A veteran’s fully house trained pet warthog loves belly rubs and cuddles so much that he has been christened a ‘wart-dog’.

Greg Para had always wanted a pet warthog since he was a child and in December 2021 his wishes came true when he received a call about baby Wallace.

Adorable footage shows the almost two-year-old hog now cuddled up with Greg, 60, or enjoying belly rubs on the floor of their home in Myakka City, Florida, USA.

Wallace is such a faithful pet, following Greg around all day before falling asleep in his specially made pig-loo, that the family have christened him their ‘wart-dog’.

Greg said: “In general he has the personality of a faithful dog so we call him our wartdog.

“Wallace imprinted on us as he was only three weeks old when we got him. We had to bottle feed him so he became close to us.

“He was raised with two Jack Russell terriers so has many dog like behaviours. He is house trained, gentle, playful, plays with stuffed animals and sleeps with the dogs.

“He chewed the walls when he was younger but he has grown out of that.

“Wallace is very affectionate with me and follows me everywhere. He likes to be a pest to one of the dogs.

“He is very playful running around and twirling around in circles, loves to scratch his face on your leg and in general likes to be around people.

“He listens well and comes when called and he comes to me to whine when he is hungry or tired.”

Greg – who is an Afghanistan war veteran – cares for 90 animals at his Sarasota Parrot Conservancy but Wallace is most certainly the most exotic.

Greg said: “Everyone who meets him is amazed but due to his menacing looks some are afraid of him at first, including my two daughters.

“When people visit he is very friendly and loves to get treats and to have his mane braided and belly rubbed.

“Wallace mainly eats grass and roots but does get plenty of hog feed, dog food, apples and Cheerios cereal dry. We did fix him a plate of vegetables from our Thanksgiving dinner recently.

“He has similar traits to the pigs with his mannerisms and how he enjoys to have his belly rubbed. He is very intelligent.”