The pet I’ll never forget: Merlin the sassy pig, who helped me meet my husband

We have lots of animals in our home in Sacramento, California – a dog, two chicks, a pigeon, a bearded dragon, three rats and two rescue cows. But our pig, Merlin, is special.I had a pig obsession for a while. I remember going to visit some animal sanctuaries and getting emotional when I saw the pigs. There’s just something about them that I felt a connection to. I knew how smart they were. I remember telling myself that one day I’d have a pig.Merlin is a mini Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. He was cute as a button when I adopted him in March 2020, when he was just two and a half months old. He loves to cuddle but he can be a bit sassy. If he doesn’t get his way he likes to unplug devices and slam doors. He likes to wear a propeller cap and go on walks; it’s like having an 180lb toddler.We were living in an apartment when we adopted Merlin and I’m surprised we didn’t receive a noise complaint because if he was frustrated or hungry he would squeal and it was deafening. His intelligence was clear to me from day one. Pigs are considered by