Patrick the kune kune was adopted by the Louden family from Shildon (From The Northern Echo)

Patrick the kune kune was adopted by the Louden family from Shildon

8:34am Tuesday 31st August 2010 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
• Comments(0)

FOR most pigs, life can be a little mundane.

But one porker has his trotters well and truly under the table and is now living what can only be described as a dog’s life.

Patrick the kune kune was adopted by the Louden family from Shildon, County Durham, and as well as doing all the usual things you might expect from a pet pooch, also goes to obedience classes.

Catherine Louden said: “We have three little boys so we let them pick what kind of pet we were going to get.

“They love the film Babe and we are not keen on dogs as a family so we went with the pig.

“It is like having a fourth child – he is brilliant, the kids are great with him and he is good with the kids.

“He stays in the house, but cannot get up the stairs because he has little legs and is a bit heavy.”

Unsurprisingly, Patrick draws a lot of attention from dog walkers on his daily walk around Shildon.

“Dog owners often stop to have a bit of a look, it can be a conversation starter,” Mrs Louden said.

“They normally stop and stare and do a double-take to make sure it is a pig and not just a funny-looking dog.”

The family was having trouble getting Patrick to adopt to home life, so they enrolled him in the Happy Dogs obedience school, in Hurworth, near Darlington.

Mrs Louden said: “Since we have been bringing him here he has come on 100 per cent. He is brilliant and socialises a lot more with different people. He loves coming here for the outdoors.

“He is a very placid pig. He has never gone for anybody and is rarely in a bad mood. He is a joy to have around.”

David Davies, of Happy Dogs, has more than 17 years’ experience as a dog handler with Durham Police, and when he w a s given the chance to train a pig he could not resist the challenge.

Mr Davies said: “Catherine contacted me as she was wanting some help training him to take him for a walk.

“She had been to about ten dog trainers who had turned her down, but I was very interested.

“Although I must say at that stage I did not know she meant a pig. I thought it was an awkward dog when she said it was ‘a pig’.”

“He has come on leaps and bounds in the six weeks I have had him and is a joy to teach.”