Ah, the time-honored rituals of the bedtime routine. What kid in his right mind would choose to go to bed without a bedtime story? For Jack the pig, maybe he would indeed enjoy hearing tales about his namesake climbing a beanstalk to battle giants and make friends with geese who have a thing for precious metals. But he has a different agenda come bedtime, one that really rocks his world.
Bedtime snacks.
A while back, the pig caregivers were looking for healthy chew snacks for the pigs, something that would pass the time and keep their teeth clean, but wouldn’t have a lot of calories. They came across the perfect solution: dehydrated sweet potatoes! It’s a chew toy created for dogs, but the pigs think they were designed just for them. Think of the treat as a cross between potato chips and rawhide. These things are super tough. Most dogs, truth be told, lick them for a while until they soften up enough for chewing on.
Not Jack, though. He crunches them like crackers. He loves these things, and so do the other pigs. Good thing they’re healthy. They come in mighty handy for training, too.
Anyway, Jack has developed a new routine lately that he feels must be strictly observed. Simply put, he gets three sweet-potato bedtime snacks at the end of the day. Period. If he receives fewer than three (yeah, he counts ’em), Jack refuses to go to bed. He’ll stand there and stare up at his caregivers in shock and dismay. "What are you trying to do? You know the rules!"
It’s a good thing there are plenty to go around. Patrice Snook of Snookdog.com, the company that creates these little slices of paradise, has been donating them to the pigs at Best Friends. Patrice, from all the pigs at the sanctuary, thanks a ton for your generosity. Without you, poor Jack would’ve become an insomniac for sure!
Story by David Dickson
Photo by Gary Kalpakoff
What other goodies are the animals wishing for? Check out their online wish list!
