This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "How to Be a Good Creature" by Sy Montgomery. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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How did one pig build a community for Sy Montgomery? Do you know how pets can improve your social life?
Not only can pets build a bond between animals and humans, but they can help form connections between humans and humans. Just look at Sy Montgomery’s pet pig, Christopher, who opened her up to new friends.
Discover how a 750-pound pig gave Sy Montgomery long-lasting friendships.
The Story of Christopher the Pig
Montgomery’s pet pig—Christopher Hogwood— is an example of how pets can improve your social life. He gave her a wealth of love, family, and community that she’d never experienced before. Chris was the runt of his litter, and Montgomery and her husband got him from a farmer close to their New Hampshire home. From the beginning, he had a boisterous, friendly personality. Montgomery became enamored with him.
(Shortform note: Chris’s outgoing personality represented his species well—pigs are generally friendly, curious, and intelligent animals. They’re skilled communicators, with over 20 distinct sounds they use to convey messages to each other (and to their human companions). They also have excellent memories, and they can learn complex commands.)
Chris’s open and loving personality helped Montgomery build a network of new friends. Chris enjoyed meeting new people, so he often broke out of his enclosure to visit the surrounding neighbors. By the time Montgomery arrived to lead him back home, the people he visited were always delighted by Chris. These interactions gave Montgomery a perfect entry point to get to know people—everyone was happy to talk about Chris.
(Shortform note: A lot of experts’ advice aligns with Montgomery’s experience that pets can help you make new friends. One study found that people with pets were 60% more likely than people who didn’t have pets to form new connections with others in their neighborhood. In particular, people who walked their dogs were more likely to have started a friendship because they connected with someone through their pet.)
Soon, Montgomery and Howard began inviting people to bring Chris their leftover food and watch him eat. She and Howard developed a particularly close relationship with a single mom who lived with her two daughters next door. The girls visited Chris often, and they became surrogate daughters for Montgomery and Howard, who didn’t have children of their own. Because of the love that Chris extended to everyone he met, Montgomery gained a nontraditional family. He showed her that family isn’t just based on having the same blood—or being the same species—and home is where you’re loved and accepted.
(Shortform note: The kind of family Chris helped Montgomery create is often called a chosen family. Many people who have difficult relationships with their blood relatives seek support and connection from friends. They form kinship groups that aren’t based on biology or the people who raised them—in other words, they choose a new family group. The term originally came from the LGBTQ community, but anyone may create a chosen family when their biological family doesn’t meet their needs.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full How to Be a Good Creature summary:
- Lessons about life and love that naturalist Sy Montgomery learned from animals
- How to appreciate animals and people in new ways
- How to be more curious, compassionate, friendly, and loving
