Pigs are often thought of as food rather than as intelligent pets
that are actually cleanly and hygienic when kept that way by
their owners. Pigs have been rated in some studies to be more
intelligent then some breeds of dogs and as least as intelligent
as any dog. Pet pigs have been known to have saved people's
lives. Pigs have individual personalities and idiosyncrasies and
some believe them to be very good and interesting pets and
happily keep them in their homes.
Although pigs may not be common as an actively trained service
animal, they are intelligent enough to do so. Pigs have been
trained to perform many of the functions that an assistance dog
would.
There are three classes of an assistance animal.
1. A guide animal to the blind
2. A signal animal for the deaf or hearing impaired
3. An animal that is able to do chores or abilities for the deaf,
blind or handicapped
The service animal is a highly trained and specialized pet that
can assist those with disabilities and be able to respond in a
health crisis in order to save someone's life. Service or
assistance animals also may assist people with neurological
problems, learning disabilities or psychiatric problems.
The most popular assistance animals are dogs, followed by the
Capuchin monkey, domestic cat and miniature horse. Why not pet
pigs?
Capuchin monkeys are trained to assist with grasping of items and
performing manual tasks such as opening door, fetching items and
the like.
The Miniature Horse is trained to pull wheel chairs, guide the
blind and provide support for those with problems standing
upright.
Cats can often naturally predict seizures and can signal their
hearing-impaired owners when they hear certain sounds.
The pig can do as much as the very popular Seeing Eye dog. They
can perform tasks for their masters that the human has difficulty
doing. They can guide the blind, and signal the deaf about
sounds. Although they are not a generally accepted animal for
this purpose, they are capable of performing all of the same
tricks and feats as an assistance dog.
Although it is not generally accepted, you can train your pet pig
to do these tricks. In particular, Pot-Bellied Pigs are becoming
more and more recognized for their abilities, personality and
heroism in some instances. Pigs have often made the news for
saving their owner's life by warning of a fire, pulling them from
the water, alerting to coming epileptic seizures and the like.
One even made the news for fighting off several dogs that were
attacking its owner.
In order to get a seeing-eye or service pig you will have to
train it yourself at this time. But in the future, if enough
people promote the idea to the government, we may in the future
see someone guided by a pig or assisted by a pig.
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