When Anette Marten’s son Kayden was growing up, there was one animal he wanted more than anything else.
“Our son was obsessed with pigs since he was four,” says Martens. “It got to the point where we actually banned the word pig in our house.”
Still Kayden kept pushing and after some careful research during COVID presented a plan to his parents to land a pet pig.
“He was smart enough to have contacted a person that breeds pigs by himself and he had all the information about how to have them as a pet,” smiles Martens. “So after doing a lot of research we thought let’s give it a try.”
Willbert became part of the family in October of 2020 and quickly grew from a cute cuddly youngster into a hefty hog.
“They gain weight incredibly fast and we give our dog a lot of treats on walks and things like that and of course Willy gets them too,” says Martens.
“Literally in no time the weight gain was really, really big, but it doesn’t hinder him from being an incredible house pet.”
When Willbert goes on his daily walks with his other four legged friends, he gets quite a lot of attention.
“Sometimes when I’m on my walks I don’t realize how awkward it must be, he’s just so part of my life that I don’t even give it a second thought,” laughs Martens.
“Then people will come up to me and go ‘is that a pig,’ and I’m like ‘oh yeah, it is.'”
The pig has become a much loved part of the family and the Martens wouldn’t want to have any other pet.
“I know it might sound crazy but I love him, I absolutely love him,” says Martens.
“Once they gravitate towards you and they trust you, the bond is really special.”
Cole Sorenson
