Big Brother Piddy

Is Perrin P a lonely Piddy?

Pigs are generally quite social animals.  They live in herds and eat, sleep, and play together.  Unlike cats, pigs do mind being left by themselves during the day.  Unlike dogs, pigs take it as a personal offense that you left them.  Dogs are just happy you came home – pigs may hold it against you for leaving in the first place!

My husband and I worry that Perrin is lonely during the day.  The first thing Perrin does when we come home from work is request food (of course).  The second thing Perrin does is smother us with love.  He follows us around the house and jumps in our laps when we sit down(which makes me grateful he isn’t a big pig).  I love my piddy, but sometimes I don’t need a pig in my lap as soon as I get home – I want some time to unwind!  But Perrin has had all day to himself and he needs love and attention!

We decided to look into a companion for Perrin.  My husband is very particular about animals – they have to be as self-sufficient as possible.  A dog is out of the question because you have to let it outside to use the bathroom and because dogs need to go for walks.  We weren’t quite sure if we were ready to be a two piddy household, so we continued looking.  My husband is allergic to cats, but we thought a cat would be the best companion, so I started looking into our options. 

Bengal Cats and Savannah Cats are said to be more hypoallergenic than other cats.  We called a Bengal Cat breeder in the area and she invited us out to meet an available kitty.  My husband had absolutely no reaction!  He would normally have itchy eyes and trouble breathing in a house full of cats, but he even licked the cat and was fine (poor kitty).  We put down a deposit on the kitty and can bring him home in 5 weeks.

Perrin P Piddy is going to be a big brother!

Jafari is a Bengal Kitty

Why Create Perrin P Piddy Books?

I used to write all the time.  Starting from when I was a little girl, I made up stories or wrote poetry.  I even created plays with the neighborhood kids, but I never put those down on paper. 

My writing became pretty prolific as I grew older.  I filled countless journals with ideas, poetry, quotes, doodles – whatever poured out of my head.  I took creative writing classes to give me some structure and I was eventually published.  But somewhere in that time of early adulthood my writing started to slow.  I dabbled with my novel (still in the works), but something happened in my head that caused me to go longer and longer between creating.  I guess fear put itself on those unused pages and kept growing.  Now, I’m stuck with all this potential but I’m having a very hard time putting anything on paper.

The Perrin P Piddy books were supposed to be a way to start writing again, even if it is the most elementary of writing.  I haven’t sold 1 Perrin P Piddy book online this month, but that’s okay.  What really matters is that I start the next book, right?  I thought Perrin P Piddy Works Out would be the next book, but then I thought it would be bad if a kid decided to drop a dumbbell on his foot or something because he was inspired by Perrin. 

See?  Fear is at it again.  Maybe the next book should be Perrin P Piddy Confronts His Fears!

Perrin P Piddy needs to water the grass!

5 Things You May Not Know About Pigs

1.   Pigs are herd animals.

            They are quite social.  Don’t try to come between a pig and his family.

2.  Pigs have tusks.

            These should be used on big bad wolves or people who mess with the herd.  Domestic pigs often visit the piggy dentist to have their tusks clipped.

3.  Pigs have their own language.

            All those different grunts and squeals mean something.  Listen to them and you may learn something important!

4.  Pigs can squeal louder than a jet airplane.

            The above fact is pretty well known, but did you know a pig’s tummy will growl louder than a jet when hungry?

5.  Pigs can catch a human cold or flu.

            Did you know H1N1 is called the Human Flu in pig culture?

Big Boy, Little Piddy

Ernie at 10 months

Total strangers seem to feel the need to tell me that Perrin is going to be huge.  "Wait until he grows to be 200 pounds," they say.  Perrin is a big boy compared to when he was a baby, but he still weighs less than 25 pounds at two years of age.

Perrin is not a potbelly pig.  Perrin's parents are registered micro mini juliani pigs, which are much, much smaller than potbelly pigs.  Your typical potbelly can weigh up to 200 pounds (which is still smaller than a regular pig).  Ernie (pictured above) was a potbelly.  He probably weighed 25 pounds at 4 months.  Perrin weighed 7 pounds at 4 months of age.

Perrin is started to get offended when people say he is going to get to be 200 pounds, which on his frame is calling him fat.  Telling me that Perrin will be fat is like saying to a mother of a toddler, "Wait until your baby boy has man boobs."  One would never say that!