By Camille Cox | Staff Writer
Two Baylor siblings have a go-to fun fact for icebreakers: they have a pet pig.
Senior Lily Goodman and her brother, sophomore Evan Goodman, share a pet pig in their Chicago home. The 30-pound pig named Hamilton has been with their family for years.
“My mom just always had a thing for pigs,” Lily Goodman said. “She had all these statues, and it’s her favorite animal.”
Even though their love for pigs was a constant, the Goodmans didn’t consider having a pet pig until they stumbled across the idea at a soccer tournament.
“We were at a soccer tournament for my sister one year, and this guy had a pig and told us where he got it from,” Evan Goodman said. “We went home and looked into it, and ironically, the place is in Waco.”
Hamilton came from Texas Tiny Pigs — a miniature pig breeding sanctuary located off of Highway 6. According to its website, Texas Tiny Pigs has been in business for over 20 years and has “placed them in happy homes across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.”
“I spent my whole childhood begging for a dog, and [my parents] always said no, but then we saw a pig at a soccer tournament and didn’t think twice about it,” Lily Goodman said.
According to Ohio State News, there are no accurate statistics that show how many people in the U.S. own pet pigs. The number is estimated to be between 250,000 and 1 million.
While owning a pet pig is rare in the country, it is a normal part of the Goodman household.
“People would come over and see him, and he would always be on people’s Snapchat stories, which is pretty funny,” Lily Goodman said. “We got him a harness to take him on walks, and people stare at us and swerve their cars because they are staring at us.”
The Goodman family celebrates Hamilton’s birthday every year, complete with a cupcake and a party hat.
“We always throw him a birthday party where my mom would always make him a cupcake — but without the frosting because she thought it would make him sick,” Evan Goodman said.
Lily Goodman said that the breeder calls Hamilton — who is half potbelly pig and half juliana pig — a “super micro mini.” While he currently resides in their hometown, Hamilton has been to Waco to visit the siblings at Baylor.
“I would describe Hamilton’s temperament as a cross between a dog and a cat,” Lily Goodman said. “He can be lovable, but he can also be pretty grumpy and independent.”
While the idea of a pet pig may seem out of the ordinary at first glance, the Goodmans have had no trouble making special memories with their beloved pet.
“One time, when we were younger and had just gotten him, we fed him a bunch of broccoli because we didn’t want to eat it at dinner one night,” Evan Goodman said.
The American Mini Pig Association, or AMPA, provides suggested and detailed instructions for those who own, or are thinking about owning, mini pigs.
