[Gpdd] MISC: Re: George the Guinea Pig

[Guineapigfilms at aol.com]

Dear Lori,
 
I read with interest your email about your homeschooled daughter and your  
new guinea pig, because I, too, had a homeschooled daughter (kindergarten  
through high school) and our family's guinea pigs led to wonderful creative  
things! 
 
You can see my daughter's web page here: 
_http://hometown.aol.com/guineapigfilms_ (http://hometown.aol.com/guineapigfilms)    (This is Alyssa's email 
address, but she is in college now, and starting a new  semester, so I am helping 
out with her business.) The web page isn't very fancy,  but I had to produce it 
in a big hurry when Alyssa was featured in PEOPLE  magazine and National 
Geographic.
 
Alyssa got her first guinea pig, Hazel, when she was the same age as your  
Dani. When she was eleven years old, she took a filmmaking class, and used Hazel 
 as her "cast." Her very first short "guinea pig" film won a prize in a film  
festival! After that, her career really took off, with Nickelodeon and HBO  
commissioning films and flying her to New York City, Orlando, and Hollywood to  
appear on a variety of television shows! She was honored by Disney and also 
by  Dreamworks Studio, and participated in many film festivals. She has also 
sold  her award-winning movie (originally commissioned by HBO), CARROT WARS (a 
spoof  of STAR WARS starring guinea pigs) to guinea pig lovers all over the 
globe! This  past Christmas, she began producing it on DVD!
 
Anyway, it all started with one pig. And, yes, Hazel, was so shy and  
insecure when we first brought her home from the pet shop (yes, we got her from  a 
locally-owned pet shop, although most of our 23 later piggies have been  
"rescues") that she tried to run away from us when we set her down. She actually  
hid. But in time (and with lots of patience) little Hazel not only became a  
sweet, loving, beautiful companion, but also an HBO movie star! 
 
Because we have raised so many piggies, we have gotten used to the fact  that 
each one has his/her own distinct personality. Every one of our pigs has  
been totally unique. One of the pigs that we have now, Mario, is very  
anti-social, and seems to live in his pigloo. Yet I know that he is happy. He  does 
wheeeeep for carrots when he hears the crisper drawer of the refrigerator  open, 
and he will permit the occasional cuddle. But he will never be as  affectionate 
as Hazel, who loved to snuggle and would purr continuously as soon  as she 
saw us. His personality is very different from our other piggies. He  never got 
along with other piggies, either, so he has always had his own cage  (where he 
can see the others through the bars). But we love him very much.
 
My daughter learned so much from having these precious, gentle animals  in 
her life. She is currently working her way through college by working at the  
Humane Society in our town, and she also "fosters" cats and dogs, as well as  
smaller animals, like hamsters. She isn't living in the dorm, because she  
couldn't bear to be parted from her guinea pigs, dogs, cats, ferret, gerbils,  rat, 
and fish. 
 
Your daughter Dani has a fantastic opportunity to learn about  caring for a 
little, vulnerable creature. I truly believe that the  pets we have as children 
help mold us into more compassionate people.
 
So I hope very much that you and your daughter will help George to bond  with 
you, in his own good time, and when he feels secure. The rewards will be  
unbelievable.
 
Take care!
 
Nancy