A Pig and Two Pugs

Yesterday I had the most fun program at the Newburyport Public Library!  Farmer Minor brought his potbellied pig (Daisy II) and two pugs (Lily Pug and Dixie Cup) for a program called "Pig Out on Reading!"  I have been so excited about this program -- a pig in the library! -- that the staff is probably glad it's over so they can stop hearing about it.

Here are some pictures:

The van!

Lily Pug is ready to go!

Lily Pug travels with Farmer Minor and  Daisy II everywhere they go.

Me with Daisy II (who is a boy), Farmer Minor, and Lily Pug (front) and Dixie Cup (back).  All animals have their own strollers, and Farmer Minor brings his own rocking chair!

I learned that potbellied pigs have excellent hearing and smell, but they are almost blind.  One should always approach a pig from the side.  If you approach from the front, you are nothing but scary shadows, but if you approach from the side, the pig can hear and smell you coming without being scared.

Lily Pug loves, loves, loves to lick and kiss.  My entire face and neck were covered in dog kisses.  It would be gross if Lily wasn't so cute.

A nice close-up of Daisy II.

Finally, a half shot of Dixie, who does not usually travel with Daisy II.  Apparently Dixie is a mama's girl, and she is only one-and-a-half years old, so she's still a little skittish.

I wore a pig nose to greet the patrons as they entered.

Farmer Minor sharing the hilarious and heartwarming story of how he and Mrs. Minor came to adopt Daisy I, Daisy II, Lily and Dixie.  He is a master storyteller!

Kids of all ages were rapt!

Teens loved it, too!

A number of grown-ups (in the back) came by themselves to see Daisy II!

Farmer Minor kissed Daisy...

...and so did I!  (Children's librarians will do anything.)

You can't see very well, but I presented Daisy II with a Newburyport Public Library library card.  Daisy II has library cards from all over the world (you can see the framed collages of all of her cards to the right), as well as the keys to four different cities!

Dixie gets a hug!  And Lily gets to lick a hand.

Daisy looks a little worn out.

Farmer Minor will be making a national tour during the summer of 2014.  I'm not sure how far afield he goes, but I'll let everyone know!  If he comes your way, you must have him at your library.

Oh, and here's the website!  If you watch the slide show, you'll see that Daisy, Dixie and Lily have a cat best friend, too, which blows my mind.  Sterling would rather die than cuddle with a pig and two pugs.