Ponderosa References
August 28, 2008
Hi Kathleen,
 Just wanted to send you another update on the fabulous life of Early Joe Piggleby. He is doing great and I am proud of him every day. He loves to go places in the car and crates right up. He hardly ever potties in the crate which I think is a real accomplishment. ;-) I am running out of new behaviors to teach him because he learns them so fast. He weighs about 18lbs, and I keep telling him that I think soon he won't fit on my lap anymore. He tells me to think again! Words can't describe how much I love him and what a difference he makes in our lives.  Even the dogs seem to have accepted him into our 'pack'. They will all lay next to him if he's on my lap, Quito played a mutual game of chase with him one day, and even Meaka sniffed and worried over him when he came back from his last vet visit. I hope all is well with you and your family and that your foot is healed! Here are some recent pics of Joe to help brighten your day. They always brighten mine!
Sincerely,
Kristin Gieseker
July 21, 2009
Hey Kathleen,
 I just had a quick question for you. Joe has some sort of orange-y spots across the backs of his ears. Is that normal? Also, in the past couple of days, it looks like the backs of his ears are getting bitten by bugs. Is there a safe way to keep bugs like mosquitos etc. away from him?
Besides the bites (which don't seem to bother him too much), Joe is doing great. I tried to bring him into the tv room and hold him once while we watched tv, but it didn't work out too well. ;-) We're slowly introducing him to more of the house, but he's not crazy about the floors and we don't have runners yet (I put some towels down), so he often goes back into his pen on his own. I can't believe how many behaviors he's learned. It's truly amazing. He knows how to target, come, sit, spin, back up, jump over my legs when I'm sitting, go under my legs when I'm sitting, kiss, grab his baby keys in his mouth, and is currently learning 'push' with some of his toys. He loves his pig chow and we've recently introduced him to several new veggies, which he's enjoying. He did not enjoy the mustard greens, so I won't buy them again. I don't blame him- I don't like many greens, either!
Unless he's going somewhere I'm not aware of, he's strictly pottying outside now. When I first increased the size of his pen, we had some issues with accidents, but I changed the shape of the pen and it seemed to help. We go out every few hours and try to follow the shade around the house, but I've been happy that at least so far, he seems just as ready to come back into the house out of the heat as we are. We try to spend more time outside in the morning and the evening so that he can really run around and graze. There's nothing I find cuter right now than watching Joe run. My favorite is when he comes tearing around the corner of the house, barking up a storm and charging across the yard. I love the times when he's feeling cuddly and climbs onto my legs for a snooze or plops down next to me. When he's in his pen, he likes to get under things (everything but his blankies), so he sleeps under his little bed or under the little tent my mother bought him. It's very funny! One day I came in and he was crawling around on his knees with his bed on top of him like a turtle shell, foraging through his river rocks with just his little nose sticking out. Grunt grunt shuffle shuffle grunt. I actually got it on film. When I finally asked him what he was doing, he came FLYING out from under the bed, looking at me and grunting like, 'What? I wasn't doing anything! You didn't see a thing!' Well, that's all I can think of for this time's update. Thanks for any info you can give me on the ear thing!
Sincerely,
Kristin Gieseker
June 28,2008
Hey Kathleen,
 Just wanted to give you a little update on the world's best piglet. :-) He's doing great! We are bonding well and he is the heart of my every day. He has already learned to target, and he is also learning to jump over my legs and sit. We started on harness training today, and my goal is to have him out in the yard by the end of this weekend. He met the dogs today, too, and for the most part was pretty disinterested. Quito was very interested in him (our smallest Chihuahua), and they sniffed each other a few times. Meaka seemed interested but intimidated (she's our omega Chihuahua). Mincho, our alpha Chihuahua, treated him like he treats every other new animal- with disdain! It went very well, and I was proud of all of them. My little 2 year old niece, who's not usually a big fan of pigs at fairs and in books, is absolutely over the moon for Joe! She spent the day at our house yesterday, and just kept saying 'Hi Joe!' and 'Gooood BOY Joe!' over and over. She was napping on my mother, and all of the sudden, she just sat up and said 'Joe!', hopped off Mom's lap, and went hurrying off to the doorway of his room to look at him over the gate. I've never seen her so excited about an animal, and I was surprised that he seemed very pleased by her, too. She probably smells like all sorts of yummy foods! Is one of Joe's parents a licker? He licks everything! He licks my lips when I kiss his snooter, he licks our hands and arms, and my toes on the rare occasions that they're bare. Blankets, the floor, our clothes- he's like a little licking machine! People have told me this isn't super usual, but I choose to take it as a compliment. ;-) Thank you so much again for our little bundle of joy. Here's some pics of Joe slippin' me some piggie tongue and rootin' through his river rocks for goodies.
Regards,
Kristin Gieseker and Early Joe Piggleby
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