CULTURE

So, Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson Maybe Got a Micro Pig

Cute, we guess?

by Elizabeth Logan

2018 MTV Video Music Awards - Arrivals
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The pop star Ariana Grande and her fiancé, Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson, appear to now be the proud parents of a pig. As in, they maybe adopted a tiny little pig. They have a pet pig now. “Sorry, Ari, can’t stay too long at this afterparty. We have to go home and feed our pig!” is something Davidson might say, someday, for instance.

The pig was first spotted on Grande’s Instagram Stories, which were quickly captured by fan accounts gushing over the (admittedly adorable) animal. Somehow, this pig is actually very good at posing for pictures?

As Elle notes, pet pigs are illegal in New York, where Davidson and Grande live. That article poses a question: “Theirs may be a micro pig. Possible loophole?”

Well, sure, in that you can’t regulate what doesn’t exist. Because the biggest loophole of all is that “micro pigs” aren’t actually a thing.

There is a breed of pig that is smaller than farm pigs. But the idea that they only grow to the size of a small dog is pure fiction. Best Friends, an animal-rescue organization, explains on their website, “There really is no such thing as a teacup pig. So-called teacups are actually potbellied pigs who are either underfed so that their growth is stunted, or who are sold under false pretenses. Because pigs can breed when they are as young as three months old, the parents of a piglet may be piglets themselves; therefore, their size is not an accurate measure of how large their offspring will be in adulthood. Potbellied pigs can grow until they are five years old and reach well over 100 pounds.”

Popular animal advocacy site The Dodo claims that breed names like “teacups, micro minis, royal dandies, Juliana, pixie pigs, pocket pigs, chipmunk pigs, nano pigs,” are “all made-up marketing ploys to part unsuspecting consumers from their money.”

To pig parents, like Grande and Davidson, the site advises, “Expect at least sixty pounds fully grown, but be prepared for a lot more. While sixty pounds may not sound all that large, you’re one very lucky pig parent to get one that small, and remember, that is sixty pounds of pure intelligence and attitude. A pig has a very strong sense of what he wishes to do or where he wishes to go at any given moment, and he also has a strong set of vocal cords to tell you he is displeased.”

Of course, there’s another explanation for all this. While micro pigs might not actually be a thing, therapy pigs are. “They can ease anxiety and panic attacks and improve the symptoms of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in some individuals,” claims the American Mini Pig Association.

So it’s possible the pig in question may not be moving into the Grande-Davidson household full time and was just dropping in to help cheer Grande up.

Related: Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson Are Living in a $16 Million Apartment Furnished With Lawn Chairs

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Courtesy of @arianagrande

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Gotham

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