The author says she has always connected more readily with non-human creatures than with her fellow humans. In fact she credits her pet pig Christopher Hogwood, named for the British conductor, with her increased ability to enjoy other people. She and her husband Howard adopted Chris when he was a runty little fellow on a nearby farm in New Hampshire. He thrived in their care, was able to escape his enclosure as he wished, and made himself and his owners known to everyone in the area. Bakeries, groceries, and restaurants saved their scraps for Chris and he became so large that he had to be put on a diet.
The author had never connected well with children, but the two little girls next door spent hours grooming Chris, to his and their delight and she became close to those girls. He wasn’t very cooperative with a photographer, but nevertheless his likeness wearing sunglasses was captured and Sy and Howard used the photo for Christmas cards.
I had read Sy Montgomery’s 2015 book The Soul of an Octopus, so was inclined to listen to another by her. When I read that book in 2016, it was The Good Good Pig she was best known for, but the octopus book became a NYT best seller and a finalist for the National Book Award. This one, while Christopher is the central character, is very much about Sy Montgomery, her family, her friends, and her community. The most surprising fact about her is that her mother was so prejudiced against Jews that she was never willing to meet Sy’s husband.
I learned that pigs should not be fed citrus and that meat makes their feces smell very unpleasant and that a large helping of tomato sauce makes them sick for days. They live from 12 to 18 years; Chris died at 14. Chris had welcoming grunts for people he knew and he was loved by many. Though it is hard for me to imagine loving a pig, I should remember how fond I was of my daughter’s pet rats, Marilyn and Matilda.
Sy Montgomery, The Good Good Pig, Ballantine Books, 2006, 228 pages (I listened to the audiobook). Available in the public library.