3 posts tagged “cavies”

Winkle, our SCAMP/LAP piggy crossed over the Rainbow Bridge between 4:30 and 5:00 am this morning. He was not quite 6 yrs old. We cuddled with him through the night and I hope it made his passing easier.

Truth be told p and I should not go into pet stores together. But we did and fell in love. I would like to introduce the two newest members of our Critter Crew to ya all.

Buddha Bandit Bear

Bandit is very sweet. We spent the first five minutes of having him home chasing him down in the living room because as soon as I opened his little box and picked him up he did that thing that hamsters are famous for. He escaped. I did consider naming him Houdini but he told me that wasn't his name: he is Buddha Bandit Bear. He loves his wheel. We do need to get him a bigger wheel as he is MUCH bigger then Snipset and substantially bigger even then TippleScritch was.

Oreo Cookie Monster

Oreo has given Winkle a new lease on life. As the SCAMP (Senior Citizen Aging Miracle Piggy) in residence I think he was feeling very lonely and depressed. P had a flash of inspiration and introduced them - they adore one another. Winks takes his adoptive duties very seriously and Oreo is much happier for the company and friendship.

I had forgotten how small baby cavies are. He is adorable and he is constantly talking. Just like his adoptive dad! He clucks - which is hilarious. And he is quite the jumper. He can jump into the hayrack in a single bound! Amazing. Don't think that will last once he grows into the typical GP body.

'

TA DA! And there you have them!

In all the sadness about Widget dying I haven't written the entry I meant to about the two newcomers to the Critter Crew.

Last Sunday, peter and I stopped at the SuperPet in Burlington because we needed rabbit food and because it was close to IKEA where we were intending to go and look for an oh so exciting butter dish. The two of us are a deadly combination in pet stores so the plan was to go straight to the rabbit food and straight to the cash register. Well, that plan went awry immediately - I stuck to it initially, but when I couldn't find peter I wandered over to the little critters section and found him looking at gerbils, mini-lops (very cute too) and guinea pigs. So far, so good. But then, peter wandered over to say hello to Miller, a gorgeous blue, yellow, red and green parrot that belongs to the store, who is quite the character. He will sometimes say hello and other times let out really loud squawks to startle anyone nearby. And I know he secretly delights in making people jump! But I digress...

I started to follow peter over towards Miller and stopped because there was a corral on the floor with two guinea pigs in it. One was a bed-head Abyssinian type and the other was one of those fancy long-haired types. I think they are Peruvians or some such thing. There was a sign that read "Laverne and Shirley - free to a good home". I immediately asked the clerk what their story was because that store only gives pets away "free" if you buy a cage etc. Apparently, one of the other clerks had gone out the back door that morning and found the two little girls in a cardboard box. In pretty desperate need of a bath and toe nail clipping etc. So they brought them in, cleaned them up, tied a little pink bow in the long haired guinea pig's top knot and set up this little area with the sign. The GP's were very lucky because  apparently that door is only used on garbage days, which Sunday is not, as there is no shipping and receiving area. If the clerk had not gone out and found them, they would have died - probably from heat exhaustion.

First, I am soooo angry that a person or persons could be so inconsiderate, selfish, unkind, mean, cruel, nasty, ignorant, stupid - and the list goes on- to do such a thing. There are humane societies and rescues out there. Just because someone is too lazy to figure that out or doesn't want to be made to feel guilty.... Why do people insist on buying animals without realizing they are a committment as big as children. They are the kind of people who I shudder thinking about having children. They don't deserve them. Okay, enough of my rant. The store clerks thought they were probably there overnight - they could have died then too - wild animals like raccoons or stray cats. Who knows?

Oh, yes, we did bring them home. I asked the clerk if anyone had expressed interest and the answer was of course, no. Granted it had only been one day, but I knew the chances weren't good - and the pet store manager/owner probably wouldn't want the cost - even though two GP's wouldn't be much extra on top of all their livestock - that anyone would take them home because they would wonder what was wrong with them that the little girls got dumped. They seem healthy, although undernourished. I would like to take them to the vet to get a checkover, but I want to wait until they've settled in better as they are both very skittish - the youngest one the most so.

They informed us their names aren't really Laverne and Shirley but they didn't want to tell anyone their real names till they knew they had a forever home. So their names so they said are Tribble and L'il Miz Moppit. You can probably guess which is which, but rather then leave you hanging I will help!

The long haired girl is L'il Miz Moppit and the bed head girl is Tribble. Don't know why she is so addicted to Star Trek but....

I just checked and to my best guess based on a couple of breed guides on the Internet Tribble is an Abyssinian probably an Abby Satin. L'il Miz Moppit is I think a Peruvian Satin although peter claims she bought her coat at Macy's. Me, I think it was Holt Renfrews.

well, I have a little sweet rat climbing on me and it's wayyyyyy toooo late. Must go to sleep. Good thing it's saturday tomorrow.
till later