Ufa Family Adopts 45-Kg Mini-Pig Rosochka, Called Bold and Smart
Residents of Ufa, Yelena and Pyotr, have brought a cute and unusual pet into their home — a mini-pig named Rosa. She grew up in a breeding farm, then — in Rublyovka, then ended up in a shelter, and now has found loving owners. Contrary to popular belief, these animals often grow to be not mini at all and can even surpass the 100 kg (220 lbs) mark. UFA1.RU visited the family with a whole kingdom of pets and found out what it«s like to live with such a pet.
By the time of our visit, the mini-pig has been living with the Ufa family for half a year. In her life, the six-year-old Rosochka, as her owners affectionately call her, has already been a «rescue» more than once. In childhood, the piglet was kept in a breeding farm where piglets are looked for owners for only a couple of months, and then slaughtered.
«At the breeding farm, they are taken around and shown until three months old. Then, if a piglet is not sold anywhere, it faces not the happiest pig fate. One woman took pity on Rosa and took her in. She lived practically in Rublyovka, so our Rosochka is such a Moscow lady,» Yelena said.
But after some time, the previous owner again had to look for a new home for Rosochka. The woman was going abroad and due to difficulties with documents, she couldn«t take the pig with her. So Rosochka ended up in the Moscow region shelter »Nif-Nif«. From there, the Ufa residents took Rosochka. The founder of the organization, Natalya Morozova, shared with UFA1.RU that she once got a mini-pig herself and after that decided to help farm animals.
Although the family already had experience living with a mini-pig, with Rosochka there are still some difficulties. The pig behaves most stubbornly when it«s time to trim her hooves. This needs to be done so that the animal»s limbs don«t deform and infections don»t appear.
«Not a single piglet of mine has ever let its hooves be trimmed. Always with squeals and needing to be held by four people,» Yelena shared.
The owner also admits that Rosa is not the most well-mannered girl.
«She is ill-mannered, I»ll say that right away. She climbs everywhere she can reach. Knocking over the trash bin is a favorite pastime. Overall, these are very specific animals, of course. Cats, dogs — they«re simpler. Piglets are after all smarter, bolder, can be cunning. You need to take into account their opinion, mood. That»s why, I think, they often end up in shelters,« Yelena reflects.
However, Rosochka has even been taught a couple of tricks, but she performs them more often for some treats. Rosa really loves all kinds of fruits and vegetables, especially carrots and pumpkin — the pig can calmly gnaw and eat a whole fruit at once. Another passion of hers is buckwheat.
Despite the name of their breed, mini-pigs are not dwarfs at all. We ourselves before the visit thought that we would be met by a piglet no bigger than a regular cat.
«There is a mistaken opinion that a mini-pig is such a small piglet. Rosochka weighs 45 kg (99 lbs), and that»s still considered very light, otherwise they can weigh over a hundred (220 lbs). Many pet delivery services refused to work with Rosa for this very reason when we were taking her from the shelter. Mini-pigs grow very intensively until two years old, then they continue to grow in width all their lives,« the breeder said.
The hair of mini-pigs hardly protects from the cold — it consists of rather coarse bristles, so before a walk in winter time, such a pet needs to be dressed warmly. However, Rosa doesn«t like to get dressed either. And she also really doesn»t like to be washed after walks — fortunately, this doesn«t need to be done so often, and in winter the mini-pig walks less.
Besides Rosa, the Ufa residents keep a pony, five dogs, two cats, and a red-eared turtle. All of them were also taken from shelters or rescued from difficult situations. For example, the pony Zvyozdochka used to work in a rental where she was mistreated. Despite such diverse neighbors, the animals get along quite peacefully.
«I thought it would be worse, but they get along normally. In the first family, she also lived with a dog,» Yelena recalls.
This year, we visited shelters and animals that are simpler, but with no less difficult fates. For example, to kitten Batman, who got into a factory machine and lost two paws — after our video, he managed to find owners.
