[Gpdd] [Misc] why the guinea pig?

[Laura Carin]

I grew up always having cats in my life and when I went away to university I 
was devastated that I didn't have cats living with me anymore.  Every 
apartment I've lived in since I left home has been a "no pets" place and as 
time went on, I became more and more desperate to have a cat.  Two years 
ago, just before Christmas, my husband and I were Christmas shopping and we 
walked by a pet store.  Inside there was a cage of 3 guinea pigs.  It was 
like a lightning bolt hit me and as we continued to shop, I periodically 
gave my husband puppy dog eyes and until he gave in and we came home with 
the cutest guinea pig in the cage: the black one with the white stripe, who 
we had named before we had even finished the transaction:  Zephyr.  We 
brought him home in a cardboard box with a pet store cage and everything 
else the pet store said we needed to have.   We had no idea whatsoever how 
to care for him. Within a few weeks I had done hours of research on the net, 
joined the gpdd and learned that buying guinea pigs from a pet store is a no 
no, as is buying a cage from a pet store.  We built a C&C cage, started 
lining it with fleece and carefresh, and began spending tons of money making 
sure he had fresh organic veggies twice a day.  It took us three days to 
fall in love with him.  And that was that.  Then it took me a year to 
convince my husband that Zephyr needed a friend.  And so Felix joined our 
lives just over a year ago.  Now they're best buds and we couldn't be 
happier.  I can't imagine my life without guinea pigs.  My boys are the 
first thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning and they're the last 
thing I think about at night.  My world is definitely a better place because 
of them.

Laura, Zephyr & Felix