Your guide to the wonderful world of miniature pigs!

No, this isn’t a post about the ham you might have on your table for the family at Christmas (poor piggy.) It’s actually about a trend you should do everything in your power to avoid or at least approach with serious consideration and that’s purchasing or gifting a miniature pig (or any other pet) during the holidays.

Miniature pigs are adorable creatures, so why not give one as a gift for Christmas? Well, while the sale of cute critters does tend to climb around the holidays, so too does the number of abandoned and unwanted pets shortly after the holidays. For all our good intentions, what seems like a wonderful gift when we’re wrapped up in the Christmas spirit becomes a very real and demanding responsibility once reality sets in.

Owning a pet is work and the preparation and maintenance required for miniature pigs shouldn’t be downplayed no matter how cute that little wet nose may be. It’s a tragedy that so many animals suffer because our hearts are swollen with joy and good intentions during the holidays but our lifestyles simply can’t accommodate the sustained effort of caring and providing for an animal that’s as much a family member as a pet.

The miniature pig you purchase for your daughter may well become entirely your responsibility when the novelty wears off. Are you prepared to care for it absent her assistance? Buy one for a friend and you may well hear, just a few months later, that it was a very thoughtful gift but that it became too much work. Are you prepared for the guilt of knowing that poor animal was potentially denied a good home and wound up who knows where?

To a surprisingly encouraging degree, the reputable pet industry has wised up to the holiday trends and the resulting increased abandonment rate. Many won’t sell miniature pigs around Christmas. It’s not unlike shelters which might suspend efforts to adopt out black cats around Halloween. For all their efforts, though, it is ultimately the consumers who must make wise and informed decisions before they “surprise” their friends or family members with a responsibility they may have to live up to for as long as 25 years!

So lay off the ham this Christmas or, at the very least, make every possible effort to ensure that the piggy you purchase will find itself in a loving and lasting home rather than a transitory lay-over on its way to a sad life of abandonment.