90% of "Teacup" pigs getting abandoned across America (because they get huge)
LOS ANGELES -- Eva Monroy bought a mini pig for her family and fed it what the breeder instructed: a half-cup of food in the morning and a half-cup at night.
But the piglet named Hammond started raiding the pantry and digging through the trash. A veterinarian told Monroy that he was behaving badly because he was starving.
The breeder promised the diet would keep him a mere 12 inches tall. But when Hammond grew to 20 inches and 180 pounds, "my husband couldn't handle it any more. 'Either the pig goes or I go,'" Monroy, of El Monte, California, says he told her.
So she took the animal to Lil' Orphan Hammies, a rescue about 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
It's a common story playing out nationwide, leaving thousands of pet pigs homeless and rescues packed. The crunch has led many sanctuaries to limit how many pigs they will accept or stop taking them completely.
The craze for tiny pet pigs started decades ago and gets reignited every few years. Online sellers offer teacup pigs for thousands of dollars, promising the animals will stop growing after age 1 and stay small if fed a restricted diet.
But the tiny pigs keep growing until age 4 and will starve if they aren't fed properly with potbellied-pig food or a blend of vegetables, animal groups say. Once they grow too big to handle, people give them up.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-trendy-teacup-pigs-fatten-up-many-americans-abandon-them/
Fully grown teacup
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Lol maybe this is a sign of the apocalypse!
I can't stop laughing! A pig for a pet!
