Mr. Chops!
Mr. Chops is out resident pot bellied pig. Right now we have 5 of them, but Mr. Chops sure is the oldest. He was one of Mary's (aka the critter barns) first animals, so he has been there right from the start.
On June 8, Mr. Chops is going to be 21 years old!!! Now a pot bellied pig normally lives to be about 10 years old if they are healthy and have a good life. So he has sure surpassed his years.
The thing about Chops is that in July of this year, if he lives that long (sorry but it is a possibility being this old that he may not make it), he will break the guineas world record and be the oldest pig alive! It blows my mind just a little bit each time. A world record holder! My Chops!
Now he is doing great actually, which is a very good thing. He gets up each day to eat, but only after a lot of grunting. These pictures are a bit older since now he doesn't really move around much. He has arthritis in his feet, so he moves slowly. We have to keep the blood flowing though, and so we make him get up and walk to his food each day. Don't feel bad for him though because he gets the best spot in the entire barn. He has his own corner full of straw in the heated section of the barn, so I'm pretty sure he is pretty happy.
Chops has been here as long as I can remember, longer than I've been at the farm. He used to do tricks with Mary, but if you didn't guess he can't do that anymore. Chops is our resident old man, at least that is what I call him. In the summer he just wanders around the farm, digging holes and hiding under bushes.
I have a little story about Chops that comes from Mary (the owner of the critter barn). When Chops was a lot younger he used to live in the house with Mary and her family. Now what Chops liked to do was play a little game with Mary's kids. Yes, Mr. Chops would play hide and seek. Either he would hide and the kids had to find him, or he would go around looking for them. I sorta wish I had been around to see that. A pig playing hide and seek :)
His birthday bash is coming up (yes we do celebrate his birthday cause it is a big deal). So once again, if you live in West Michigan you can come and celebrate with us! I have to say that I can't wait until July, and I'm praying he makes it that long. But honestly he is doing just fine, so I think he will. As long as he keeps getting up in the morning to eat, and at night for his apple juice.
Note: I did not take these pictures like I normally do, I got them off critterbarn.org since I didn't have any of him.
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