Today was a really hard day for me. Many of you know that about a year and a half ago we got a baby micro mini potbellied pig. George was ADORABLE as a baby. We had many reasons for getting a pet, the main one being we were told a pet would be really good for our Aspie kids. The responsibility, something to love, something to love them (other than us of course), something they could connect to. And we had many reasons for going with a pig over other animals. Too many to get into here, but one being they are allergy friendly, cheap to feed, incredibly smart and great for training to do tricks (something we thought the kids would really enjoy) and not too loud!
Well it was really great for awhile, REALLY fun, the kids loved him, he was sweet and part of the family. Then he started growing, and he started getting a little… angry.
As for the angry part. Last year he BIT my son in the forehead and my son had to get stitches. But we’d only had him for about 7 months and we thought maybe we needed to work on his training more, maybe it was our fault. We didn’t want to get rid of him at that point because, well that’s a hard decision to make.
Looking back it might have been better to do it then. From there it only got worse, soon the kids refused to even go outside in fear of George and he got more and more territorial. Then winter hit and no one went outside. Poor George got his food, warm water, a shed, with a bed and he had his heat lamps but didn’t have much company. That did NOT help his unfriendly nature and his increasing size didn’t help matters. He used to only get upset when the kids would enter “his” yard, but lately he’s been chasing and biting the adults as well. We decided it just wasn’t safe anymore to have him around kids, let alone the upcoming baby.
We went with a pig from a reputable dealer, or what we thought was. We were told George’s dad was 19 lbs and his mother was 25 lbs. They told us he’d be between 20 and 25 lbs… MAYBE reach 30 lbs. He’s now just over 1 1/2 years old and when we weighed him last week he was over 95 lbs. That’s more than my almost 10 year old weighs! He’s strong and mean. 2 weeks ago he got out of the yard, which is scary because he could really hurt another child.
So over the last few months we decided we needed to find another place for George. We’ve spent months calling places trying to find a place for George. We gave ourselves until the end of May to find a place or something else would have to be done. Well it’s the end of May. Today my husband took George to the vet and we had him put down. I’ve been bawling all day. It was the right thing to do for our family, but still so hard to make a decision to do that to a living creature. We’re all sad and relieved at the same time.
As soon as George left in the van (the kids don’t know exactly what happened, just that he’s gone, we’ll tell them when they get older and ask, but just not yet) they all went into the back yard and played. They haven’t played in the back yard since the bite last summer. It’s been almost a year since they’ve played in the back yard! How sad is that? They were so happy all afternoon enjoying the sunshine. I’m glad it was a sunny day. It was a great reminder that while a pet might still be good for our children having a yard is even better.
Anyway it was a hard day for me, and my pregnancy hormones don’t help. If your going to comment about what a monster I am don’t bother, I feel terrible but my kids are more important than a pet and always will be. So any negative comments will just get deleted (as always). I just wanted to share part of my real life today, it was a big emotional day and I felt like sharing.
I love getting mail! Who doesn't? But I don't get a lot of mail, just bills. Today was a fun day though, I got a package! Granted I was expecting it, but it's still fun to receive! Plus look at how CUTE the packaging is! Just adorable! This is my package from 
