4 • | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 | SPRING HOUSING GUIDE
THE STANDARD
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Petting outside the box: The alternative fur babies Amid the common want and need of companionship, many turn to cats and dogs, but one Missouri State University student chose a more bristly fur baby. Erin Bereyso, senior civil engineering major, lives in Rogersville with her fiance and five pet pigs. According to her, an impulsive decision three years ago spiraled into a lifelong love for domesticated swine. “I saw a post on Facebook of someone who needed to re-home their baby pig, and we decided to bring him home,” Bereyso said. “We quickly fell in love with him.” It didn’t take long after adopting their first pig Jeff, before Bereyso and her fiance adopted another named Little Pig.
However, in the Springfield area, pigs are still considered livestock, which Bereyso said was an issue with keeping Jeff and Little Pig. “My fiance and I decided to move out to Rogersville and buy a bigger house with a little bit of land to live somewhere we wouldn’t have to worry about zoning restrictions,” Bereyso said. “Since we moved, we have added three more pigs and have a total of five.” After moving to Rogersville, Bereyso said she and her fiance began accumulating more pigs. Today, they have five in total, including Jeff, Little Pig, Pancakes, Mario and Luigi. The Springfield city government, while restricting the ownership of swine as pets, does make one notable exception. In a law introduced to the city government in 1953, “In all areas which became a part of the city on Nov. 8, 1955, persons having at least five contiguous acres may keep hogs.” Bereyso did not fit into this stipulation, but in the case that someone does, they can feasibly own a pet pig in city limits.
Photo submitted by Erin Bereyso
Jeff, 3.5 years old, reps the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Bereyso, outside of zoning difficulties, pet pigs have offered some unique challenges for her and her fiance. “It’s difficult to travel and find someone to come ‘pig sit,’ especially for longer periods of time,” Bereyso said. “They can also be destructive if they get bored ... the boys have sharp tusks and they have ripped a hole in my couch-
es before. Also, potty training can be a big issue. All that being said, though, they are still great pets and they are definitely worth all the trouble they get into.” For anyone considering adopting a pig, pigplacementnetwork.org offers adoption and rescue resources in addition to key information on the care of a pig. “On the plus side, pigs are smart, clean, generally non-allergenic, odor-free, flea-free, charming and inexpensive to feed,” Pig Placement Network’s flyer on the pros and cons of pig ownership says. “Pigs can become easily bored, grumpy, depressed, sedentary and even destructive and aggressive, if not given adequate attention by a loving caregiver … While the daily cost of keeping a pig is relatively low, if a pig becomes ill, vet bills can be unmanageable for some people.” Do you have a unique pet you’d like to share? Message @TheStandard_MSU on Instagram or Twitter with a picture of your fur baby.
Photos submitted by Erin Bereyso
Above: From left to right, Lugi and Jeff lay together outside, soaking up the sun. Left: Pancakes poses for a photo before going in for a meal. After adopting their second pig, Bereyso and her fiance decided to move to Rogersville, 30 minutes from MSU’s campus, as pigs, classified as swine, are not allowed in Springfield city limits.
