Pig paraphernalia collector Karen Love of Clay Township leans on her couch, which holds a three-row-deep grouping of Miss Piggy dolls that were distributed by McDonald's in the late 1980s. "My motto is, Inever saw a pig that didn't make me smile," Love said of her obsession.

CLAY TWP — You don't have to enter her house to know Karen Love likes pigs. Even her answering machine will alert you with the instruction to "leave a message after the oink."

If you happen to fly over in the spring, a hillside garden says it best. Using 12-inch cinder blocks to form the letters, Love spelled out the word "oink," planting tulips, daffodils and lilies in the hollowed-out part of the blocks.

"I've actually had airplanes let me know they've seen it by tipping their wings," Love said, noting the O alone measures 15 feet.

Once inside her home, however, visitors see more than a colorful oink. Stuffed animals and figurines are complemented by books, games, kitchenware and blankets.

A child's toy box sits near a Halloween mask. A wooden pig eyeglass holder sits near a patchwork pig quilt in progress.

"My motto is, Inever saw a pig that didn't make me smile," Love said of her 50-year obsession.

"When I start to get doubles, they become a collection."

One such collection comprises 9 ½-inch stuffed MissPiggy dolls distributed in the late 1980s by McDonald's. That collection typically has its own room in Love's home, but recently she displayed them in the living room, wedged three-deep on two full sofas.

"She really likes it, so that's good enough for me," said Love's husband, Charlie.

"Luckily I'm not a collector, so we don't have an issue of conflicting space."

For holidays, the hobby comes in handy, he added.

"All I have to do is go find a pig of some sort — although she has so many different kinds it's (sometimes) hard to find a new one that she doesn't have."

With so many pigs in her collection, Love said she has become more selective about those she buys for herself, although many are always received as gifts.

Since the retired steel worker began collecting pigs at age 13, Love estimates she has amassed more than 5,000.

She has no specific count, because she is often inspired to rearrange them partway through the counting and cleaning — which she describes as "fun" with her vacuum's upholstery attachment.

Although many of the pigs are decorative items, others serve as towels, dishes, slippers and pajamas.

"I like pigs that you can use," she said. "And I do use the ones that are useable."

Although Love currently has no live pigs, she has raised them in the past. "We did raise them once," she said.

"We called them breakfast, lunch and dinner."