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FLINT, Mich. — Most people have had a bad roommate but a Flint resident is rewriting the book about man's best friend by having a pig as his roommate.
"I have medical problems with a brain aneurysm and stuff like that, but she gets me out, she gets my mind going, she's just fun to be with," said Robert Howe, the owner of Pugsley the pig.
Pugsley is an unlikely roommate coming to the aid of a man in need. She was found just a block away from Robert Howe's home two years ago.
"She just became part of the family; I don't know what I would do without her," Howe said.
However, the city of flint does not allow farm animals in city limits.
"Come to find out she is considered domestic," Howe said.
With good behavior, Pugsley is allowed to stay in Howe's home.
"It's not mean, a lot of people didn't even know it was a pig," said Pugsley's neighbor.
Howe said that Pugsley is just like one of their dogs, and that they even feed her dog food.
She has come like my best friend. Like dog is man's best friend, well she has become one of my best friends.
–Robert Howe
"And as you can see as big as she is it's good for her and she eats lettuce tomatoes and vegetables," Howe said.
Puglsey's domestication has made her a neighborhood celebrity.
"She gives me my exercise because we go for walks everyday," Howe said.
Howe said Pugsley is filling a place is his heart. Before he found her, he wasn't nearly as active and was recovering from health complications.
"She has come like my best friend, like dog is man's best friend, well she has become one of my best friends," Howe said.
And he hopes the feeling is mutual.
"She helps me out and I guess I'm helping her out. She has a place to live and being taken care of," Howe said.
Other residents along Arizona Street said they love old Pugsley and they look forward to her visit everyday.
