When my husband John, had his farm, he tried to raise many different animals. One of his neighbor raised pigs. His neighbor Dennis had a sow with a litter of piglets, he offered John one.
“Wait until they are weaned.” he was advised. When weaned, The piglet would be about twelve pounds and eating solid food.”
The female pig given to John was named Arnold after the pig on the Television show, “Green Acres.” Her gender was in doubt afterwards
She was an off white Hampshire pig with a pink snout, small onyx eyes, pointed ears and a double curled tail. The teeth of young pigs are sharp and pointed to tear apart their food.
Arnold was gentle, never biting people. She was intelligent with a curious nature. She would look towards the house at milking time. When John was done with the chores, he and his white spotted dog, Junior, took a walk in the woods and fields. Arnold would push against the gate squealing with excitement. Soon, she joined them on the strolls around the one hundred twenty acre farm. When to show affection, Arnold would push her snout into John’s palm.
“Arnold, Do you want to come along?” John got in a habit of taking Arnold on a walk with his dog Junior. Both would walk with no leash. Junior would race ahead, while John walked with Arnold bringing up the rear.
Arnold grew and soon passed the 250 pound market size. When John’s brother, Gene visited, John warned him to keep his kids away from the pig.
“Your kids are small and could be squashed.”
Unlike the cows, pigs have upper and lower teeth. They are strong and sharp.
Ar
When it was time to attempt breeding Arnold, she had a different idea. Though the neighbor’s boar was interested, Arnold ignored him. She eagerly walked home when called. She acted like another dog rather than a pig.
Finally, Arnold topped the scales well over 650 pounds. Slowing down on the daily walks, John suspected an aging problem. An appointment was set to take Arnold to be processed, but how to get her into the truck.
John first tried to lead her up the ramp into the truck. Arnold refused to climb the ramp. Then He tried to back her up the tailgate. The large pig refused to move. A treat of apple slices offered as a bribe didn’t work either. No, was said with the pig’s body language. An older neighbor watched for a spell and offered a suggestion.
“Take a bucket and cover her head. She will be easier to lead.”
He was right. When Arnold couldn’t see where she was going, She could be backed up the ramp and into the truck. The last sight of Arnold was a mournful look as she was driven to the butcher. But stories of Arnold are still told as a part of our family lore.
traveling up and down the blind highway 