I had no intention of owning a pig. Then one Friday night five years ago, I got a message from a girl I’d gone to school with. She said she remembered how much I loved animals and had a mini pig that she needed to get rid of. She told me it was six months old, and wouldn’t grow any bigger than a very large cat. I said I’d think about it. My boyfriend Derek and I already had two dogs, two cats, a turtle and koi fish (锦鲤).

When the girl called again a few hours later and said someone else was interested and that I had to make up my mind, I panicked and said yes without asking Derek. I thought: a miniature pig in your house, how is that not the coolest thing ever? 

But when Derek came home he was furious that I hadn’t spoken to him first. The pig (whom we later named Esther /'estə/) looked like hell and she looked so sad. After a few hours, she perked up (振奋). We made her a small bed in a crate. When the dogs got up to do something, she’d follow, and she soon became part of their pack.

After a few weeks, Esther had charmed Derek. She loved to snuggle (依偎) with us on the sofa. She had this happy, loving personality and she felt like a great addition to the house. We trained her like a puppy (小狗) and took her to the vet after about a month. 

By her first birthday she had blown past 250lb (磅，250bl约113kg); she was on track to be at least 500lb. We started calling her Esther the Wonder Pig because everyone was asking, “How big is she going to be?”

By the time we realised her size, we were in love. She’s unlike any animal I’ve met. Her intelligence is unbelievable. She’s house trained (家养的，训练有素的，不在室内方便) and even opens the back door with her snout (/snaut/猪的口鼻部) to let herself out to pee. She’s bathed regularly and pigs don’t sweat, so she doesn’t smell.

If you look a pig closely in the eyes, it’s startling; there’s something so inexplicably human. When you’re lying next to her and talking, you know she understands. 

We’d started a Facebook community for Esther, which grew rapidly, and we ran a crowdfunding campaign that allowed us to open our own farm sanctuary, where we now live. When we moved, we offered Esther a bed outside, but she had no interest; she still lives in the house with us, weighing in at 650lbs – heavier than a female polar bear. 

Esther’s social media presence became my job – she makes a lot of people smile and many really open up to her. Esther just seems to have this positive effect on people. She didn’t turn out to be the pig we were expecting, but she’ll never be too big.

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