We got both Saki and Noriko on October 29, 2006 because we only had Muffy left at that time and one pig was just not enough.  Liz picked out Noriko right away, but we had to go through an entire cage of little boys before we found the only other girl available. We're so lucky that neither one of them came home pregnant! Saki was a strange pig because while she was so small, she was disproportionate: her feet and ears were too big for her body.  The way she walked was so funny to watch because of how big her feet were.  She would stretch out her legs straight out behind her in the middle of her walk all the time, earning her the title of "The Ballerina".  The last time we had young pigs in our house had been about about five years before Saki and Noriko joined the family, so we had forgotten about all of the little quirks (the running, the popcorning, and the many different noises) that ours had grown out of.  When she was calm, Saki was just the sweetest because she purred so much!  We found her sweet spot right away on the car ride home from the pet store and she purred the entire way. 

Saki loved to play chase the piggy when we want to get her out of her cage (which did not change with age), because she loved hanging out in her cage.  She was like Hazel was in that regard, except she was a bit more outgoing.  Saki taught herself how to stand on her hind legs and did it all the time, way more than even Muffy did.  Whenever we gave them timothy hay, Noriko would have a tendency to block the entire hay manger, so I started giving Saki a special fuzzy piece each time.  She learned to not even try and get to the manger, she just stood up on her hind legs and waited for her special piece. She was really smart and had cute little routines like that for all of her food.  For example, she would always wait for the second piece of romaine lettuce in the morning since she knew Noriko was going to take the first one.  After awhile, she wouldn't even try for the first one, she just sat back and waited for the second.

After Noriko passed, Saki started losing weight and stopped eating her normal amount of food, and we became worried about her.  We weren't sure if we were ready for another pig, and decided to go to the pet store to get her a stuffed toy or something to keep her company in her cage.  At the store, they had these teeny tiny baby guinea pigs, and our plan went out the window when we held them.  We left the store with a different kind of present for Saki - a new friend named Tatiana.   The dynamic between Saki and Noriko was so different than between Saki and Tatiana, since there was a six year age difference between them.  After Tatiana's quarantine was over, it was so nice to see them instantly bond.  After they started living together, Saki perked back up and although they had their issues on occasion, as a whole they got along really well.

Saki lived to be almost eight years old, the oldest pig we ever had, and Tatiana really helped her out in her last year with us. Aside from being a crazy tiny thing running around the cage and keeping Saki on her toes, Tatiana was so nurturing and protective of her. She helped Saki clean herself up, and I think having Tatiana around really helped prolong Saki's life after losing Noriko. We had to feed Saki all of her food and water through syringes for her last few weeks with us because she had stopped eating on her own. She had bounced back from a similar situation the year before, but this time, combined with her old age, we all knew it was her time. Saki was a precious little pig who kept her spunk well into her golden years, even as she mellowed out. She was our adorable little old lady, and we're very happy to have had her in our lives for so long.

Photos