Nancy expected to fall in love with a four-legged, black and white spotted canine who usually sits on fire trucks. Instead, it was love at first sight for a five-pound, four-legged creature with a wiggly snout, perky ears, grey spots on her rump, soft brown eyes, and a curly pink tail and hooves.
Pink ears? Hooves? Grey spots? Doesn’t sound like a Dalmatian to me. Meet Spamela Anderson, a pig who hit the jackpot that day, six years ago.
Spamela was found wandering around with two adult hogs. She weighed five pounds and was just a few weeks old…way too young and fragile to stay at a shelter. Nancy took her home, under the illusion that she would just foster her for a couple of weeks. Little did she know, she would fall in love with the tiny piglet. Nancy has used the adjective “beautiful” to describe her pig. It seems contrary, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Nancy did her homework and got help from the local pig rescue group (yes, there is such an organization), www.hamalot.org.
As for her name, Nancy’s friend Jim, just popped out with “Spamela Anderson,” an ideal moniker for a beautiful, pink babe!
The little piglet came with assorted issues. One was pig lice, which, fortunately, have an affinity for
pigs only. She also was a rather picky eater. Nancy discovered that Spamela had a yen for Cheerios and strawberries, a perfectly good breakfast. Soon, Spamela outgrew her indoor digs and movedoutside to a pen and then into the barn. In addition to rescuing and training Dalmatians, Nancy and Jim also care for horses, donkeys, sheep and llamas. Spamela became a regular in the Dalmatian’s playgroup, even finding a best friend, Monte. It took a while for Spamela to realize she was a pig, and not a Dalmatian.
In fact, Spamela is a blue-butt Yorkshire cross.
Nancy trains dogs professionally. She knew pigs were smart, so she decided to clicker train Spamela. (This method involves using a clicker to mark and reward desired animal behavior.) Spamela picked it up immediately. As a youngster, she would sit, lie down, do weave poles (as in agility training), recall, play “touch stick” and bump a soccer ball…all by command. Spamela still has to sit for her dinner and come when she’s called.
As a 500-pound adult, Spamela has become a bit porky to fit between the weave poles. She is about three feet tall at the back and around 5’9” from nose to tail. She does let Nancy ride her.
She now knows she’s a pig and is no longer fussy about her food. Whatever Nancy serves, it is a gourmet delight for Spamela.
The love affair is mutual, by the way. Spamela has a special little grunt for Nancy. One of her favorite tricks is planting a muddy nose print on your backside. No designer jeans, please.
Indeed, Spamela Anderson hit the jackpot. She lives a very nice life, roaming the acreage with the couple’s other four-legged animals. She sleeps in a straw bed in the barn. In the summer, she wallows happily in the cool mud. She also loves to have Nancy scratch her belly.
As a pet, Spamela fits all the specifications: she’s friendly, affectionate, loyal, and funny.
However, Nancy doesn’t recommend pigs/hogs as pets for just anyone. She has plenty of room for Spamela to roam and enough space between neighbors that Spamela’s enthusiastic hollering when it’s dinner time doesn’t disturb anyone.
Nancy chose May 1 (May Day) as Spamela’s birthday, so come May 1st, wish Spamela a Happy Sixth Birthday…and many more!
Story by Sherri Goodall
