Impulse purchase to pedagogue

[slap_maxwell]

It was February of 2005, and I had just gotten out of an intensive IOP program. I was living with my grandparents after moving out of my father's.

I decided I wanted an animal to keep me company, I missed my horses, cats, and dog that were at my dad's and his mother's house. I decided to go to the local petshop to check out the options.

I walked into two different shops, both were horrible and just unsanitary. Then I told my mother than I wanted to go to Petco, and decided upon a guinea pig as a pet.

I saw a self black baby boar that stole my heart. I asked the employee about him, and she said as a first time owner I would do better with a more "adult" pig. She lead me to cage where a chocolate, orange, and white sow was sitting. Without much thinking, we plunked down the $32 for her, $30 for supplies, and $60 for the biggest cage I could find.

On the way home I offered her what I think was a Yogie. She didn't touch it. (Smart girl!) I decided to call her Amelia. I brought her home, bedded her on the recommended Carefresh, and poured her some Kaytee mixed pellets, some brownish hay, and assembled her water bottle.



Much more later. (Getting a playmate, my first C&C, discovering rescues!)

[cavykatie]

Aww, Amelia! She's so cute.

[slap_maxwell]

After Amelia got comfy (about a week later) she started wheeking and popcorning for fresh hay, but there wasn't much room to run in her pet store cage.

I went online and looked up "guinea pig cage" the first thing I came across was Seagull's Caviary. I looked at the cages and thought "what a great idea with those cubes!"

So I looked a little harder and came across Cavy Cages. I immediately persueded my mother to go and get a sheet of coro and some grids for me, I had to have one of those cages!

Unfortunitely I never got to the Cavy Spirit site, and went out to get Amelia another friend at Petco, welcome Nova! She was a TSW Abby/American cross. The most skittish pig I have ever met, she still runs from me.

I brought Nova home and without even a thought of quarintine, I introduced Nova and Amelia in the bathroom with lots of veggies and room. Neither of them made much movement, but I was convinced Amelia was the dominant one.

Later that day, I built my first C&C cage. A 2x4 with a 1x2 loft, red coroplast.



Nova was a real sweet pig but so scared. You can see in this picture how tense she was.



Amelia was always a cuddle bug.





By this time, I read all of the Cavy Spirit website, and realized the horror of pet shops. I felt horrible for supporting them the way I did. I started feeding plain pellets after reading the chocking hazards. I bought a fresh bale of hay, fed veggies, and stopped the vitamin drops, thanks to GL. I hadn't joined yet, however.

[jaydee6561]

They are 2 cute girls. What happens next?

[slap_maxwell]

Well, a few months went by, I was very happy with the pigs. They were starting to come out of their shell and trusting me.

I finally found Petfinder and had my eye on two Abbies, a neutered male and female. I arranged with Cindy from The Critter Connection to come by even though they were not ready for adoption, just to see them. She informed me that she had a pair of females, really sweet, that she got down from Maine.

It was love at first sight, the girls, Jasmine (an agouti abby) and Cinderella (TSW american) stole my heart. they came right up to me and stood on the bars.. I could not help but bring these two girls home. Little did I know that one of these girls would change my life.

[slap_maxwell]

After I brought home the girls, who I renamed Maia (Abby) and Cali (American). I waited a bit and introduced them to my girls, Amelia and Nova. They fought very badly, so I put a divider in my now 2x6 C&C and let them just hang out for a week or so. They finally started to get along, and became very bonded.





I grew VERY close to Maia, the abby. She would fall asleep next to me in bed, come up and stand on the bars to see me, give me kisses, everything. I called her my "confidence pig".



She loved to explore.

[slap_maxwell]

Piggy Kisses.

[Barbara Osborn]

How sweet of you to share your "Pigtale" with us. It is nice to know we all have come to love our pigs and GL.

Thank you again for the lovely tribute you made when my Jackson died. I'll always remember your kindness in that regard. It was a great comfort to me.

[cutemomomi]

Oh yes, Slap makes the most "tear-jerking" videos. I have watched a few of her works, and cried my head off each time...

I love Maia, and somehow I have gotten the inkling that she was your special piggy from day 1. So what would it take for you to lend me that picture of Maia’s pipe exploration?

Ps. I forgot to metion that Slap was also the one who named our Mojo for us a while ago too! Thanks Slap, I love that name. : )
.

[slap_maxwell]

Seven months went by pretty uneventfully, Maia fell ill a few times, just two URIs.

I wrote this long part about what happened to her but I lost it when my computer turned off.. grr.

To summerize. Maia fell ill again BADLY on 6th September 2005. Baytril, force feeding, everything. We never figured it was her heart. She seized and died in my arms at 9:12 AM 10th of September, 2005.

[slap_maxwell]

Momo, go ahead and use the picture.. if you send me a comfortor to match my Hello Kitty sheets!

Just kidding, use it as you wish!

[slap_maxwell]

I totally forgot to include in May, I adopted Simon from Amiable Animals! A neutered boar that got along great with the females.

I was heartbroken for months after Maia passed.

I moved to a different city in Connecticut in January and built "The Cavy Castle"



My four pigs peacefully lived together. I thought about it for a few weeks and had my heart set on a scrawny Peruvian girl from The Critter Connection.