FOLSOM, Calif. — Early one morning in February 2021, ABC10 made its way out to Sutter Street in Folsom to interview the owner of the city’s unofficial pig mascot.
Nearly three years later, Winnie the Mini Pig is closing in on her 8th birthday and she’s doing great.
Winnie, a miniature pig, will turn 8 on Jan. 5, 2024. Every year on her birthday she makes her way down to Snooks Candies and Chocolate Factory on Sutter Street to get a strawberry treat with her dog friends, according to owners John and Amber Felts.
The Felts say they got Winnie in 2016 when a friend of theirs bought a second pig in addition to Winnie. The two did not get along.
The couple only signed up to babysit Winnie at first but quickly fell in love with her.
Winnie goes for a walk roughly three days a week, John Felts said. While the two walks during the week may vary depending on when they occur, he says he always walks her between 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday mornings to the Historic District’s farmers market.
The Felts live roughly four blocks away from the market near Figueroa Street and Winnie’s walk is approximately eight blocks round trip.
Vendors at different stands will save her overripe or bruised fruits; among her favorite treats are peaches, apples, carrots and walnuts.
Winnie normally eats one cup of standard miniature pig feed mixed with water in the morning and another at night. She gets snacks and forages in the yard throughout the day.
“She has a room in the garage,” Amber Felts said. “It was an office at one point, but it's her own personal room with a separate entrance.”
She says they rent out their Winnie-themed guest house on their property on Airbnb. It's chock-full of a children’s book, sticker book and artwork centered on the pig.
“If we have people stay there, they want to meet her and get pictures,” she said.
Winnie will sleep roughly 12 hours a day and she sleeps more during cold weather months. During cold weather, she stays in her bedroom and burrows herself in a nest of blankets she made.
Her owners spray the yard down with water and provide Winnie with frozen treats to keep her cool during summer.
“She usually gets up around 7 (a.m.) and demands her breakfast,” John Felts said.
Her demanding includes moving her bowl, moving furniture in the backyard, knocking on the back door with her snout and general grumbling and complaining.
Winnie weighs approximately 200 pounds and rarely travels in the car, her owners said. She travels by car fine but needs a ramp to get in and out of a vehicle, they said.
The Felts say they also let Winnie in the house for brief periods.
“She tends to get herself into trouble if she's in the house too long,” Amber Felts said. “She’s pretty smart and knows we’ll try to get her out of the house if she gets in. We’ll give her a treat then, too.”
Amber Felts says anyone looking to get a miniature pig should be aware caretaking them takes a lot of work. Winnie requires exercise, physical attention and likes belly rubs.
“They live quite a long time (and) a lot of them end up in shelters,” she said. “Do your research. They don’t stay small.”
Winnie has over 2,000 followers on Instagram at @sutterstreetpig.
