No piggies were harmed in the making of this chronicle. However, some slaves may have received superficial injuries. :)
Prologue:
Once upon a time, there was a little girl. The little girl had a nice house and a happy family. Even though the family did not have pets, the little girl loved animals.
On the first day of fourth grade, the little girl entered her new classroom and came upon a strange new creature. It was a guinea pig with short, black hair, a stripe of brown around its neck, and a splash of white on its nose. The guinea pig's name was Coffee. The little girl immediately fell in love with her, and always took care of Coffee. She would even bring Coffee home with her on long weekends.
The little girl's parents saw how much she loved Coffee, and decided to get the girl and her brother a surprise for Christmas. On Christmas Day, they opened a large present. It was a cage for a piggy of their own!
The kids were so happy and excited! On the 27th, they went to the pet store to buy a piggy. They picked the big baby sitting quietly in a nest of cedar chips. He sat in the corner of the cage as his brothers and sisters did zoomies around him. They named him Chestnut.
The family took Chestnut home. Even though they gave him all the good things a baby pig needed, Chestnut refused to move. The family was very worried, and called the pet store. The owners told them to wait a few hours. So the family waited a few hours, but Chestnut still would not move.
By now, the family was very anxious, and they began to scream at each other. The little girl's mother started the vacuum. Somehow, amidst all the commotion, Chestnut began to move around and eat his food. The family was confused, but happy that their pig was feeling better.
Chestnut grew up to be a very large, very laid-back piggy. He loved to eat and explored the house. To the family's surprise, he was a lap pig AND a belly pig!
Nothing scared Chestnut. He would relax wherever he was placed, whether it be on the rug, on the front lawn, or among the children's toys. He became a celebrity at school for laying on his belly in the teacher's lap!
Chestnut and his family had many adventures. He would play crazy games with the children, go for walks around the neighborhood, and drive their parents crazy by chewing the woodwork. He was even in movies the children made. Once he operated the camera. (True story). Chestnut and the little girl even made local news when he won the Best Pet Contest in the school. The family loved him very much.
Chestnut knew he had to take care of the children, and never complained when they played with him. Chestnut was wise, and when he knew his children would grow up to be happy adults, he slipped away to the Bridge on a warm spring day.
Right before Chestnut passed, the family decided to bring another piggy into their home. Now a young teenager, the girl went to pick out a pig from the newest litter at the pet store. She had her choice between two spirited babies. She chose the one the employees could catch and named him Dusty.
Dusty was a ball of fire from the start. Unlike Chestnut, Dusty was skittish and he liked to run. A lot. On his first night home, he jumped out of his box and hid under the recliner. On another occasion, Dusty got loose outside, outran the neighbor's dog, crossed the street, and hid under a large shrub. It took ten neighbors to remove him.
A year and a half passe before Dusty needed a vet visit. At the vet's, the family learned that Dusty was actually a GIRL!!
Although she wasn't a lap pig, Dusty kept things interesting for the family. Besides her numerous attempts to escape, she was feisty, and would throw fits if she didn't get food when she wanted it. She loved her hay balls, and got stuck in them often. The girl took care of her, letting her play with other female piggies, and even throwing a birthday party for her.
Dusty fought hard when she started to have problems with her teeth. Despite surgery, she did not recover. The family was heartbroken as they watched her suffer. She never stopped fighting, but the family chose to finally let her rest.
The family decided that they would no longer own any pigs because of the cost and the heartache.
Years passed, and the children grew up, and life went on......
until a thwarted love affair and a trip to the mall brought piggies back into their lives.
Next time.......
