Blind, Deaf Dog "Piglet" Serves As Outreach To Promote Positive Life Outlooks

By Dean Wright, The Bristol Press

February 21, 2022

Some believe that it’s the small lessons and acts of kindness that make the biggest impacts in the world and a blind, deaf, and pink little dog was a medium for that message at the Bristol Public Library Saturday.

Piglet, named because he is small and mostly pink, was rescued from a hoarding situation a few years ago and adopted by his family in 2017. He has become a symbol to his fans in the lessons of overcoming adversity, having a positive outlook, perseverance and compassion, the Piglet Mindset, they call it. He is a dachshund and chihuahua mix.

Several dozen visitors came to the library to hear his story.

Piglet’s owners and husband and wife duo Warren and Dr. Melissa Shapiro are animal welfare advocates and founded the nonprofit organization Piglet International which is used to promote the Piglet Mindset outreach program. Melissa is a veterinarian. The Shapiro family lives in Westport.

“When we first got Piglet, he was very upset and was carrying on and screaming all the time,” said Melissa. “He was anxious and afraid and didn’t know where he was.”

The veterinarian said the dog attached first to Warren but soon warmed to her with a lot of attentive work. Piglet was slowly introduced to “tap training.”

“I started giving him tap signals,” said Melissa. “When Piglet first came, he needed to learn to sit and that was the first thing I taught him. The way you get a puppy to sit is you hold food above their nose. Their nose goes up and their butt goes down.”

Melissa demonstrated the technique by holding a treat near Piglet’s nose. She soon started tapping him on his back to signal the command for sit.

“Once he knew sit and he knew there was a tap that meant sit, it clicked so then I could teach him other things. He knew I was going to give him other signals,” said the veterinarian.

Warren and Melissa noted that Piglet can get around their home well as he has mapped it in his mind and it doesn’t take him too long to get acquainted with a hotel room. He follows his nose when going in the yard and back to the house and plays tug like any other dog.

Piglet and the rest of his dog family in the Shapiro Household are utilized in an educational program meant to help families and children learn the importance of accepting others with differences and overcoming life’s challenges.

Melissa created social media accounts featuring Piglet’s life and he soon became a viral sensation. He’s been featured on national news and has hundreds of thousands of followers online.

“The crux of Piglet and Piglet Mindset is that Piglet is a very positive individual who faces his challenges in a positive way,” said Melissa.