Holly–Honey was my 31st Birthday Present from my husband Ian. I drove to a little town called Tullamore a 10 hour round trip from Adelong to pick up a 4 week old piglet I named Holly-Honey.

A couple of months later she developed a disability in both her front legs. I took her to my Vet (who specialised in surgery) but there was nothing that could be done, the bones in her “wrists” had shattered to pieces. Even after surgery, they would continue to shatter. The best thing that I could do for Holly-Honey was to confine her for a short time and hope that the joints fuse together, which thankfully they did and she adapted well. She couldn’t bend her wrist joints. They were stiff. I was also told that arthritis and joint problems as well as discomfort would kick in at an early age and that she may not live to a ripe old age as her legs may not be able to carry her weight as pigs are large heavy animals.

It was her disability that made her a star, she laid around and loved belly rubs, having her nails painted and getting dressed up, it was all by accident, she would sit “like a dog” as it would take the weight off her front legs and then I got all sorts of ideas of things I could do to her and she’d just let me. She thought it was fun getting all this attention. I didn’t have children at the time and treated her like a little girl, playing dress-ups, teaching her to eat from a spoon and to drink from a straw etc…

Soon it became local news. She was on TV and in the newspapers and even appearing at local Agricultural Shows. Everyone wanted a photo with Holly-Honey. Kids would cue up just to sit beside her and I can tell you she knew what was going on. She would even look into the camera and smile.

As much as her glamour and glitter made her “The Sexy Sow” she also lived the life of a pig. She loved to wallow, dig, trash things and eat, eat eat… pretty good life huh!!! She had her own lounge in our house and if you were sitting on it when she was ready for bed, she would turf you off it with her snout. Pigs are territorial, they like their lounges and houses, in this case my lounge and my house.

I eventually met up with a woman in South Australia who had a performing pig named Hoover “The Wonder Pig”. We got along really well, though the pigs didn’t at first. They soon did and eventually we started doing shows in New South Wales & Victoria together and the pigs got along great. She eventually passed Hoover on to me to live at Happy Farm. We decided that Hoover should make an honest woman of Holly-Honey and the Pigs were married on the 13th of July 2002 at Happy Farm.

Sadly Hoover died 4 months later from an anaesthetic overdose while having his tusks trimmed. He was 3½ years old. Holly was devastated she felt his absence and would sleep in Hoover’s house that we built for him.

A woman in Tarcutta read the story about Hoover’s death in the local paper and invited me to her farm and offered me a pet pig to train and continue performing pig shows. I eventually got my 3rd pig “Porky” from her and then rescued a pig called “Percy”. Then I was given a runt that I called “Hoover Junior” who I trained to perform. Then I rescued a sow named “Rosie”. Then I got totally addicted and got Daisy, Mini, Peppa & Bacon and then I rescue Babe, (a large white) and then rescued “Gypsy” and finally I got Hamlet, my newest “Wonder Piglet” who were all apart of Holly-Honey’s life.

At her burial all my other pigs came to pay their last respects, animals know, they feel, they understand, they are intelligent, even a group of cows came to the fence and began bellowing, it gave me goose bumps.

Against all the odds those poor old decrepit legs carried her day after day with the help of medication from time to time she sometimes staggered and wobbled but never gave up. Holly-Honey died peacefully in her sleep. She is sadly missed by my husband, our 2 children and the other pigs. I hope you enjoy the slide show I’ve put together. Every photo is precious, and it tells a story. Look at the faces in the photos everyone is smiling even Holly-Honey.