The Pigs No Good Very Bad Vet Visit (according to them)

Last month, we loaded up Pumpkin, Charlotte, and Millie and drove an hour north to see Dr. Kristie, THE pig vet here on the East Coast.  She comes up this way once or twice a year, so we take the girls to their annual appointments then. ​

The girls handled the vet visit with as much grace as they could muster.  Pumpkin went first, and was loaded up into the special table with feet holes just for pigs.  She got her annual shots and then Dr. Kristie attempted to take a blood sample for testing, since Pumpkin is getting older and we want to keep a good eye on her health.  This required many cookies, and her sweet vet tech to give Pumpkin lots of cuddles and scratches.  (It's clear they have done this before).  Unfortunately pigs are a bit tricky to get blood from, and despite many attempts Dr. Kristie wasn't able to retrieve a large enough sample.  Rather than turn poor Pumpkin into a pin cushion, we decided we would try again next time. 

Note: typically pigs are sedated for bloodwork, however Dr. Kristie can do it without sedation because she is the best, and we decided it wasn't worth putting Pumpkin through that at this time.  

​During all of this, Charlotte and Millie did their best to blend in with the background in hopes they would be forgotten when it was their turn. They stood absolutely still and I think maybe even held their breath.  Alas, we could never forget them, and they each dramatically received their vaccines and were weighed on the scale. 

Now, our pigs have always been on the trim side.  There is, rightfully so, a big movement in the pig rescue world to educate people that micro pigs do not exist and that unscrupulous breeders telling people their pigs will be 35lbs fully grown are simply starving them.  This is absolutely needed.  Unfortunately, pigs can easily go the other direction and gain weight very easily.  This causes many, many health problems from heart issues, to arthritis, to blindness due to fat rolls.  So we have always been very cautious about feeding. However, this trip happened to be during acorn season, and Dr. Kristie and her staff were surprised to see that Charlotte and Millie had both tipped over the 100lb point for the first time.  In order not to embarrass them, I suggested that maybe they were just still growing (nope, they stopped growing at least 3 years ago).  Or that as soon as acorn season was over, the pounds would come off.  Nonetheless, they are still beautiful and I hope their confidence has not been shaken.  

The ride home was very solemn.  After experiencing the deep trauma of shots and a thermometer in a place that is normally private, Millie, Charlotte, and Pumpkin were very woeful for the ride home.  We offered them many treats and condolences when we got home and they have since (mostly) forgiven us. 
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