Description
Gayle Hallowell will discuss - Micro pigs. The pig, due to its behavioural traits and intelligence, frequently proves a significant challenge as a clinical patient. Added to that, the pet pig is often quite dominant and many owners are a little wary of their pet. There is a current interest in purchasing micro or teacup pigs. However these are not necessarily what their name suggests and clients frequently feel cheated and misled and I believe it is our responsibility to be able to guide people when their new pet grows ten times larger than they expected. The session will aim to cover the various breeds of pig kept as pets and what the current breed description of these micro and teacup pigs is. Although these animals are often beloved pets, they are food producing animals and as such we need to ensure that drugs used and advice given regarding their husbandry is appropriate and this will be covered in the session. As the pig is an omnivore, its anatomy and metabolism is similar, but not identical, to that of the dog, but physical examination findings differ. Frequently the major challenge with the pet pig is safe handling and restraint. This session will aim to cover handling, sedation, catheter placement and anaesthesia. With the focus on the pet pig I will then aim to discuss a problem based approach in these animals to enable a likely diagnosis to be reached. In addition I will endeavour to identify the most likely diseases that will be encountered in this unique group using some case examples. By the end of the talk, hopefully everyone will be looking forward to, rather than dreading the next pet pig that they see in their practice.