Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Fun With Guinea Pigs
By Joanne Colangelo
Joanne Colangelo volunteers for a number of animal rescue organizations. She shares her experiences in giving guinea pigs another chance at a forever home.
Click image to enlarge
Photo courtesy Joanne Colangelo
Baby Teddy, Mom Macie and Baby Baci (12 days old). |
Photo courtesy Leah McNeil, Joanne Colangelo and Barb
Princess Snowflake and Teddy on their wedding day |
We have all been enjoying Leah McNeil’s wonderful adventures with her guinea pig, Princess Snowflake. Since Leah needed to take a little break, who else would jump at the opportunity to fill in for her but me, Princess Snowflake’s mother-in-law.
Princess Snowflake and Teddy were united in “pigtrimony” on June 6, 2008, after falling head over paws for one another. They had so much in common from the start! Princess Snowflake and Teddy are both “rescue” pigs. Leah adopted Princess Snowflake from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Shelter in Charlotte, N.C. I found Macie, Teddy’s mom, on Petfinder.com. Macie had been found in an abandoned apartment with her parents and siblings, and The Critter Connection, Inc. of Durham, Conn., took them into its rescue. I adopted the expectant Macie, which soon delighted our family by presenting us with two big and healthy boys. We named them Teddy (that resembled a teddy bear at birth) and Baci (pronounced as BaChee, which means “kisses” in Italian).
We now have six guinea pigs. Five of them came from The Critter Connection, and one of them made me a foster parent failure. After introducing my foster pig, Sweetie, to my sow herd, my girls welcomed her with wheeks and whistles, and I couldn’t bear to separate them. Besides, my philosophy has always been “what’s one more?” It works for me (except when I’m eating chocolate chip cookies at midnight), and I have to admit that I fell in love with the new little girl.
Love. Why is it so difficult to believe that we guinea pig slaves love our piggies? I have been asked: “You love a guinea pig? Isn’t it a rodent? You kiss them?” Oh, yes, yes, yes! I love my guinea pigs as much as any pet I have ever had. They are affectionate and personable and so much fun.
In fact, most people don’t realize how delightful piggies really are. Just recently, I asked my daughter to please not eat in her bedroom late at night, and she agreed. I should have known that was too easy. That very same night at around midnight (it runs in the family), I heard a commotion of loud wheeking. My pigs squealed on her. How were they to know it was a bag of potato chips and not romaine lettuce for them?
While we have fun with our guinea pigs and love the little critters, they are a big responsibility. Just because they’re small, doesn’t mean that their care is simple. Guinea pig ownership should be taken seriously. That’s why Leah and I had a long talk with Princess Snowflake and Teddy before the wedding. We need to be prepared before they decide to add little piggies to our family. Of course, they will be wonderful parents, and I will keep you posted when the time comes. Both Leah and I will be so proud when they bring home their newborns … newly adopted from a rescue or shelter, of course.
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