Penelope “Peanut” Louise Hoke
By Tori (Smith) Hoke
If you would have asked me at any point before August 2023 if I’d have a pet pig, I would have probably laughed. Do I love them, yes! However, having my very own was never a dream of mine. Fast forward to today, I live with three dogs and one pig in the mountains of Colorado……in a cabin. (Also, never something I thought would be my life.)
In the summer of 2020, a cute pig came to live in our small mountain neighborhood. Her name was Peanut and she’d stop by our cabin almost every day. I started letting her in and soon she was napping for hours. Three years later, her family was moving and it was just obvious that she’d stay with us. Plus she loved the mountains too much to leave.
She’s now been with us for two years and just celebrated her 9th birthday on December 1st. Peanut is definitely in charge here. She keeps her dog sisters in line. Peanut sleeps in a toddler bed with a heated blanket, she potties outside and she gets three meals a day (including a fresh salad at lunchtime). She spends her days asking for snacks, napping, and going on walks. She truly is a great pig. She doesn’t get into things she shouldn’t, she’s gentle to new people that meet her, and she loves a good belly rub.
She mostly prefers me, but will give my husband a kiss for a snack. She’s just like having a toddler in the house. She is sweet but also sassy and always she does what she wants. She loves almost every food except celery, unless it’s cooked. And she loves laying in the sun or next to the wood stove for heat. Sometimes she stalls out whenever she walks into a sunny spot, and we all have to move around her.
I don’t know if another pig is in my future, but I love having Peanut. She makes me very happy.
Below is a collection of Tori’s Facebook posts
March 2, 2021
The day after National Pig Day, I got to spend some time with our neighbor pig…Peanut. She enjoyed the sunshine and several carrots!
July 3, 2021
Peanut came over to say hi this morning.
July 5, 2021 ·
Found a little potato napping out back in the sun. Peanut!
August 17, 2021
Just some Tuesday morning Peanut time.
June 8, 2022
July 2, 2022
Lunch with Peanut
July 3, 2022 ·
My #1 goal the last few days was to get Peanut to nap at my house. Look!!!!! We are also pig-sitting her tonight.
July 22, 2022 Never in my life did I see myself living in a cabin in the mountains and taking naps with a pig. Pretty cool!! She steals my soft blanket now
July 30, 2022
Saturday with Peanut
July 31, 2022
Meet the new neighbor dog, Stella. She is Jimi and Peanut’s sister. They are hanging out with us!
September 8, 2022
It’s big enough.
October 21, 2022
Made Peanut muffins today. She helped clean up.
November 21, 2022 These two……
November 26, 2022
Peanut “helping” Tori decorate for the holidays.
December 2, 2022
Yesterday was Peanut’s 5th birthday! I wasn’t home and missed it, so today I made her a birthday salad!! Happy birthday Peanut!
March 1, 2023
#nationalpigday gotta celebrate our favorite pig!
April 2, 2023
Enjoying all of our Peanut time this weekend. She’s been very cuddly.
August 2, 2023
Peanut in the garden
August 26, 2023
I am very excited to make this announcement today. Many of you know Peanut and I post about her all the time. She was our neighbor that came over often for treats!! Well, things in Peanut’s life have changed, good discussions happened and it was decided that Peanut would now call our cabin home. I am honored to tell you all that Peanut is now a Hoke. Penelope Louise Hoke
September 1, 2023
Took Peanut to the vet today. She got vaccinated, hoof trim and an exam (I have no good photos from the vets office). She did amazing! Really amazing! I was pretty stressed about it but she did better than Pedro ever did. We learned stuff about Peanut and learned how to make these trips easier. Definitely need a kennel with wheels!! She’s 91 lbs!! She also got her first pig cup from Starbucks!! Now she’s resting in her favorite spot.
October 9, 2023
Had the absolute privilege of meeting Aunt Mary today. She’s my friend Patty’s aunt. She loves pigs and tomorrow is her 97th birthday. She loved Peanut and Peanut loved her. Happy Birthday Aunt Mary.
October 18, 2023
Harness update. It’s on. That’s all!! She hates it but……
November 12, 2023
Peanut is enjoying this sunny Sunday. She says it’s perfect.
January 2, 2024
Peanut got a new sweater, that fits!! But she’s mad and running away from home.
January 23, 2024
Another walk in the snow.
June 8, 2024
Poor little Peanut. She was limping this morning and her foot above her hoof was slightly swollen. We finally got her to relax and lay on her side so we could check her out. We found a pea size rock clear up in her foot between her hooves. Heath pulled it out and now we are just hoping it all heals easily.
We are still trying to find a regular vet that sees pet pigs, it’s not easy. I just hope this issue is over without needing anything more.
August 26, 2024
On #nationaldogday we celebrate Peanut’s anniversary of becoming a Hoke. It’s been one year of her being officially ours. We love this silly pig so much and she makes us laugh every day. She is also sassy and very opinionated! Yay to one year.
March 21, 2025
Peanuts Life: I know I’ve posted many pictures of Peanut sleeping but thought I’d share a bit more about the specifics. Peanut sleeps in this spot for bedtime and most naps (which is most of the day and night). She decides where her bed is and if I move it she will let me know it’s not ok. She’ll stand in the spot I moved it from and won’t get in bed until I move it back. She also had a different bed I bought just for her and she used it for a bit. Then she decided she preferred a different bed. There are 5 blankets that make her bed, besides her chosen dog bed. One blanket is heated. There are two pillows, they have soft sherpa covers. Then, her many crinkle toys. She doesn’t really play with them but likes to crinkle with her nose. She also moves them around. Peanut will sleep through the night but many nights she wakes up a few times, gets out of bed and I have to get up and tuck her back in. My theory is that her heated blanket shuts off and she needs it turned back on.
Anyway, Peanut is a princess and I just want her to be cozy.
June 1, 2025
Peanut sleep update! For a while now I have been thinking and looking for a toddler bed for Peanut. I wanted cute and cheap. I also knew that Peanut hates change. Most things we get for her she doesn’t really like. Layne found this bed that someone was giving away, so it seemed safe to try. We finally made it up to her place to grab it. I really thought it could possibly take days to get her used to it. I assumed she’d just go sleep in another bed. It took about 20 minutes, some sniffing and enticing treats…..she got up in it and settled in. I’m sure the heated blanket helps. It’s the first night but so far so good. I just hope she doesn’t fall out of bed. Thank you Layne!
June 6, 2025
Morning update: she got up at 3am, didn’t fall out of bed. Refused to get back into the bed so we made a bed by the bed. It was 3am and that’s all I could manage. I’ve encouraged her into the bed again this morning with treats. I think we just keep trying.
Second night update: when she woke up last night (I honestly think she wakes up when the heated blanket turns off ) she walked around a bit and I was able to get her back into the bed. She’s gotten into bed once now without treats. I feel like the bed is a success!!
It was a day!!! Peanut had a scheduled hoof trim this afternoon. Which is great until the road washed out Tuesday. The people come to the house to do it which is also great but the road situation made things challenging. We decided to find a place in town to just make it easier for everyone, except Peanut. We secured a location, thank you Donna Moore and family for the use of your garage.
Peanut did what Peanut does and screamed the whole time, I’ll spare you that video. Overall she was a champ and was a good girl. We ran a few errands, picked up groceries and that lady was so excited to see Peanut. She fed her a carrot and took some pictures. Then home but not until we sat at the gate for over an hour. Without details, it was a key issue. Anyway, I’m so glad to be home I may never leave. Oh yeah, Kelly fell off the side of the road.
August 26, 2025
Happy 2-year anniversary of Peanut making the Hoke Cabin her forever home.
December 1, 2025
Today is our sweet Peanut’s 9th birthday! She got a new sweater, new bedding, a fun puzzle, snowy walk, extra on her lunch and Apple/pear crisp with pumpkin parfait on top! I think she liked everything!!
Happy birthday Peanut
Twister
By Roger Eaton
If there’s one thing that your mother can say that will keep you awake, it’s, “Get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow.” That’s what my mother said to my sister, Maggie, and me one spring evening. Big day? A hint of a “Big Day” left us to wonder what that would be. It would have been pointless to ask her what she meant by a big day. She would have said something like, “You’ll see if you behave.” Intrigue like that doesn’t promote sleep. Eventually, we both drifted off. The next day, we were eager to find out what she meant by a big day.
After a hurried breakfast, we hopped into the car and headed for the country. After an eternity on gravel roads, we turned into the driveway of a farmhouse. I think they were friends of my mother. We still had no clue of what to expect. We were met by several dogs. Maggie and I were as excited to see the puppies as they were to see us. Little did we know that one of the puppies would be coming home with us.
After a brief discussion between the farmer’s wife and our mother, we loaded up our new puppy. He was a beautiful collie. When we arrived at home, the new puppy was jumping and twisting as he jumped. He seemed to be excited and happy to be with us. Maggie and I agreed that he should be called Twister. So, he became Twister and the joy of our lives. A popular television program during that time was Lassie. It was about a collie dog named Lassie. That made collies popular. I don’t remember watching any Lassie episodes, though.
The (old) Stone House was located directly behind our dad’s grocery store, Quickway. It had a large lot with no other houses nearby. Twister had plenty of room to run. Our days in the Stone House became numbered when part of the plaster ceiling crashed down on our brother Matt. Maggie and I were watching the small black and white television with him in the TV room. Shortly after that, we moved to a different house.
At the new house, Maggie and I spent mornings playing on the front porch with Twister. He was the calmest and happiest dog that ever walked the earth. We also learned that he was very protective of us.
One sunny morning, we were playing on the from porch when the mailman, yes, we called them mailmen back then. Instead of placing the mail in the mailbox as usual, he approached us to see Twister. Twister didn’t like his deviation from his normal path to the mailbox. Without warning, Twister lunged at the postal carrier and bit his leg.
A few days later, my mother found a new home for Twister. It was a sad time for us. Several years later, we had moved to Knoxville, Iowa. A letter arrived one day that was addressed to our house on Emporia Street in El Dorado. The post office had to resend it to our Iowa address. There was a note on the envelope, “Hello, from dog bite.”
Gus’ Tale
By Megan Conger
Gus was a Shih Tzu. He was very sweet and very well behaved. He had a lazy eye when we bought him and of course the vet said it would correct on its own. Later I took him to see my neighbor who was a dog ophthalmologist and after running tests, he determined Gus had been blind since birth!
As he got older, Gus got really neurotic and developed an insane fear of wind and storms. So much so that I had to hire dog sitters to stay with him during the days storms were predicted.
Finally, I had a dog therapist (she had a PhD in psychology and she and her husband were dog trainers) evaluate him. It was decided Gus needed three weeks of inpatient therapy at the trainers’ home. $$$
It helped Gus for several years but then he stopped eating. I cooked him his own food, bought the meats people eat, made sure he had plenty of red bell peppers and carrots which were his favorite. But he kept starving himself and eventually our vet said he was suffering, would get worse, and would be painful. So we had to say goodbye to Gus, who was affectionately called Gus Gus.
When we initially went to the pet store, a younger puppy was put in Gigi’s lap but he was too rambunctious. So the vet’s wife who ran the store picked up Gus for Gigi to try out. (Gus was on sale because he was older than the other puppies). Gus curled up in Gigi’s arms and gently licked her hands. Gigi, who was 9 yo, looked at me and said, “Oh Mama! He’s perfect!” And for us, he was.
Trivia: why was he named Augustus, Gus for short? Because if Gigi had been a boy, she was going to be named Augustus and called Gus. So I got to name the dog.
He was a mess. A very expensive mess. We got him at a pet store owned by two veterinarians so we thought it would be ok. Then I did a deep dive into the dog’s breeder and pulled her USDA reports and found out she had more than 900 dogs. I made an appointment with the vet and in his exam room I told him he misrepresented the dog. I told him Gus (dog’s name) was a puppy mill dog. He had the gall to say “We prefer to call them commercial breeders.” I told him I didn’t give a shit what he called them, I want my money ($1,500) back. He said then do I get the dog back? And I said “Hell no! I’m not selling him back. You are paying me because you lied. And if you don’t pay, I’ll make you famous.” He paid.
Two weeks later, I called him. I had donated all the money to an organization that fights puppy mills. When he came on the phone he said “What’s wrong!” I said “Oh nothing is wrong I just wanted to tell you what I did with your money. I donated it to a non-profit who fights to stop puppy mills and people like you who sell those dogs. There’s your karma and have a crap day!”
I still remember that conversation. I would also stand outside his location down my street about five blocks and tell people they sold puppy mill dogs and not to patronize and support people like that. Quite a few didn’t go in. I also Google reviewed them. The store by me closed within a year.
Fun fact: if you go into pet stores on the east coast and ask about where the pup came from, they always come from Kansas or Missouri, the top two puppy mill states.
Gus the Dalmatian
By Roger Eaton, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
Maggie (Margaret Ann Eaton-Gurley), my sister, decided that our dad should have a pet. He had moved to Enid, Oklahoma several years earlier to start a fried chicken franchise, Plano Fried Chicken. She found him a beautiful dalmatian puppy. It was a nice gesture, but our dad didn’t want to raise a puppy. At the time, I drove to Enid frequently to work at the Plano restaurant. I offered to take Gus back to El Dorado with me, in April 1980. Gus and I drove to El Dorado in my red Cadillac convertible, with the top down. He was energetic and loyal, but not very intelligent.
Our wedding was in July 1980. We had a fenced yard in our first house, which we rented from my parents. After a year, we purchased our own house. It didn’t have a fenced yard, so we took Gus to Marcia’s parents, George and Rita Hurlburt. They had a house in the country with 10 acres. Gus lived the rest of his life, happily, at the Hurlburt compound.
Fair Trade
By Joe Eaton, grandson*
With Jim Eaton, Jr., grandson* and Mark Eaton, grandson*
*Relation to Andy and/or Flora Lehr
I don’t recall where I got Bud, but I remember sneaking him into my room at the Emporia Street house. Mom was a little surprised the next morning. He was a Saint Bernard. I had him for less than a year, before I had to find a home for him. In the summer of 1968, I moved into an apartment and traded Bud to a friend for a Zenith portable battery TV.
Jim Eaton, Jr.
I met the beast one night when I had driven home from school (must have been after I transferred to KSU). It was late and dark. I opened the storm door on the garage and was met by a huge, furry monster. No one had alerted me to the situation.
The next morning I learned how our father used it as an alarm. I heard this thump, thump, thump then a second of quiet, then a loud thud as he landed in Joe’s bed. If Joe was wise, he would be out of bed before the animal landed on it.
Mark Eaton
Mean dog
Bud was one mean ass dog. He had to be changed to an old window ac unit that he drug around the garage.