Porkchop is ten weeks old, now, and probably weighs 25 lbs. I'm not sure how much more weight he'll put on, after his ordeal last week, though. We took him to the MSU Vet School, in Starkville, last Wednesday, to be neutered. We originally thought he'd have to stay overnight, but he got to come home, within two hours of dropping him off.

When I say ordeal, I mean "ORDEAL"! He has a lime-green harness that he has worn on occasion, but we haven't really used it with a leash (to walk). I had the bright idea that we'd walk him into the vet office, with his harness and a leash, but Porkchop had other plans. We pulled up at the vet school, got him out of the back seat, all pretty and sweet in his harness and leash, and then, all hell broke loose. He was already upset because he hadn't been able to eat since 9:30pm, the night before — and was pretty fussy about it. So, he immediately walked under the truck, squealing, throwing a little pig fit, and backed out of his harness! Now, the hunt was on. My husband, Kenneth, was on one side of the truck, and I was on the other. Porkchop would just about come out one side, and then he would run to the other. I finally caught a piggie leg at the front of the truck, and Porkchop was screaming bloody murder, like he was being butchered (oops), and once again slipped away from us. We FINALLY caught him, and carried him in the vet office, with him squealing at the top of his lungs (maybe he knew what was going to happen?). To top it all off, there were construction workers watching all of this unfold — I can only imagine how long they laughed about what they had just witnessed! Greased pig? I imagine a greased pig would be totally impossible to catch!

Once inside, though, Porkchop turned on the charm and it seemed like everyone at the vet school was his biggest fan. I was a little concerned, since he had been so fussy and bent out of shape, but he handled it like he was in a parade, putting on his best behavior, and eating up the attention. Maybe he was trying to make some buddies in there, so the inevitable wouldn't happen. But, it did — and we'll have a happier piggie because of it. The procedure itself only took about five minutes, but he had to be sedated and monitored until he woke up. I figured he'd be a little out of it that afternoon, but he was running around like nothing happened. And hungry? Boy — that pig ate and ate, that afternoon, like he wasn't going to get another meal in his life!

Our dogs and cats were extremely concerned, when he came home, and have been really careful with him, lately. Animals are a lot smarter than most people give them credit for. Porkchop doesn't have any stitches, and should be completely healed by the end of the week. He's doing very well, and even decided he needed a new "bed." We kicked the blanket off our bed one night, and Porkchop has taken it over. He goes in there, cuddles up in the blanket (sometimes even has it over his shoulder with his head sticking out), and just takes a good ole nap. When bedtime comes, there he goes — he often has a perfect little tunnel formed that he burrows into, and goes to sleep. He does like to sleep completely covered up, so you have to be sure there's not a "pig in a blanket" before you move it!

I'm sure you've all heard the phrase, "Sweating like a pig" (referring to sweating profusely). However, pigs don't sweat — which is why they wallow in mud, to cool themselves off. The phrase is actually a reference to pig iron, a form of iron smelting. (I'm learning all sorts of things about pigs!)

More on Porkchop and his new harness "training" next week!