Pigstock


	The Garretts, all pig lovers who took their passion online, give new meaning to the phrase "one big happy family." (Photograph by Misha Erwitt)

t began, in 1993, with one pot-bellied pig. But it has grown like a hog on good slop.

Valerie Garrett had thought about adopting a pot-bellied pig for years. So when she and her husband heard on their ham radio that one was available, she just had to check it out. And she went home with piglet, Dallas. It would not be her last.

By the end of 1994, Valerie had taken her passion online, talking swine with about a dozen pot-bellied pig lovers. She'd also set up a pig discussion forum on America Online. In her spare time, she rescued porkers from people who didn't want them.


	Valerie Garrett shares a tender moment with Willie, a pig she adopted after learning on AOL that it faced an uncertain future. (Photograph by Misha Erwitt)

The pigs gather around to listen while Valerie speaks with a prospective pig donor. (Photograph by Misha Erwitt)

Now there is Pigstock.

The first gathering was rather small -- just a few people; the next one, bigger. For the third event, slated for this April, Garrett is expecting between 60 to 80 people. She says the swineophiles gather at Pigstock, to swap pig pictures, tell swine stories and belly-rub the porkers.

http://www.saver.net/~graham/pbp.html