[Gpdd] [MISCELLANEOUS] Why guinea pigs?

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

As children, my sisters and I had cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, gerbils, fish  
and budgies - but somehow, guinea pigs passed us by. The only guinea pigs I 
ever  met before I came to France were running around the kennels of a cattery in 
 Hoylake, on the Wirral, Merseyside, when I took my cats there - I often 
wonder  whether they are still there, and whether their owners subscribe to this  
digest?
 
In August 2001, my partner and I moved to France from the UK, and 6 months  
later we put a notice in the local supermarket asking for French people who'd  
like to chat with us to improve their English, and let us chat with them to  
improve our French, Thus we met Andre and Therese and their 2 little girls, and 
 one day, when we were at their apartment, they told us they had 2 cochons 
d'Inde  and asked if we'd like to see them. We had no idea what cochons d'Inde 
were, but  were taken to the study and shown 2 small hamster cages, each 
containing one  guinea pig. I hate to see animals caged, and these seemed pretty 
terrified when  taken out to show us. I was not impressed.
 
Andre and Therese wanted to breed their own guinea pig so that it would be  
really tame, but their male and female didn't get on, hence the separate cages. 
 Eventually they bought another male, and the female did reproduce with him. 
They  kept the female baby, Pirouette, but sold the male one, and kept the 
breeding  pair together, hoping to produce another female baby.. 
 
I hated seeing the lone male in his small cage, and eventually took him in,  
and bought a dwarf rabbit as a companion for him, as the French books on 
guinea  pigs said 2 male piggies would fight and rabbits made ideal companions.  He 
had never had a name, this little orange and white Dutch, so  we called him 
Bafreur, and his bunny companion Calin.
 
We were so naive, we even let Calin and Bafreur be free range in our meadow  
like the chickens and goats that first summer, oblivious to the dangers from  
foxes and buzzards! It was only when Bafreur developed sores around  his mouth 
from eating too many windfall cider pears that I even  realised there were 
resources for guinea pig slaves on the Internet, and that I  found this digest. 
I also learned through the Net that piggies should not  be kept with rabbits, 
hence we acquired our second rabbit (who with Calin's help  produced a third!) 
and our second piggie, Claude, who moved in with Bafreur. We  also took in 
his mother, who had produced another 2 males, so his slaves  decided to separate 
the parents and just settle for Pirouette.
 
The mother was also nameless, so became Etincelle as it was Christmas  
(meaning Spark in French, but also sounding a bit like tinsel). Obviously, she  too 
needed a cage companion, and it was whilst looking for one little female to  
keep her company that we stumbled upon the unscrupulous breeder whose piggies  
were dying of cold and being sold as crocodile food - longterm gpdd-ers will  
remember her as "That crocodile woman"! Hence we rescued 27, including 5  
pregnant mums, ending up with 45 piggies in a spare bedroom!!
 
So, like many people, we just kind of stumbled into it! I think Bafreur  
stole our hearts to begin with - I had never realised such little creatures  could 
have such huge personalities. Etincelle was a wonderful shoulder-perching  
piggie - she had seemed so aloof at her previous home, but I think she knew she  
was nameless and unloved. They were not cruel to her, just didn't bother to 
tame  her. Then there were the beloved blind ones, Etoile and Huppe, and of 
course, my  beloved paraplegic Cherub, whose name even now brings tears to my 
eyes  ....  
 
We have not taken in any more piggies since that rescue in January 2003,  
although Claude did manage to father Cannelletto and Zebra in July 2004! We  
found new homes for most, although ten later returned to us when their new  owners 
circumstances changed. Thirteen Dolly Mixtures seems so few compared with  
the herd we used to have, but we are determined not to take in any more, as we  
do feel we have so many, we are unable to give each as much human contact  as 
they deserve. I dread facing thirteen more departures to the Rainbow Bridge,  
but know it will happen. 
 
Why guinea pigs? We also have 8 cats, 2 dogs, 3 goats, 3 geese and 30  
chickens!! But the guinea pigs are somehow special - they are such gentle,  peaceful 
creatures, so underestimated ....  There is so much more to  them than meets 
the eye, but only patient people like us know this! I love the  little noises 
they make, their body language, and those big, entertaining  personalities! We 
love all our animals (though the geese are a challenge - they  are so mean!), 
but there is a mystical magic about the guinea pigs that makes  them utterly 
compelling. Who would ever be without them!!
 
Debbie (devoted slave to the 13 remaining Dolly  Mixtures)