About Me
Melissa Shapiro, DVM, is a small-animal veterinarian, author, speaker, and advocate for pets with disabilities.
She is also the driving force behind the social media phenomenon Piglet, the deaf blind pink puppy (@pinkpigletpuppy).
For over 30 years, Dr. Shapiro has been the owner and operator of the Visiting Vet Service, a house call practice in Fairfield County, CT.
Dr. Shapiro creates and publishes all content for her popular social media pages that feature Piglet, her deaf blind pink dog and her 7 other rescued dogs. In 2017, Dr. Shapiro co-created the Piglet Mindset® School Visit Program, which uses Piglet’s story to teach children to be positive, resilient, compassionate, and kind in classrooms across the United States.
She is the CEO and director of Piglet International Inc., a nonprofit that supports the Piglet Mindset® School Visit Program and raises awareness for rescued and disabled animals through social media platforms, webinars, and fundraising, Piglet's Rescue Fund, which donates $80,000 yearly to rescues that care for disabled dogs.
In 2025 Dr. Shapiro created The Disabled Pets Project, an information and support resource for veterinarians, pet parents, and rescuers who care for disabled pets. The website is disabledpets.org. The affiliated Instagram account is @disabledpetsproject and Facebook support group is The Disabled Pets Community.
Dr. Shapiro’s book PIGLET, The Unexpected Story of a Deaf Blind Pink Puppy and His Family was published by Simon and Schuster, Atria Books, in August 2021. A children’s book, Piglet Comes Home, was released in June 2022.
A graduate of Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Shapiro completed a rotating internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City, followed by a residency in small-animal internal medicine at the Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Shapiro is mom to Rachael, Daniel, and Ellie. She lives in Westport, Connecticut, with her husband, Warren Shapiro, 6 rescued dogs, 2 rescued parakeets Petey and Patty, and a rescued House Sparrow named Ginny.
The Piglet Mindset School Visit Program!
Dr. Shapiro's entertaining and inspiring Piglet Mindset presentations are well received by children and adults in schools and other venues. Her keynote, workshops, and webinars are well received by high school and college students and staff, nonprofit, corporate, and other professional conferences. She also speaks about many aspects of caring for pets with disabilities and special needs for pet parents and veterinary professionals.
About Piglet
Piglet, the deaf blind pink puppy
Piglet is a tiny deaf blind dog rescued from a hoarding situation in Georgia. Despite his profound disabilities, Piglet faces his challenges with a positive attitude. Through his growing social media platforms, he inspires his followers to do the same. Initially, supported by his very accepting family
of 6 other rescued dogs, Piglet became an ambassador for disabled pets, raising awareness and fundraising for dog rescue organizations.
In July 2017, an innovative 3rd grade teacher recognized Piglet's potential to be a growth mindset teaching model for her students. This led to the creation of the Piglet Mindset Educational Program, an authentic collection of online resources that feature Piglet's positivity and resilience as well as the his accepting, inclusive pack of 6 sweet rescued dogs. We call them Piglet and Georgie's Kindness Club. Piglet, Georgie, and their sister dogs make school visits to reinforce their message of being positive, compassionate, and kind.
Now you're probably wondering who Georgie is! In January 2023, deaf blind Baby Georgie joined Piglet's pack. Georgie is also a chihuahua mix, rescued in Bridgeport CT after being left on a sidewalk in a box when he was only about 9 weeks old. Georgie is a very funny, sweet little guy. He is also a very positive dog but he is much less detail oriented than his big brother Piglet, In fact, Georgie has a much different easy going approach to life compared to Piglet's systematic approach to everything he does.
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Media and Awards
Dr. Shapiro and her tiny deaf blind dog Piglet have been featured in People Magazine, on NBC Nightly News, and Good Morning America, as well as online and local media platforms.
Melissa and Piglet are the 2021 recipients of Moffly Media's Light A Fire Award for being Empathy Advocates.
Click the links below to view media and the award.