Why Guinea Pigs?
9:06:00 PM
So here it goes, why Guinea pigs?
When Nate was getting deployed for the first time, I had only lived in Hawaii about five months and we lived in a tiny 600 sq ft studio apartment. We weren't allowed to have any pets but we always joked about just getting a little puppy and our landlords would never know, but our studio was literally attached to their house so that was obviously a bad plan. About four days before Nate was set to deploy, we were at the mall pet shop by our house and there was this one spikey haired Guinea Pig jumping around for $13. Yes, $13. And I told Nathan I wanted him and he jokingly said "okay you ask the landlords (who are total assholes btw) if we can have him and then we'll get him." He was thinking that there was no way that I would actually call the landlord, but me being the little shit that I am, called the landlord, we all had a grown up talk about the logistics of the Guinea pig and they decided I could have him.
I was elated because I won that battle and so Nate reluctantly went along with it knowing he would be gone for six months and wouldn't have to take care of it anyways. Thus, Rufus Humphrey Reinert came home with us :) this is where it all started.
Rufus was my MAIN while Nate was deployed. He was so talkative and had so much personality. One misconception about Guinea pigs is that they're boring rodents like hamsters or gerbils, which could not be further from the truth. I know I sound like a dweeb here but I promise you my Guinea pigs have all had very specific personalities and traits, not to mention some are more vocal or active then others. Rufus started out super shy and I used to cry and think he hated me and I thought I picked the worst pet ever. Then after a couple of months, Rufus and I formed a relationship to the point where he would squeal when I got home from work or whenever I opened the fridge... Or touched plastic... Or turned the water on... Or if my alarm went off. Basically any sign that I was around him and he went nuts.
Fast forward around 8 months and Nate and I moved into a new apartment and a lady on base was getting rid of two female Guinea pigs living in a fish tank and some how some way I convinced Nate we needed to save them and in came Mango and Raz (named after mangorita and Razberitas)
Mango
We were one big happy family full of piggie squeals and hay until last summer. Last summer was the HOTTEST summer that anyone can remember here in Hawaii. We, like most people here, don't have air conditioning in our house. We didn't know enough about the conditions and Rufus and Mango ended up getting sick from heat exhaustion among other things and passing away within a week of each other last September.
Let's just say it was not a good week for us, and I was really worried about losing Raz too, so we put everything we could into making sure she would be okay.
In October, a lady on the North Shore was evicted from her home and they found OVER 100 Guinea pigs in her backyard that were starving and unhealthy. A few people tagged me in the post so I was aware of the situation. One day that month I went to petco and they have a few of the rescued female pigs up for adoption. I saw one particular piggy, I thought hey I'll just hold this cute little pig.
Needless to say, she leaned right into me, something my pigs had NEVER done before and I fell in love with her and decided to rescue her to be Raz's new cage mate, Rosie :)
They may or may not have warned me that she might be pregnant (they did) (she was).
One day before Thanksgiving, Rosie surprised with three baby piggies THE CUTEST AND MOST ADORABLE PIGGIES OF ALL TIME EVER.
This was probably our favorite thing because the little babies were SO cute and fun and they all had their own little quirks. We ended up giving the two girls to our vet, and we kept the boy so long that we ended up keeping him and that's how we got our little Rocky!
This particular week has been really hard on me this year because I'm still really worried about the pigs in this heat. With Nathan away, these little pigs are my best friends. They're my pets. You have babies and puppies and dogs and cats. I have Guinea pigs. Just because they're a little smaller than your pets, doesn't mean you can be an asshole and pretend I'm the crazy one for loving them. I wouldn't judge you for having a pet rock so just enjoy my piggy photos and if one day you're lucky enough to meet them maybe you'll understand why they're my little saving graces 🐽🐽🐽
Now if for some reason you sat and read every part of this, I will reward you with some of my favorite pictures of my piggies. You're welcome.
Rufus, da OP (original piggie)
Chubby Mango
Raz the spaz
Rosie
Rocky
Great for kids
Don't bite
Have personalities
Squeal when they want something
Popcorn (jump around) when they're exited or happy
Cuddle with you
Low maintenance
Self-efficient
Cute
Cute
Photogenic
They're cute.
They're also adorable.
Are you getting the point? Guinea pigs are fucking awesome.
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram for more cute pictures of my piggies to come @mlreinert24 🐽
RIP to Rufus and Mango, the two best piggies in the whole world. We miss you every day and wish you were still here with us. I hope there is celery and tomatoes up in piggie heaven. Love you forever muffins.
1 comments
Love your piggies!!
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