WHEN buying a mini pig from a pet store eight years ago, a Shenzhen woman in her 20s, didn’t expect the so-called “cup pig,” which is not supposed to grow, would become a pig weighing over 150 kilograms, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported Wednesday.

When the woman, surnamed Dong, and her family tried to pick a pet at a pet store in Dongmen in 2010, they were captivated by a 4-kilogram mini pig that looked so cute in its cage. The store owner told them that the pig was a “cup pig” from the United Kingdom and it wouldn’t grow any more. Dong’s father paid 800 yuan (US$116) and brought the pig home.

Dong’s family treats the pig as a family member and call it Dudu. Dudu ate three times a day in the first half year and its weight soared to 20 kilograms. The family then realized that it wasn’t really a “cup pig,” but they didn’t want to give it away because they’d fallen for the pig’s cuteness.

Dudu’s weight continued to grow until it was 3 years old and it has remained at around 150 kilograms since then. “Our whole family like holding Dudu when we are sleeping, especially in winter, because its fat belly is so warm,” said Dong’s father.

Dong used to walk Dudu by putting it in a stroller in 2010 when it was still small, but since it grew bigger it barely leaves home because of its size and weight.

Dong said the family bathes the pig two to three times a week, and Dudu lets them know when it needs to use the toilet by grunting at the bathroom so that they would use a barrel to catch its waste.

Dong’s family has moved five times since Dudu grew into a big pig due to complaints from their neighbors saying that the pig’s snoring at night was too noisy. They moved into another apartment in the same residential estate Tuesday, and the family had to hire five men to carry Dudu to their new apartment.

The family said that they’ve placed a sponge on the floor in Dudu’s room and put soundproof cotton on the walls after they received complaints from neighbors, but they still get new complaints every now and then.

A staffer from the community work station said that it’s legal for residents to raise pigs in their homes. The family can keep the pig as long as they vaccinate it and promise to reduce the noise made by the pig as much as possible. (Zhang Yang)