I love pigs! I would love a pig, but for now that want is on hold. In the meantime, till the time is right I paint piggy’s… Pigs may be indiscriminate eaters, but they are also highly intelligent and incredibly social animals. Highly trainable and can learn at a much faster rate than dogs. Pig behaviour is, however vastly different from dog behaviour. … Having a pet pig is kind of like having a perpetual two-year old child. It is their very intelligence that makes them interesting and challenging pets.

Pigs are highly intelligent and very social animals, just like us, so they crave attention and time with their loved ones. Studies have also shown that, much like humans, they dream. Probably mostly about food! Most of all you will know when your pet pig wants a scratch or some snuggles because they have some serious communication skills. If a pig considers you their friend or family, you’ll be greeted with a happy squeal right before they roll on their back for a tummy rub.

And one of my favourite piggy poems by Roald Dahl, that master of the ending with a rather unusual twist in the “tail” if you will excuse the piggy pun!

The Pig

BY ROALD DAHL

In England once there lived a big

And wonderfully clever pig.

To everybody it was plain

That Piggy had a massive brain.

He worked out sums inside his head,

There was no book he hadn’t read,

He knew what made an airplane fly,

He knew how engines worked and why.

He knew all this, but in the end

One question drove him round the bend:

He simply couldn’t puzzle out

What LIFE was really all about.

What was the reason for his birth?

Why was he placed upon this earth?

His giant brain went round and round.

Alas, no answer could be found,

Till suddenly one wondrous night,

All in a flash, he saw the light.

He jumped up like a ballet dancer

And yelled, “By gum, I’ve got the answer!”

“They want my bacon slice by slice

“To sell at a tremendous price!

“They want my tender juicy chops

“To put in all the butchers’ shops!

“They want my pork to make a roast

“And that’s the part’ll cost the most!

“They want my sausages in strings!

“They even want my chitterlings!

“The butcher’s shop! The carving knife!

“That is the reason for my life!”

Such thoughts as these are not designed

To give a pig great peace of mind.

Next morning, in comes Farmer Bland,

A pail of pigswill in his hand,

And Piggy with a mighty roar,

Bashes the farmer to the floor . . .

Now comes the rather grizzly bit

So let’s not make too much of it,

Except that you must understand

That Piggy did eat Farmer Bland,

He ate him up from head to toe,

Chewing the pieces nice and slow.

It took an hour to reach the feet,

Because there was so much to eat,

And when he’d finished, Pig, of course,

Felt absolutely no remorse.

Slowly he scratched his brainy head

And with a little smile, he said,

“I had a fairly powerful hunch

“That he might have me for his lunch.

“And so, because I feared the worst,

“I thought I’d better eat him first.”