Ling ends with "g" and so your word really should be gippopotomus. However, that word does not exist. It might refer however to somebody who sold you a cheap poor quality pot instead of the stainless steel pot you thought you were getting; hence the term gipped a pot from us. But, as I am sure you will agree, that would be stretching it.

So, what do I do here? I know of no word which starts with both an "s" for hippopotomus and a "g" for ling. Aha! I know exactly what to do! Here are my words:

giraffe
snake

Coincidentally they both end with "e" and are both animalse.

The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?
~Jeremy Bentham