[Gpdd] [MISCELLANEOUS] OCD & Guinea Slavedom

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

Amber, I can SO identify with you - and my partner Pete can identify with  
your partner! In my head, piggies come first, so .... Pete has to ask before  
using any salad or veggies from the fridge, as most of it is "reserved" for the  
piggies ..... 
 
The vegetable plot is sown with veggies for the piggies - I remember Pete  
asking last year, "Well, is there going to be anything here which WE can  
actually eat?" There were the courgettes - but only because the piggies don't  like 
them!
 
In winter I dig in the snow to find dandelions and other weeds for the  
piggies!
 
But I think the funniest example was when friends dropped by unexpectedly  
and I "entertained" them in a porch full of guinea pigs and their mess.  
Eventually they said they mustn't keep me, they were sure I was busy, and I said  
"No, not really - I'm just cleaning the study ready for the male guinea pigs to  
move in from outdoors for the winter!" I could see them perusing the mess, and 
 wondering why on earth I needed to clean before putting piggies in a room - 
but  I do, because there might be something lying around the floor which would 
be  harmful to them! And I clean out my piggie cages far more frequently than 
I  clean the human living areas of the house!
 
Last Christmas, I even made my family, including Pete's mum, eat their  
Christmas dinner at one end of the dining table whilst the piggie cages were  piled 
on the other end! It was just too cold for them to stay in the  porch!!
 
When I read about animal hoarders, I often think, "there but for the grace  
of God go I" - we do have nearly 50 animals here, though most are guinea pigs 
or  poultry. I have a great need to "rescue" animals I see in distress. But 
here in  rural France, I see animals in distress every day - rabbits crammed into 
tiny  hutches like sardines, dogs tied up all day and night, cats living 
ferally .. .  But I am living on benefits, and I just know I cannot afford to take 
on any  more, so I steel myself, accepting that any additions would lead to a 
 deterioration to the standard of life for the animals I already have. But I 
can  see how it happens to the hoarders - I am sure most of them mean well, 
and  eventually they get so embroiled in their slavery they just can't see  
objectively any more. I feel they need sympathy and help, not condemnation. But  
breeders, rather than hoarders - well, they make me really angry. I don't mean  
responsible ones, but those who breed indiscriminately and in huge munbers  
purely for profit.
 
I was offline due to phone problems for a week or so, so please can I offer  
my most sincere belated condolences to all who have lost piggies to The Bridge 
 since I last posted. 
 
Debbie