's 2nd birthday. Time has gone by so fast it is hard to believe that she is 2 already! I love her as much if not more than when we brought her home. She still has some of her not so nice quirks, but don't we all?! She is 115 lbs of fun and laughter. She still is very sure of who she likes and dislikes. Me being her favorite and then my hubby being second and the 3 kids being the third. Anyone else she just does not like unless we are out for a walk and then she loves everyone. Not so sure about dogs but absolutely loves cats. She loves walks and she loves her tubs. She thoroughly enjoys her couch time and lap time. She has her schedule down to a science, starting at 5am-feeding time. Her internal clock does not waiver more than a minute or two. She knows when it is time to eat and she knows when it is time to pee and poop. Just last weekend we thought she was trustworthy enough to take her off the run/lead and let her have to run of the yard while we were out doing yard work. She was excellent and did not leave us once. She was in hog heaven. If she could tell you, she would tell you that life is pretty sweet. It would be pretty strange without her around I'll tell you that!
Thank you,
Jennifer Parker
