Faces of the Midwest: Brutus the Mini Pig

Meet Brutus, the charming Mini Pig with a heart as big as the Midwest! See how this adorable AMPA certified Therapy Pig is stealing hearts and rocking the cutest outfits every day. 🐷 💖

A Pig in Goggles Blowin’ Up My Feed

Hey, it’s Kitty! 😸 👋

Jack and I are pleased to start by introducing you to Brutus The Mini Pig – a helpful cutie from Wisconsin that delights all ages wherever he goes. This is a first ever for us – my interview with a pig!

Okay. Seeing a pig getting gas at Kwik Trip wasn’t on my bingo card for this year. Especially one wearing goggles.

Goggles. On a pig!

OMGGG!

I know you may think I’m fuh-reaking out for no reason, but it’s the little things that are actually BIG things. Work with me here, please. 😹

Long story short, I apparently wasn’t the only one who noticed the goggle-wearing pig at our local Kwik Trip here in Winona, Minnesota.

The pig who had stolen my heart was blowing up the local Winona Instagram feed, and everyone was trying to find out who this adorable little oinker is. Turns out his name is Brutus and he’s making a big difference as a certified AMPA Therapy Pig!

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down for an exclusive interview with Brutus (and his Ma Jancee) to get to know the man behind the snout. 🐽

He spills the tea about his life, his work and those amazing OOTDs! 🎩 👕

Interview With Brutus the Mini Pig

😺 Brutus, when you were a little piglet, did you always know you wanted to be a therapy pet when you were all grown up?

🐷 Oink! Good thing we pigs have pigcellent memories so I can thoink back to when I was just a wee little piglet!

I always had a feeling that I was sort of a pig deal – destined for something greater than just wallowing in the perfect mud puddle, or napping in the blissful sun, or grazing until my little belly was satisfactorily content enough to allow for another extended nap.

I was really just hopeful that my future would somehow allow for me to live in the Hooman house full time. Little did I know that I would be out and about meeting so many people, educating them all about pigs and putting a huge smile on their faces!

Being a Therapy Pet

😺 Did your mom see something in you that made her realize you’d be really good at being a therapy pet?

🐷 My Ma says I have a very chill and laid-back personality which, I guess, makes me a great therapy piggy! Plus, I don’t have anxiety or get nervous taking long rides in the Jeep.

😺 How did you become an AMPA certified therapy pet?

🐷 I had to learn and complete a bunch of specific training skills. They were all pretty easy for me, but the hardest was “Leave it”. This is where my Ma purposely put a treat down right in front of me and I couldn’t eat it until she told me I could.

How rude is that?!?!

Telling a pig they can’t eat a yummy morsel of sustenance while being just a few hoof steps away is just not right! It was pure torture, but somehow, I managed to overcome and conquer this task!

In addition to my training, my Ma also had to take Hooman training.

She learned all about animal handling and the animal-human bond and tons of pig facts to set people straight. I mean, why do people like to say “I’m sweating like a pig”—pigs don’t even have sweat glands. Grunt, grunt!

Let’s Talk Fashion!

😺 What’s been your favorite OOTD (outfit of the day) that you’ve worn so far?

🐷 OMP (Oh My Pig)!!! This is a tough one!

I really like all of my outfits! If I’m doing a visit, I will always try to be festive and dress for the season or holiday or event theme. I love to be stylish as well as a trend setter.

Some people give my Ma a hard time cause they think I don’t like getting dressed up and they assume it must be against my will, but pigscuse me, have you heard the term “Pig Headed”?

Well, it is very true.

We pigs can be extremely stubborn and if we don’t like something or don’t want to do something, we won’t. So if I didn’t want to wear something, trust me— it wouldn’t be on!

I love my Army uniform. My rank is a 3 star snooter, which means I’m a VIP (Very Important Piggy).

And then I have my construction uniform with tool belt and hardhat, police uniform, prisoner uniform with ball and chain. I also have a custom made tuxedo, and a jean jacket outfitted with a bunch of really cool patches. Oh, and I have tons of pigsome hats, bow ties, other shirts, jackets and coats.

I have so many outfits that I’m starting to “hog” all the closet space! My Ma has been making some of my clothing and costumes, but she also has things custom made by some pigtabulous Hoomans (fun fact- they are also pig parents, which is probably why they know how to make things fit a piggy body so well).

A huge Squeal out to Snortlife, Cozy Comfort Mini Piggy & Dog, Boopies Closet, and numerous shops on Etsy where my Ma purchases bowties and other accessories.

I can tell you about the one thing I wasn’t a pig fan of – jeans! The fit wasn’t right at all, plus it really made by butt look fat- not something a pig would want to enhance if ya get my snort! And so, needless to say, there were no jeans worn then or since!

Barbie and Ken Vibes

😺 We loved seeing you guys dress up as Barbie and Ken. I think you look cuter than Ryan Gosling! What was it like dressing up as this iconic duo?

🐷 Squeeeeaaaaal! Thoink you so much for the compigment! Ryan Hogsling (errrr I meant to oink Gosling) is quite a ham.

I really wasn’t aware what a pig deal it was to “be Ken”, but my Ma told me all about how she played with Barbies when she was a little girl, and how her mother even had Barbies, too! My Hooman Grandma actually had the original, iconic Barbie with the Black and White swimsuit.

I tried to convince my Ma to wear that Barbie outfit as her costume, but she said “Umm. That’s definitely a hard NO,” and “it will be way too cold not wearing any pants”! I was like jeez, take it easy. It was just a hog-gestion. I seem to get along just fine never wearing any pants!

OOL (Oink Out Loud)!

My Ma made me the coolest Ken visor hat and I also wear a wig that she made to look like Ken’s plastic hair—it’s all about the details my Ma says! I prefer to say it’s all about the treats! OOL (Oink Out Loud)!

The Whole Pig Fam!

😺 Do you have brothers and sisters? Do you all get along or is there sometimes bickering?

🐷 Currently, I have 3 sister pigs and 6 brother pigs. They aren’t my “real” brothers and sisters, we all have different moms and dads, but like me, they all found themselves needing a new home and my Ma said come on over – or something like that.

Most of us were re-homed because our original pigrents thought they were getting a “Teacup” or “Micropig” that the breeders promised would stay super tiny.

But that was a lie!

There is no such thing as a “Teacup” piggy. They are just baby pigs that grow up! So when we literally started growing up, we were getting to be too big and too much to handle. My pig siblings and I are the lucky ones to have found my Ma and Pigdad.

Sanctuaries and Rescues are overflowing and many pigs just end up getting dumped out in the wilderness or even worse – GASP! – go to someone that does not have good intentions, and that’s all I’m going to say about that!

So if you think you want a pet pig—PU-LEASE!!!! Do your research!!!

NO! We do not all get along!

There’s this word my Ma uses to describe our piggy dynamics. She says pig herds have a “hierarchy”. So there is also a “Top Hog” or boss pig. This would be Penelope. She is basically in charge and then the pecking order is set down from there.

We all have our own unique and individual personalities. I am not a dominant piggy and I do not like conflict. I guess this is why I am on the very bottom of the hierarchy list. To make sure that I haven’t forgotten this, the other pigs will push me around and steal my treats or my napping spot.

Sometimes they even nip me on the butt too!

I’m not the only one that gets picked on though. My brothers and sisters will constantly remind each other who is dominant over the other, except Penelope, nobody really messes with her because they don’t want to see her “beast mode” come out.

But as the Top Hog, she also has the responsibility to protect the herd, which she does the bestest job! But don’t feel sorry for me being last on the pecking order.

I get to stay in the Hooman house, sometimes even sleeping in the Hooman’s bed, snuggling with my Ma (My Pigdad refuses to sleep next to me, so he’ll go out on the couch. Oh well, more room for me!).

And then I get to do all my therapy adventures which I admit, I do get a lot of pigstastic, special treats that the others don’t get!

Midwest Munchies…Let’s Talk Food!

If you’re like Brutus and you enjoy a good Midwest Munchie, be sure to visit our food blog. Note: it’s written for humans not pigs! Hehe. 😜

😺 What’s your favorite food?

🐷 Snort! I LOVE ice creams!

I especially love getting a single scoop of vanilla at the Culver’s drive thru! Did you know that pigs have more taste buds than Hooomans?

Yup, and we can differentiate between sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, etc. We generally prefer the sweet stuff, but the one thing we need to be careful of is salt. We can get really sick as too much sodium is toxic for piggies.

There are sooo many other things that I also love, but it’s probably easier for me to list what I don’t like! I hate bananas! I don’t like the texture- nothing slimy or mushy!

If there’s even the teeny-tiniest bit of slimy stuff on a piece of cantaloupe or pumpkin (ya know that gross stuff where the seeds are) I will spit it out! Gross!

I do love grass, but I will not eat any other sort of leafy salad-like stuff. It’s a nope for lettuce, spinach, those dandelion looking fancy salad greens.

Nope, nope, nope.

But I’ll graze on a good patch of crabgrass all day long! So yes, us pigs can be picky eaters! Did you know we can even eat chocolate? Sorry doggos – it’s not toxic for us pigs!

A Day in the Life of a Pig Celeb

😺 What’s a typical day in the life of a famous therapy pig? Can you tell readers a little about what you do in a typical day?

🐷 I am definitely not a morning piggy!

I will get up early when my Ma gets up at like 5am and will go outside when the dog and one of the other pigs goes out to potty, but I don’t go potty myself. Nope, I just accept the treat and run back in and go back to bed.

I will sleep until maybe 10 or 11 or sometimes even noon.

Usually my Ma makes me get up before that to actually go potty, and then I get breakfast or maybe it’s more like brunch. Oh, I just thought of something: I should get a breakfast, a brunch and a lunch – making note of this for later.

Anyway, shhh…don’t mention this to my Ma. She is already on to me about other things.

She likes to tell other Hoomans how manipulative we pigs can be! Manipulative?!? No-way, I compigly disagree. We are just very resourceful when it comes to obtaining as many meals and snack times as hogsible.

Okay, I got distracted thinking about snackies!

So, after I “officially” wake up, I go potty. If it’s nice outside, I will hang out and graze for a bit – or at least try to.

My Ma usually puts me in the fenced pig area which she has rudely nicknamed “The Diet Zone” so that she can control how much grass I get to eat. The diet zone no longer has any grass, because some pigs decided to eat it all!

I also don’t really like to be in the diet zone for long. ‘Cause even though there are nice outdoor beds and little igloo huts to nap or hang out in, my pig brothers and sisters never leave me be.

So when I’m ready to leave I will stand at the gate and wait ,and wait, and wait until my Ma lets me out. Sometimes I will get the zoomies and run around all silly. It makes my Ma laugh, but I only do this when she doesn’t have her phone out to record me! No way I’m letting her post these embarrassing moments!

So after that, I usually follow her back into the house where I will sprawl out on my bean bag bed. I especially like it when the sun shines in through the window on to my potbelly. If I’m not feeling the bean bag, I will hibernate in my cozycave bed – it’s supposedly made for dogs, but I’m pretty sure they were actually thinking of us pigs!

If I get disturbed at all during naptime, I must be compigsated with a snackie! Pretty sure that’s a legitimate rule in the book of “How to Care for a Pet Pig”!

When I was younger, I would run around and get into a lot of mischief but now that I turned 5, I am currently pigfecting the art of being lazy! But this is only cause I never know when my Ma might spring some new training of a new trick on me or practice some of the oldies. If I see my Ma bring in one of my harnesses, I know I gotta get my therapy game face on cause we are getting ready to provide our THERAPiggy services!

I do like to go to bed early, especially after filling up my belly. Plus the sooner I go to bed, the sooner the next day will arrive (and breakfast) and I get to do it all over again!

Life in the Midwest is… Pigtastic!

😺 What’s your favorite thing about living in the Midwest?

🐷 Well, it’s the only place I know. So, I guess I’d have to say the change of seasons! I love the smells of each.

Did you know that us pigs have a sense of smell that is over 2000 times stronger than a Hoomans? Right now I am thoroughly enjoying the smells of Fall. The crisp leaves fresh on the ground, the cooling breezes, the smell of pumpkin spice. That reminds me, I need to tell my Ma I want “pumpkin spice something” for a snack later.

😺 You seem to travel often… can you tell us about how you get from place to place? (We’ve seen a cool Jeep with a space set up just for you! Do you always wear goggles when you travel?)

🐷 I have a ramp that I use to get into the back of the Jeep Wrangler.

My Ma recently made me a platform inside the Jeep to make it easier to look out the back windows. I’m a little vertically challenged and I’d just sink down too far with the cushions that I had. I let my Ma know how displeased I was with this by chewing off the rubber window trim.

Don’t judge me .

It was really uncomfortable having to use my chinny chin chin to boost my head out the window. So, I just had to take matters into my own hooves to get my Ma’s attention in order to correct the problem. It’s not like I can complain to an HR (Hog Relations. OOL!)

I like to wear my goggles cause they do protect my eyes from the wind and keep them safe in the event any bugs or other road shrapnel would whack me in the eye! I just love the feeling of the air flowing through my hairs at 70 plus MPH! Safety first- besides my goggles, my harness is also tethered to an interior zipline to prevent me from going too far out the window, and I can’t jump in my Ma’s lap or try to steal the snackies that she always has on the front passenger seat.

Trust me, I’ve tried.

Brutus Shares His Fave Travel Spots in the Midwest

😺 Since we focus on travel, I’m wondering what some of your favorite places are here in the Midwest? Do you have any hidden tips for restaurants or fun things to do in the area?

🐷 If you are a fan of outdoor fun, I would highly suggest checking out the many activities at Pine View Campground and Whitetail Ridge Ski Area, Fort McCoy, WI (see below for lots more pigformation). It’s Located between Sparta and Tomah, right off HWY 21 and is completely open to the public, year-round.

Discover the outdoors and scenic Fort McCoy – and you might just see me, Brutus the Mini Pig, visit from time to time for special events.

Pine View Campground

A family-friendly campground located a quarter-mile west of Fort McCoy. Featuring 170 campsites, as well as cabins, yurts and travel trailers available for rent by the day or week. Picnic and playground areas, showers, restrooms, camp store, laundry facilities and an LP fill station are provided for campers. Visitors will enjoy swimming, boating, and fishing on Suukjak Sep Lake.

Whitetail Ridge Ski Area

Fantastic winter fun December through March. Learn to ski or snowboard! Lessons offered for patrons of all ages! Downhill slopes offer a vertical drop of 185 feet. A self-loading T-bar will get you to the top of the hill in no time. For snowboarders there’s a terrain park with 15 features. Grab a tube and head down one of the 8 runs! The 837’ long slope is sure to thrill! The tubing area is equipped with a Magic Carpet conveyor lift making the journey up the hill relaxing. Whitetail Ridge has scenic groomed trails for cross country skiers and snowshoers alike.

Paintball and Laser Tag

Tactics Paintball and Laser Tag are located at Whitetail Ridge. Featuring 3 outdoor courses (1 woods course and 2 field courses) including a unique 2-story castle constructed from railroad ties.

Conclusion

😺 Using only three words, describe the life of Brutus.

🐷 I would say…Eat, Sleep, Repeat. My Ma would say…Intelligent, Inspirational, Ambassador. My Pigdad would say…Sasshole, Famished, Do-gooder.

Connect with Brutus the Mini Pig

You can become an online pal of Brutus by visiting his socials: Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. He also loves getting fan mail! Click here to email Brutus.

Gallery of Brutus Pigtures!