Mini Pigs

By Michelle Tauber

Update Monday December 07, 2009 01:00 AM EST Originally posted Monday December 07, 2009 01:00 AM EST

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Never one to skip a pet fad, Paris Hilton announced this fall that she had adopted a teacup pig, named Miss Pigelette, from Oregon breeder Patricia Morrisroe. Costing up to $4,500, these little piggies "are almost puppylike," says Morrisroe, who has bred them for 25 years. With no dander to cause allergies and the smarts to use a litterbox, "they're easy to train," adds U.K. breeder Jane Croft, who sold a pair to Harry Potter star Rupert Grint. But critics charge that some petit porkers can grow much larger. "Think sofa with an attitude," says Jodi Ragno, who bought a 2-lb. piglet (from a different breeder) that hit 130 lbs. in four years. Keeping the pig's diet in line—as the breeders advise—was hard because "they're smart enough to throw a screaming piggy fit when they want something," says Ragno, who relocated Hamlet to a petting farm. "He was sweet, but he never stopped growing."

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