Let's begin with Owen. I brought Owen home from the humane society when he was about 6 years old and I was living the single apartment life. He was a big baby, gave love bites and was the size of a bulldog. Occasionally, he would leave me little vomit presents around my apartment, but I didn't have children so wasn't bothered by the extra work. And he was so cute! I seriously loved my senior cat. Then E came along. Little nighttime presents he sometimes left right smack dab in the middle of the hallway. So nighttime feedings for my human baby at times included stepping in the little presents. He is lucky he lasted as long as he did. After scratching one of the kids, he was sent away.
Stormin Norman was a tiny yorkshire terrier. No more explanation needed! Terriers are horrible to house train and incredibly stubborn in every other area. He loved himself and was very much disappointed in his family. We just weren't trainable. He required such a high standard of life and he was also sent away after biting one of the kids.
Wonder why both our animals wanted to hurt our children???
They do look like they are guilty of something!
So after about a year of E begging for a pet, we gave in. I did a little research and decided on a guinea pig. I'm not really into rodents of any kind, but all the "pet experts" love guinea pigs for their hardiness and ease of care. Great pet for small children! We got to the pet store and went straight to the Small Animal section. The guinea pigs were on sale....$38.00 each. Are you kidding me? The rats were $7, gerbils were $5 and hamsters were on sale for $4.50. We could buy a hamster and a cage for the price of one guinea pig. Plus guinea pigs live to be 8 years old and you are assured much less of a commitment with other small rodents. That's a negative for the guinea pig! I'm kind of partial to a more disposable pet, but after some conversation, we decided to take the plunge.
Now three months later, we have adorable little "Snow". Her full name is Snowflake Sarah. She started out in a hall closet and we would just walk by and give her attention. Maybe hold her occasionally. She is now officially part of the family and we keep her mostly in our great room area...okay, she's in the kitchen. We do move her when we have guests. But otherwise, she is right in the middle of the craziness that is our household.
It did take some time to tame her, but she is now very attached to her humans. During her floor time in our living room, she will run right up to any of us for a little love...even J! That's amazing that a little tiny animal would run up to a scary toddling girl! Maybe she isn't that smart, but we love it.
Here are some reasons guinea pigs are THE best pet.
- Take up a small space
- Affectionate and social with their humans
- They play
- They aren't tiny and one fall from a toddlers arms wouldn't hurt them badly (although we won't test this idea)
- Cheap to feed
- Easy to clean up after
- And she's a little garbage pail...if you have ever bought a bunch of parsley or cilantro only needing a tablespoon or two, Snow will eat the rest over the next week. She eats the bad end of a carrot or celery and kale stems. Wonderful!
Here is little Snow! Man's best friend...
Yes, her eyes are red. That's not just my camera flash. You get used to it!
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