Emma Terris and her new pet pig, Harley, outside the family’s home near Richmond.
The young family recently added another member to the clan, but it’s not your typical addition.
The family now calls an 80-pound potbellied pig theirs.
With its purple mohawk hairdo and giant hooves, Harley the pig is hard to miss.
“He’s (Harley) one of a kind,” said Terris. “I don’t know anyone else who stays with a real pig.”
Terris lives with her father, Donald Arsenault and his girlfriend, Chrystal Barriault, along with their seven-month-old daughter Lindsey.
The family also owns a small dog named Eeyore, he and Harley have hit it off.
“Eeyore barks at Harley sometimes, and then the pig starts honking at him,” laughed Terris. “After a few minutes of that they get along fine.”
At Parkside Elementary School in Summerside, Terris has become a hit sharing stories of the pig.
“I told my friends about Harley, they didn’t believe me at first.”
That’s understandable.
“They kept asking, ‘you mean a real pig.’”
In elementary school, the student with the pet pig skyrockets up the popularity ladder.
“Oh my god, that’s so cool,” one friend told her.
Now other students want a pet pig too, she joked.
But living with a pig can be difficult; they eat a lot, they poop a lot and they’re not the most photogenic animal.
Barriault and Arsenault can attest to those challenges.
“I’ve been taking care of him a bit,” said Barriault. “Harley is hard to move around so most chores are a slow process.”
Surprisingly similar to a dog, Harley has normal eating and washroom patterns that all occur outside.
“Whenever he needs to go out we put him on a leash and take him down the patio stairs.”
This is still very new to the family, and they weren’t exactly expecting another houseguest.
“We saw an advertisement for a free pig so we went to check it out. Next thing I knew we were taking a pig home,” Barriault said.
Catching Barriault off guard were the living arrangements.
“I thought it was an outdoor pig so it was a surprise when we were told it lives inside.”
Jeanne Arsenault lives next door to the family.
“He (Donald) is in the woods a lot,” said Arsenault. “If he finds an animal that he can carry he’ll bring it home to show the kids.”
Jeanne knows her brother well, and she’s not at all surprised he wanted to do this.
“Donald likes animals and he never minds having them around the house. For me this isn’t as surprising as it is funny.”
Only in the house a week, Harley has become comfortable in his new home.
“We set up blankets for him to sleep in the kitchen,” said Terris. “Sometimes he goes into the living room and watches TV too.”
Barriault said the pig has found a permanent home with them.
“The kids love Harley, we could never get rid of him."
