Growing up, Jacob Gamble and his brother raised a few hogs each year on his family’s sheep farm in Southern Oregon. Every summer, they took the hogs to the county fair to show them and then sold them.
“Pigs became my favorite animal,” said Gamble, a 39-year-old investment manager.
Today, Gamble has a pig for an entirely different reason: emotional support.
Last summer, Gamble brought home a 6-week-old Juliana mini-pig that, with the help of his friends, he named Ruxin. Gamble decided to get Ruxin to not only serve as a pet but to also help him cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, the result of childhood experiences. Gamble has also been diagnosed with depression.
“Having clinical depression and taking medication for it, (Ruxin) works better for me,” Gamble said.
Ruxin is a registered emotional support animal, which is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefits to its owner. Unlike service animals, emotional support animals are not trained to perform certain services or tasks for their owners. Instead, their companionship provides mental health benefits, such as mitigating the symptoms of the person’s disorder.
For Gamble, Ruxin provides a reason to get out of bed and out of their downtown Vancouver condo.
Gamble also has chronic pain stemming from spinal surgeries. That pain has manifested itself as daily migraines. Some days, when the pain is too severe, Gamble will vomit.
Those days, Ruxin lies on the bathroom floor at Gamble’s feet until the nausea subsides.
“He keeps me moving on days where I might otherwise stay in bed until 3 p.m. on a Saturday or Sunday,” Gamble said.
Their daily routine
Ruxin, who sleeps in bed with Gamble, wakes up at 5:30 a.m. ready for breakfast. When it’s time for Gamble to head to work, he gives Ruxin a carrot. The treat keeps the 10-month-old pig from trying to escape out the door with him. Ruxin, who now weighs about 26 pounds, is litter-box-trained and spends most of his day snoozing on a heating pad in his crate.
When Gamble returns in the evening, Ruxin is ready for dinner. Then, Gamble puts a harness on Ruxin, attaches the retractable leash, and the pair head outside.
“We’ll go on a 20-minute excursion,” Gamble said. “We might only make it 10 feet.”
In the fall, when acorns cover the ground, Ruxin is more interested in foraging and snacking than walking. But in the summer, when there’s not much to snack on, Ruxin will walk for several blocks.
Ruxin has certain spots he likes to visit — the stretch of sidewalk with lush green weeds, the playground with apples and other goodies buried in the bark chips — and, when he’s having a good time, he squeals in protest when Gamble tries to make him return home.
“He’s a perpetual 3-year-old,” Gamble said.
Conversation starter
Emotional support animals are not afforded the same rights to public accommodation as service animals. Restaurants and other businesses, for example, are not required to allow support animals inside.
But Ruxin has been welcomed inside countless businesses in the downtown area, as well as those in other Northwest cities, Gamble said. He goes into Starbucks when Gamble wants to grab a coffee. He sits under the table at restaurants when Gamble eats dinner.
And everywhere they go, Gamble gets lots of second looks, and then questions, about Ruxin.
“Is that a pig?” Yes.
“How big will he get?” About 50 pounds.
“How long will he live?” About 20 years.
“Does he like to cuddle?” Yes, but only with Gamble.
“What do you feed him?” Pig food. Just like dogs eat dog food, pigs eat pig food.
For a person who sometimes likes to be closed off from others, Gamble has had to get used to all of the extra attention. But the experiences have taught Gamble to be patient, even toward the strangers who holler at the pair from across the park, demanding to pet Ruxin.
Ruxin likes people but, like any animal or person, can become overwhelmed by people crowding around him. He likes to play, either having Gamble chasing him around the living room or searching for carrots hidden in dog toys. He also likes to lie on Gamble’s lap while they watch TV in the evening.
Ruxin gives kisses for treats. He has snorts and squeals that mean different things. And he wears guilt on his face when he’s been naughty — one of several emotions Ruxin displays.
“Which now makes me feel bad I had so many hogs slaughtered growing up,” Gamble said.
But, unlike those hogs on the farm, Ruxin has become more than an animal to raise, he’s become a companion.
“He’s my boy,” Gamble said.
