The article “Pigs OK in Sierra Madre, not in Seal Beach” in the L.A. Times this morning was a reading pleasure. Having grown up in that small town, I appreciate and respect its goings on. Neil, the pig … a problem for the neighborhood and town? Nope. His noticed “eviction” was a mistake, quickly remedied by the police chief. Hogs are outlawed, not pigs. According to the LA Times article, someone has suggested Neil be the grand marshal of the Sierra Madre 4th of July Parade.
Hogs are outlawed in Seal Beach, too. Why did Seal Beach apparently hurriedly update its laws to exclude a pig from being a legal pet after receiving one “complaint” about Bubba, the Seal Beach pig?
After reading the LA Times article about Neil, understanding that pigs are highly intelligent animals, I did some internet searching; this list caught my attention.
- Pigs are extraordinarily intelligent. They are curious and insightful animals who are widely accepted as being smarter than young children of at least 3 years of age, dogs, and even some primates.
- Pigs are extremely social animals. They form close bonds with other individuals and love close contact and lying down together.
- Pigs are very clean, keeping their toilet area far away from where they lie down and eat. Even newborn piglets will leave the nest to go to the toilet within hours of birth.
- Pigs are very peaceful animals, rarely showing aggression. The exception, as with many animals, is when a mother (sow) with her young offspring is provoked or threatened.
- Pigs have a tremendous sense of smell. The large round disk of cartilage at the tip of the snout is connected to muscle that gives it extra flexibility and strength for rooting in the ground.
- Winston Churchill famously said that “Dogs look up to man. Cats look down to man. Pigs look us straight in the eye and see an equal.”
- There are numerous stories of pigs that have saved the lives of humans. For example, a pet pig called Pru pulled her owner out of a muddy bog, and another, Priscilla, saved a young boy from drowning.
- The pig is the last of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. The pig is seen to represent, fortune, honesty, happiness and virility.
- http://www.onekind.org/be_inspired/animals_a_z/pig/
Bubba—in the Seal Beach Christmas parade, perhaps?
Melinda Howell,
Seal Beach resident (Old Town)
