Hog haven: Spring Valley-area resident started rescue to help educate pig owners

Crystal Kimhan spends every weekend doing yardwork, but she rarely mows the grass, plucks the weeds or harvests the fruit trees. Six hungry pigs help her with that.

Instead, she fills the holes they dig.

“It’s like walking on Mars out here,” she said. “I swear sometimes I come out here, and they’re halfway to China already.”

Kimhan runs VegasPigPets, a nonprofit organization that educates pig owners and rescues abandoned pigs, out of her backyard.

It all started in 2006 with one little piglet named Pork Chop.

Because there weren’t any local pig networks, Kimhan learned about Pork Chop by trial and error. After a few months, she attended a pig-training event in Reno.

“I used to be a dog and bird trainer, and I didn’t understand my pig for anything,” Kimhan said. “So, how could I expect people who didn’t work with animals for a living to be able to understand their pig?”

Inspired by Pork Chop, Kimhan started VegasPigPets in 2008 as an educational outlet. She thought more owners and adopters would keep pigs if they were educated about them.

“With a lot of people, it wasn’t like they were giving up their pig because they didn’t want it anymore,” she said. “It was because they just didn’t understand them.”

Through the organization, Kimhan trained pigs, trimmed their hoofs and provided supplies. During the recession, she supported about nine families with pig feed and blankets.

“Pigs bond heavily like children,” Kimhan said. “They go through a huge abandonment period if I have to take them. So if I can keep them in their home, that’s my first goal.”

After Kimhan moved to a bigger property, she started a small rescue. She currently looks after five rescue pigs and one of her own: Bonnie, Harry, Percy, Danji, Borgey and Mo.

“I try to treat all the pigs as if they were going to a home,” Kimhan said. “I want them to be pet quality and what people expect out of a pet pig.”

According to Kimhan, potbelly pigs are not high maintenance. They’re shy animals that require food and water, hoof trims, yearly vaccinations and love.

“They have the intelligence of a 3-year-old, so it’s a constant battle to try and outsmart them,” Kimhan said.

If an adoption goes awry, Kimhan requires the owners to bring the pig back to the rescue.

“I have my own microchip system so that if they end up in a shelter, I’ll be notified,” she said. “I just didn’t want pigs to be left behind if their owners got tired of them.”

Kimhan said potbelly pigs can live up to 20 years, but the average lifespan is about 12 to 15. Piglets grow until they’re about 5, and adults weigh an average of 150 pounds.

There is no such thing as a teacup or mini pig, Kimhan said. According to her, owners and breeders starve their pigs to keep them small.

“You can stunt any animal into being small by starving them when they’re young,” She said. “It’s terrible. I mean, would you starve your kid to keep them small?”

Tiffany Benson adopted Cowboy, a supposed micro mini pig, from Kimhan about a year and a half ago.

Kimhan rescued Cowboy when he was a year old because his owners were preoccupied with a family illness.

Weighing more than 180 pounds, Cowboy wasn’t the micro mini pig the breeder promised.

“He was severely obese to the point he would step on his belly,” Benson wrote in an email, “but he has (since) lost a ton of weight and gets along pretty good.”

Kimhan said she prefers to have first-time owners visit her rescue before adopting a pig. That way they can experience how large the pigs become and the holes they dig.

“Pigs root in the dirt because it gives them the vitamins and minerals they need,” Kimhan said. “They’re not being destructive. They’re just doing what pigs do.”

Pork Chop died from cancer in November 2012. It reminds Kimhan every day why she started the organization.

“There is a perfect family for every pig,” she said. “It’s just giving them the safe haven until that perfect one can be found.”

VegasPigPets is hosting a pumpkin and blanket drive. For zoning information or to make a donation, visit vegaspigpets.org or email info@vegaspigpets.org.

Contact Southwest/Spring Valley View reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@viewnews.com or 702-383-0403.