Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 14, 1995                   TAG: 9505160063
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK                                LENGTH: Medium

DIETER LESS PORKY; STILL A LAZY SWINE, THOUGH

Pinky Starlight once tipped the scales at 230 pounds. A normal potbellied pig weighs in the 65-to-100-pound range.

Given the pig's girth, Norfolk authorities charged its owner with animal cruelty in November.

As part of a plea bargain, Virginia Hudgins pleaded guilty in General District Court to failure to vaccinate the animal and paid a $25 fine. The city dropped the cruelty-to-animals charge, but gave the woman a year to get her pig's weight down to 100 pounds.

``She's really lazy,'' Hudgins said of Pinky. ``All she likes to do is eat and sleep. She's like a cow.''

The pig has lost about 50 pounds.

Pinky, who'll be 2 years old in July, now gets around a little bit easier. Gone are the rolls of fat that once blocked her sight, and her belly hangs about an inch off the ground instead of scraping it.

``I see some [loss], but then again it's up and down,'' Hudgins said. ``It's no different for this pig to be on a diet than a human being. Pinky is not exactly the athletic type.''

A veterinarian has been monitoring the pig's weight. Pinky is on a diet of exotic pig feed, fresh fruits and leafy green vegetables.

Once in the morning and once at night she's fed one-fourth of a cup of Missouri Exotic Pig Feed. However, she tends to snack - frequently - between meals.

``The thing is, you hate sitting there letting the pig be hungry,'' Hudgins said. ``If someone goes into the kitchen, she's right there, johnny-on-the-spot.''

Hudgins is optimistic about reaching the 100-pound requirement, but said she never really considered Pinky too fat.

``She's not the biggest pig around,'' she said. ``She's petite, she's short and just a little ... wide.''