piglet

Pink the pig is up for adoption

The Daily Dachshund and Dog News has received an update about Pink, the piglet adopted by Tink the wiener dog mom and her puppies.

Pink at 5 weeks. He does not like baths!!

He likes to be scratched.

Here he is scratching on the side of the puppy crate.

Getting a lick from Sis.
Preparing to strike out on his own.

Here’s the note from Tink’s and Pink’s owner:

I just wanted to give you an update on Tink and Pink. Tink weaned Pink from her last week along with the puppies. Pink had a really hard time with it, but the puppies did great. For a few days he was really upset and I couldn’t get him to hardly eat. Then he started eating his formula really well. He also is eating the puppy food, but not very much pig food. He started nibbling on the puppy food a few weeks ago when the puppies started.

I separated the puppies into one crate and him in the other because he kept trying to nurse from the puppies. He is now doing really well and seems to be used to the daily routine. He sleeps good all night in his little doggy bed and as soon as someone gets up in the morning, he lets us know he is up too! I took him and the puppies to the vet for their 6 wk checkup and they are all doing great. They weigh between 2 and 3lbs. Pink weighed in at 2 1/2 lbs. His pig siblings now weigh about 20 to 30+lbs and are weaned from their mommy too.

Pink loves to roam around the house and explore every nook and cranny. He is very neat and only goes potty in his crate. He gets to play with the puppies every day and it is funny to see. They chase him and gang up on him. He loves it as much as they do! He does not like to be held or cuddled. Sad smiley emoticon, but he is very sweet and smart. I am sending some cute pictures of him to show everyone. I know several people wanted to be updated on his progress.

We have made a hard decision as far as his future. We are going to try to find him a great home with someone who has the time to work with him and train him. I placed an ad on usfreeads.com. The number of the ad is 1148556. Or if they want, they can email me at tinkandpink@msn.com. It makes me really sad to do so because we love him, but I think it is best for Pink. Everyone wants to know how big he will get. I really don’t know and the vet didn’t have any idea either.

Sincerely,

Johanna
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See the Daily Doxie’s previous coverage of the baby pig fostered by the Dachshund family.

April 9 Update: Pink will remain with his wiener dog family and not be adopted.

Topics:  newsmakers | piglet | pink and tink

February 2009 Update: Tink the wiener dog fosters a baby goat.

November 12th Update: Pink the piglet’s owner has written a book telling the story of his adoption by a Dachshund.

March 18th News Bulletin: We have new photos of Pink and the wiener dog puppies at six weeks!

The Daily Dachshund and Dog News has uncovered the full story behind the Dachshund Mom and the baby pig and obtained exclusive new photos of Tink and her piglet.

Tink’s owner e-mails:

I just found out that some of the pictures that I took of my dog Tink with her puppies and Pink (the piglet) were on your site. I read the comments and wanted to let you know that the story is true and the pictures are not fake.

I live on a farm where we raise pigs for our kids for their 4-H projects. The one sow delivered 12 pigs and several were very small. Pink was the smallest and he was born with his eyes sealed shut. That is the first time I’ve had a preemie piglet.

He was breathing well and was making noises, but I really didn’t look for him to make it. Piglets are born with their eyes open and are very active and ready to nurse within a few minutes. He didn’t have any suck reflex, so we placed him under the heat lamp. After the delivery, which took up most of the night, my husband tried to get him to nurse from his mommy. He was too weak to stand up, so he held him up and squeezed some milk down his throat to get him some colostrum.

Two of my dachshunds had had puppies a few days before Tink had only one puppy (the other was stillborn) and Sammi had 7 a few days before Tink. I had taken 2 of Sammi’s puppies and put with Tink for her to foster. I got the idea to bring the piglet up to the house to see if Tink would nurse him since she accepted the other puppies so well. She is a very loving, sweet dog. She immediately loved on him and began licking him and let him nurse.

He is now 2 1/2 weeks old and doing great. He hasn’t grown very well, but we have been trying to get him to eat some formula that our vet recommended. When we took him to the house one of his eyes had come open and the other opened not long after. We are trying to get him to eat pig food (pellets) for baby pigs. I can assure you that this is a true story. I sent a few pictures to my friends at work and now the pictures are everywhere. Here are the most current pictures I have of Tink and Pink.

Sincerely,

The Daily Doxie thanks you very much. We would love it if you could keep us posted as this story develops since Tink and the piglet are now Internet superstars.

Update: Tink and Pink were featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, making them TV stars as well as internet celebs.

Update2: The Puppy in Training website has also been following this story and has some more interesting photos and comments. Check it out.

Update3: We have new photos of the gang at six weeks.
Update4: If you liked this story, check out this video of a monkey playing with a Dachshund puppy for more interspecies fun. Click here.

Topics:  newsmakers | piglet | pink and tink