[Gpdd] MISC: Re: Why a guinea pig?

[dukejan1 at aol.com]

 All,
I never thought that I would own a guinea pig.  My husband and I considered a dog and I previously had been a slave to a German Shepherd and a Corgi.  Great dogs, both of them.  But we both worked and felt is simply wasn't fair to keep a dog cooped up all day.  So my husband, previously the proud owner of Mousie (who I always thought was a mouse until we started considering guinea pigs) and Hershey, began to try to convince me to get a guinea pig.  I asked stupid questions like, "Do they use one of those wheels?" and "Do they have tails?'  And so my husband dragged me (then in my mid-40s, can you imagine?) to show me what a guinea pig was.  I thought they were cute, but I had to think about it.
 
One morning in Sept 2003, with Hurricane Isabel bearing down on Virginia, my husband and I both had serious bouts of bronchitis.  We went to the doctor and then to the pharmacy to have our prescriptions filled.  Of course, the entire population of Virginia--expecting the end of the world with the coming hurricane--also was there getting their medications.  We were told that the wait would be 1 hour.  To kill some time, we went next door to the neighborhood, family-run pet store and saw a 6-7 week old, gray and white guinea pig.  "This one is available," the shop owner said.  With the coming of the hurricane, the shop owner was readying the store with extra water, generators, and a cot.  He intended to spend the night with his animals.  
 
Well, to make a long story short, Isabel the guinea pig, came to live with us.  It was love at first sight.  We thought Izzy was lonely, so Lily, a rescue pig, came to live with us the following spring.  They're great friends to each other and to us.
 
I feel badly that I lived most of my life not even knowing what a guinea pig was!  But now I can say that I never intend to be without guinea pigs!  
 
Janet, slave to Isabel and Lily
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