I recently lost my best friend Arnold in an automobile¹ accident while moving my family to our new home in Arizona. Arnold was an 8-month-old pot belly² who taught me so much about love, devotion and companionship. I am devastated³ by his loss, but thank God daily for blessing⁴ me with the joy of having Arnold for his short life.

Anyone contemplating⁵ a pot belly as a pet should know that if you are a true pet lover and devote yourself to them, a pot belly will make the most wonderful friend. You will be assured of endless hours of fascination⁶ and entertainment as you both grow together in understanding the human/pot belly relationship. Words cannot describe this relationship and it can only be fully⁷ understood by experiencing it.

Arnold didn't know he was a pig -- he thought he was just another member of our family -- modeling his behavior through observing me, my wife, my two daughters and our beagles. He was convinced he was loved by all; and he was, even when he was ornery trying to just get our attention. He learned his name, how to sit and how to use the litter box all in the first week we had him (at 7 weeks old!).

He loved to sleep on your lap as you sat on the couch watching TV. He didn't care if he grew to weigh 45lbs, he still expected you to hoist⁸ him onto your lap at precisely⁹ 8:00 pm every evening where he would fall fast asleep within seconds after snuggling his wet nose between your neck and shoulder. If you didn't respond to his initial "honks¹⁰" letting you know it was his nap time, he would bump your legs with his nose until you picked him up. With his weight as it was, you couldn't hold him all evening as he preferred, so you had to slide him off onto the couch next to you where he would sleep for hours with all four legs and his nose sticking straight up in the air. He would snore as long as he could feel you next to him but would immediately wake up if you tried to leave the couch. We had hours of fun balancing objects like a salt shaker on his flat nose while he slept soundly.

Arnold helped me in all my chores around our five acres in the country. Just being there at my feet, interested in what I was doing made even the most mundane¹¹ tasks enjoyable. When he was out roaming and foraging¹² and you would call out his name, he would come running at top speed, honking¹³ the whole way until he got close to you where he would dodge¹⁴ you, zigzagging¹⁵ around with a few victory roles turning in circles before settling down and calmly walking up to you with his tail wagging as if to say (winking) "hah, got-cha."

He even helped me build a kit¹⁶ aircraft and a customized trailer to haul it around in. I was planning on taking him flying with me some day. He loved to play with my sockets¹⁷ and rolled them around on the shop floor. Just as I would struggle and get frustrated¹⁸ with some difficult task, Arnold would show up underneath¹⁹ the trailer, with his wet nose in my ear and honking -- seeming to say, "take a break and laugh with me for a while, that should make it all better." And it did, every time. God's marvelous creations minister to us in the most special ways if we can just stop for a few moments and observe them. God used Arnold to teach us this very important lesson in life which we will never forget.

My wife and two daughters began to say that Arnold and I were so close that he had become the son that I never had in our family. It seemed that we could no longer have any kind of conversation in our family or with our friends without Arnold being a main topic. The neighborhood kids would make appointments to come visit Arnold and couldn't wait to come over and play with him.

Arnold went most everywhere with us--Pet's Mart, Wal-Mart, birthday parties, Christmas vacation to Grandma's. He loved riding in the car/shopping basket and was a big hit everywhere he went. Arnold had become such an important part of our life that when we found out that our family would have to move to another state, we insisted that the contract on our new house be contingent²⁰ on the homeowners' association approval of Arnold in writing before we would agree to purchasing in our prestigious²¹ neighborhood.

On the day we left our old home town, we had a going away lunch with our friends from church. Everyone there just had to go out to the truck where Arnold and all our other pet were and say goodbye. Arnold trusted me to take care of him and get him to his new home. Tragically²², along the way, the wind blast from a semi knocked our trailers out of control and pushed our truck off a 40' bridge. We lost a big part of our family that day when our pets Arnold, Sweeti and Leanna were killed. I feel terrible for not being able to protect Arnold the way he trusted me to. However, I will be forever grateful for the fond memories of him which I will cherish forever.

Thank you for reading this and allowing me to share some of Arnold's life with you. If you decide that a pot belly is the right choice for you both, I pray that you will be rewarded in the same way my family was with Arnold.

　　在我们搬家到亚利桑那州的途中发生了交通意外，从此我失去了我最好的朋友阿诺德。阿诺德是一只八个月大的宠物猪，是他令我更懂得爱，懂得投入和维系情谊。他的离去令我伤心欲绝，不过我还是常感谢上帝赐予我与阿诺德相处的那段短暂却快乐的时光。

　　凡是考虑想养宠物猪的人都应该知道，如果你真心疼它，全身心地伺候它，小猪就会成为你最棒的朋友。在这个与小猪一起探索相处的过程中，你一定会非常着迷，发现其中有无穷的乐趣。言语是无法描绘这种关系的，只有亲身经历才能充分体会。

　　阿诺德并不知道自己是一只猪，他以为自己就是我们家的一员，所以他会观察模仿我、我太太、我两个女儿还有我家小猎犬的一举一动。他深信我们所有人都爱他，事实的确是这样，就算有时候他会耍脾气来吸引我们的注意力。他来到我们家的第一个星期（7周大的时候）就已经学会了自己的名字，学会了怎么坐，还有怎么用那个小盒子。

　　他喜欢在你坐在沙发上看电视的时候睡在你大腿上。他也不管自己已经长到45磅重，就是要你每天晚上八点准时把他抬到你大腿上来，湿乎乎的鼻子在你的脖子和肩膀之间温存一番后，眨眼功夫这家伙就酣睡起来了。开始的时候他会“鼾鼾”地提醒你他到点休息了，而如果你没反应，他就会用鼻子撞你的脚，直到你把他抱起为止。他倒想一整晚睡在你腿上，但他这么重，你根本是受不了的，所以得把他顺势滑到旁边的沙发上，让他鼻子四脚朝天地呼呼大睡。只要他感觉到你就在他身边，他会放心尽情地打他的呼噜睡他的觉；但是一旦你想走开，他会马上醒过来。他沉睡的时候，我们会玩个游戏，在他那扁鼻子上摆像盐瓶那样的小玩艺而要保持平衡不倒，这样一玩就是几个小时，大家玩得不亦乐乎。

　　在我们那方圆五英亩的乡下地方，我做什么家务杂事阿诺德都会帮我一把。只要他挨在你脚跟，兴致勃勃地看你在忙，就足以让最索然无味的杂务变得有趣起来。他在外面溜达觅食的时候，只要你喊他的名字，他就会以最快的速度朝你奔来，“鼾鼾”地一路叫着，跑到离你不远的地方他又会跟你玩起迷藏来，左转右转地走着，绕着圈，一副凯旋而归的模样，然后才静下来慢慢走到你跟前，摇摇尾巴，好像眨着眼跟你说“哈，总算找到你啦！”

　　他还帮我一起组装了一架小型飞机和一辆运载飞机的特制拖车。我打算哪天把他带上跟我一起飞翔蓝天。他很喜欢玩那些插座零件，在工场里把它们推来推去。每当我为一些高难度的工作伤透脑筋，灰心丧气的时候，阿诺德就会从拖车的下面钻出来，湿乎乎的鼻子伸到我的耳边，“鼾鼾”地似乎在说“休息一会儿，跟我笑一会儿，然后什么事都好办啦！”果真有效，而且每次都行。只要我们能停一停，仔细看看，就会发现上帝绝妙的创造物总以最特别的方式照顾我们。上帝派阿诺德来给我们上了这人生的重要一课，我们毕生难忘。

　　我太太和两个女儿都说阿诺德跟我亲密得就像成了我儿子一样，一个我们家一直缺少的角色。家里聊天或者和朋友聊天都好像离不开阿诺德这个主题。邻居的小孩会预约来我们家，迫不及待要来和阿诺德玩。

　　我们去哪里，阿诺德几乎都跟我们在一起——宠物用品超市、沃尔马超市、生日派对，圣诞假期他还跟我们一起到奶奶家去。他喜欢坐在手推车或者购物篮里，所到之处都大受欢迎。阿诺德已经在我们生活中占据了一个重要的位置，所以当我们要搬到另一个州买房子时，我们都坚持要在合同里附上街坊邻居的联合书面允诺，同意让阿诺德在该区生活，这样我们才会考虑在那些名区里买房。

　　离开老家的那天，我们和教友一起吃了饯行午餐。在场的每个人都走到货柜车旁边，跟里面的阿诺德和我们的其他宠物告别。可悲的是，在路上一辆半拖车呼啸而过，强烈的侧风气流使我们的拖车失控，货柜继而被抛到40英尺的桥下。那天家中成员损失惨重，我们的宠物阿诺德、甜甜和莲娜都离开我们了。阿诺德如此地信任我，我却没法保护他，我真的很难受。不过，我将永远珍藏和他一起的深情片断，感激他带来的这段美好回忆。

　　谢谢你们读这篇文章，让我和你们分享阿诺德的生活点滴。拥有阿诺德，我们得益匪浅，如果你也决定要养只小猪做宠物，那我祝愿你也有一样多的收获。