It’s not everyday that you get to work with one of the best Vets in Australia, so when Ann whispered in my ear that Dr Harry from Better Homes & Gardens was paying a visit to me and my mini-goat friends, you can bet that I was excited!
The day before Ann’s friends, Sue & Peter, came around to groom the goats and make sure we looked the part, and bright and early the next day Dr Harry arrived. As the cars pulled into the driveway, I was definitely feeling a little nervous. I was so eager to meet him! Before I knew it, the cameras were rolling.
Dr Harry and Ann began to chat away, but all I could think of was where my next treat was coming from as I sat patiently waiting. Suddenly Dr Harry started waving him arms, and I knew I didn’t have to wait any longer. My treat was finally here! I jumped up on Dr Harry but there was nothing. Ann didn’t look very impressed and I guess she was right, a 50kg pig jumping on you might be too much for anyone, including one of Australia’s most famous Vets. But I am a pig and we can definitely be a little ‘pig-headed at times!’.
While they were working out what to film next, I kept myself entertained by visiting my menagerie of friends including ducks, guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens. The ground in their pen area was lovely and wet so I wasted no time digging some trenches with my strong snout. From the corner of my eye I caught another disapproving look from Ann, the pen for the other animals now resembled a pig sty!
Now you see, while Dr Harry is a famous Vet on our TV sets, I am Coco The Miniature Pig, Prima Donna Extraordinaire! And it was my turn to shine, not that I wanted to upstage the good Doctor … oh alright, yes I admit, this gig was all about ME!
LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION! It was my time!! I began with my Hollywood trick, rolling out the red carpet and I think I impressed Dr Harry and his crew. I’ll be the first to admit though this can be quite tricky for a pig like myself as I was pushing the carpet uphill, all I could think about were my delicious treats so I happily did this about 10 times for the cameras.
I should point out that pigs are ranked as one of the top 10 most intelligent animals, and being very smart himself Dr Harry knows exactly what I am about. Some people like to compare us to dogs, but you ask Dr Harry, we are far from it. Dogs seem to treat everyone as their best friend, but I’m not like that. I need to get to know people and trust them before I can show them any attention (of course I am friendlier if they have a special treat).
After our lunch break, all I really felt like doing was having a lazy snooze, but before I knew it I was off to the park. Dr Harry wanted to see how I travel so Ann and I showed him. They were amazed that I had worked out how to back myself into my crate, as there isn’t any room to turn around, you see the thing is us pigs are so smart we know how to problem solve. When Ann taught me to pull a flag down she first taught me to pull a rope and then attached the rope to the flag – I could see that the quickest way to my treat was to simply pull down the flag without the rope, so this I did. Ann was amazed and she removed the rope altogether.
The first trick for me to show the growing crowd of onlookers at the park was to ride my skateboard. I can do about ten pushes before stopping and looking for a treat, but I’d had a busy morning and didn’t feel like doing 10 so I only did 2, definitely not my best effort, but hey I wouldn’t be a Prima Donna Extraordinaire if I wasn’t a bit stubborn at times.
Soccer was next on the agenda, followed by the agility tunnel, but my favourite part was Dr Harry taking me to the nearest pile of mud and turning the bubbler on for me. With all puns intended, I was definitely as happy as ‘a pig in mud.’ Now if I was going to be accused of upstaging Dr Harry, this was the perfect opportunity … I did a bit of a shimmy and flicked mud all over Dr Harry’s white pants. Luckily for me Dr Harry has a great sense of humour.
I had a brilliant day with Dr Harry and the Better Homes & Gardens crew, but playing in the mud was the icing on the cake.
PS – It’s all about attitude!! Here is a photo taken with Dr Harry at the end of day, and of course I had had enough of the camera in my face, so peeps check out my butt!
Hogs and kisses, Coco the Miniature Pig
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