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Yes, our once famous pot-bellied pig is is a bit of a 'leaker' as of late. He's heading to Bowmanville (Ontario) to get one of those probes. Here's hoping we can solve the leaking issue soon.

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Riiiiiiiiiiiiggggggggggghhhhhht...

Is your pig actually the Telus pig, or is that just his name? Either way, I hope he gets better soon!

OMG! NO! NOOOOooooooooo.......... !

You will need to give your veterinarian a thorough history of the pet's health, including the onset and nature of the symptoms. He or she will then perform a complete physical examination, ultrasound imaging, and urinalysis. However, in order to confirm the diagnosis, identify the mineral content of the stones, and develop a proper course of treatment, pieces of nephroliths must be retrieved for analysis.

The vet had some problems with her technology because of a blackout a few days ago. Nonetheless, she fixed Sparky's bladder and (you-know-what) as good as new. I can't go much into detail without inflicting pain to even the manly men here.

It sounds like the bladder was in bad shape (blood from stones rolling around), all because we switched Sparky's food from the specialty Broken Bridle brand (where he came from) to a more generic potbelly feed. From now on, we're ordering the food from a place in Guelph (Ontario); the kind of food with that acidifier in it.

As for the story on how we obtained the Telus Pig from his original owners (June Knox)...

We had bought a pair of potbellied pigs from the same breeder back in 2001 (Url & Willy). Our knowledge with our first pet pig back in the 90's helped connect us with June in more ways than expected. Unfortunately, the family had to move to Toronto, and we had to give Url & Willy away to a friend in Renfrew. One died of a bladder infection a couple years later...

Meanwhile, June was offered an opportunity from Telus to feature a litter of newborn potbellies in a series of ads in 2003. Sparky was the 'head' of that litter, while his sister, Lucy, told 2nd in command. The Toronto Star featured an article about June & Sparky in December 2003.

June passed away a few years ago, and Sparky was moved from house to barn for 6 months. We were the 1st June's husband called regarding Sparky needing a new home. We accepted the offer.

Sparky moved here in rough shape. He was a tad chubby and didn't move around much, so we got him back in good health. To our surprise, Sparky had been well trained and doesn't carry that 'greedy pig' attitude our previous pigs had. He won't snatch food from our hands, but rather 'accept' it generously when it appears one of us is holding it out for us.

Our biggest problem was Sparky wondering off our yard (out in the middle of cottage country). The invisible fence we installed for our previous pigs still work like a charm. Sparky won't leave if he wears his red harness (see 2nd photo).

So, there we go...

Here's some input on June:

http://www.petpigs.com/what-we-can-do/june-knox-v-i-p

Update!

So it seems the specialist in Bowmanville (must work for the Zoo there) has mad operation skills. Not only did she clean Sparky's bladder, she stitched him all up with hardly a noticeable trace on his abdomen. If any of you guys living between Toronto and Belleville (Ontario) own exotic pets, check these guys out for sure.

http://www.bowmanvilleveterinaryclinic.com/

Sparky's walking around with a bit of a wobble, but at least he can do his business much easier now. He's still picky with the meds, but now we know how to feed them to him without him knowing.

Who drugged the marshmallows!?