Could pigs be the next dogs?
As if cats weren’t enough competition. Now we dogs have to worry about cute little pigs elbowing us away from the center stage as man’s best friend. In England, “teacup pigs” are all the rage these days. Even Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley in Harry Potter films) has a couple.
Teacup pigs are miniature pigs, standing only 12 to 16 inches tall and weighing a mere 65 pounds. Click here for a cute Today Show video of the critters. This is a great deal smaller than the potbellied pigs who swept the US by storm a decade ago before people realized they got just way too big.
“It’s about the size of a small spaniel,” breeder Jane Croft explains on Today. “They make fantastic pets. They’re really clean. They’re highly intelligent and just love to be loved. They give so much back to you.”
This is making me all sweaty. I don’t like the looks of this trend. What if it crosses the pond to the US? Could pigs take the place of dogs? I can see those little piggies capitalizing on the success of their less fortunate cousins’ “Pork: The other white meat” campaign. Their ad campaign could simply be “Pigs: The other dogs,” and there goes thousands of years of history of dogs being humans’ favorite companions.
I think I’ll get me a plateful of bacon and try to forget about it.
Dog Daily News 