Esther was meant to be a 'teacup' pig, but she just never stopped growing...

In 2012, Steve Jenkins was contacted by an old friend asking if he wanted to adopt a micro pig.

Also known as miniature pigs or ‘teacup’ pigs, these little pigs never grow up. At full size, they’ll stand shoulder to shoulder with a small dog. A terrier, for example. They’re intelligent, adorable, and highly responsive to household training.

With that in mind, Steve leapt at the opportunity. By the Winter of 2012, Steve, his partner Derek, and Esther the 1.8 kilogram micro pig were a perfect family.

I was a really cute baby. #ThrowbackThursday

A post shared by Esther The Wonder Pig (@estherthewonderpig) on Jun 22, 2017 at 1:29pm PDT

It’s five years on. And when Esther was meant to stop growing, she simply didn’t. Esther the ‘micro pig’ now weighs 300 kilograms.

Yup. She wasn’t a micro pig at all. Steve and Derek were duped into buying a regular pig. It was just a baby.

A post shared by Esther The Wonder Pig (@estherthewonderpig) on Jun 15, 2017 at 6:03pm PDT

But the pair kept her anyway. By the time they realised she wasn’t a micro pig at all, she was already accustomed to their lifestyle: she was toilet trained; she slept inside on her own bed; and she was inseparable from the family dog, Shelby.

She was no micro pig… so they set up social media accounts on Instagram and Facebook under the name ‘Esther the Wonder Pig’, documenting her daily endeavours.

The accounts took off, and she now has a cult following.

A post shared by Esther The Wonder Pig (@estherthewonderpig) on May 24, 2017 at 12:19pm PDT

According to her ‘Dads’, “Esther is totally housetrained. She asks to go outside, and to come back in when she’s done, just like the dogs do.”

“[She] sleeps on her own bed in our living room overnight.  She spends a lot of time napping on our bed or the couch.  She’s a pig of leisure.”

“She gets bathed every couple weeks in the winter to help keep her skin moisturised and clean. Pigs don’t sweat so she never has a bad body odour.  In the summer she is bathed much more frequently as she roots and digs all day getting her very muddy.”

Esther the Wonder Pig takes one bath every couple of weeks. Maybe that’s enough for children? Listen to Holly Wainwright and Andrew Daddo discuss, on This Glorious Mess. 

After adopting Esther, Derek and Steve began eating a vegan diet.

They write on the website, “Esther made us look at ourselves and what we were supporting every time we spent money on day to day goods which supported animal exploitation and cruelty.”

“We decided we couldn’t do it anymore.  Morally and ethically it made sense [going vegan]. We did it one step at a time and although it was a learning curve we have been able to make the switch quite easily.

A post shared by Esther The Wonder Pig (@estherthewonderpig) on May 23, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

Since adopting Esther, the pair have both quit their full-time jobs to care for her. They’ve also turned their property into a sanctuary for other animals in need.

You can learn more about Esther the Wonder Pig and donate to her cause, here.

Follow Esther on Facebook, here, and on Instagram, here.