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Animals

Meet Chowder, the Pot-Bellied Rescue Pig Who Thinks He’s a Dog

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We all know the saying, “A dog is a man’s best friend,” but this pot-bellied pig might have some oinks about that statement. Ladies, we’d like you to meet Chowder, a five-year-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig who’s found friendship and family through a group of five rescue pups — named Bashe, James, Nya, Slick, and Rika. Together, this unlikely team makes up the Instagram account Piggy Poo and Crew.

Chowder’s owner, Shelby Madere, said she’d found him in a Craigslist ad that explained the animal needed to be re-homed because his current owners didn’t have the time to raise a pig. Upon reading the ad, Madere said she “jumped immediately at the chance to give him a wonderful life.”

“His most favorite thing to do is work on his busy bottle,” Madere said. “It’s a plastic bottle that I made for him; it has a hole in it and I usually put Cheerios or popcorn inside and he is able to get them out by maneuvering it! He delights in that; it keeps him very busy, and a busy piggy is a happy piggy!”

Madere added that unlike dogs, pigs are demanding and need to be challenged.

“Pigs must be challenged and given games, or they can become depressed if not mentally stimulated,” Madere shared. “What I wish people knew more about pot-bellied pigs is they’re more of a two-to-three-year-old child, rather than a dog. They’re demanding, and moody.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaEfBpBgaRs/

Madere also noted that pigs are smart and observant and require an owner who’s willing to be “devoted” and “patient.”

“They’re smart and will challenge you during their growing up process,” Madere said. “They require someone who is willing to be devoted, patient, and willing to love them at any stage of their lives. They’re very sensitive and observant and they understand forgiveness, hate, and love.”

And when it comes to adoption, especially in Chowder’s case, Madere has only the most inspiring things to say.

“The best thing about adopting over buying is that you’re saving a life and giving an innocent precious animal a life of hope and love and joy, the same as any human desires,” Madere said. “When I look at my ‘Crew,’ I see the reflection of who I am in them. Their happiness, their safety, and their health. Their whole lives rely on me, and I will never ever let them down.”

Thankfully, Chowder seems to have found a lovely forever home with Madere and her five other rescue pooches. What a crew!

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