[Gpdd] [ANNOUNCEMENT] Welcome to Dolly Mixture Soturi

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

You may remember around this time last year I acquired a new little boy,  
Scoot, as a friend and cagemate for 3 year old Zebra, whose brother Cannelletto  
had gone to The Bridge in September 2006. The two piggies got along fine 
whilst  they were in their outdoor run all summer, but when I moved them indoors 
for the  winter, little Scoot started bullying Zebra, to the extent that 
eventually Zebra  took up residence on top of his house and refused to come down to 
eat, drink or  piddle/poop. So the two were separated, and spent the winter in 
adjacent cages,  where they chatted with each other through the bars and also 
with Fidget and  Scrabble.
 
As you may remember, dearest Fidget went to The Bridge in the spring,  
leaving me with 3 lone boars, all of whom spent a lot of time chatting at the  bar. 
So when I moved them outdoors (when summer eventually arrived, and their  runs 
had all been moved to fresh pastures), I risked putting Zebra and Scrabble  
in together, and that seemed to work well - Scrabble is a big old softie, and  
Zebra, who, you may recall, was a juvenile delinquent in his youth, has calmed 
 down a lot in his middle age. But that left me with a lone Scoot, and as you 
 know, I hate them to be alone, especially in summer, as when they are shut 
in  for the night they can no longer even see one another.
 
I refuse point blank to buy a guinea pig, as no way is a cent of my  
hard-earned cash going to anyone who breeds animals for profit. So I posted an  appeal 
for an "accidental" arrival offered free to a good home, and it turned  out 
the lady who replied had had a population explosion whilst she was  recovering 
from a stroke in hospital (her partner had confused the sexes -  oops!), so I 
was able to go to her home and choose one. It turned out I had met  this lady 
3 years previously, when she had helped me rehome an injured dog I had  found 
at the side of the road, and an added bonus was that, when we arrived in  her 
living room, she had a newborn baby alpaca lying there on a duvet, which I  
was allowed to cuddle .... I am so glad they are even harder to keep than  
piggies, or I would have been sorely tempted - although Ronnie is not for sale,  he 
will add to her herd, who are bred for their fleeces and have a wonderful  
life!
 
Anyway, I eventually chose a fluffy little tricolour Abyssinian (is that  
what one calls those who have long hair flying out in all directions?), who  
turned out to have several scabs from scuffles with the 2 boys he shared his run  
with. I set up a run in unfamiliar territory and put Scoot and the new chap in 
 simultaneously, but athough the new chap was initially very friendly, Scoot 
was  really nasty, not just mounting but chasing, shoving and possibly biting 
- after  a couple of carefully supervised hours, I had to separate them. By 
this time I  felt a good name for the newcomer would be warrior, because he 
seemed to be in a  wars a lot, so I asked our Finnish helper what that would be in 
Finnish - hence  Soturi got hos name. Of course, by this time I was already 
in love with him, and  no way could he be returned. It was either try him with 
someone else or go back  and get another!
 
I decided to risk putting Scoot in with sweet-natured Scrabble and Soturi  in 
with Zebra. I had never wanted Scoot with Scrabble because of the age  
difference - Scrabble is a 5 year old SCAMP, and I think has bumblefoot, whereas  
Scoot has just reached a year. But they seemed to take to one another straight  
away - of course, they had lived within sight and smell of each other ever 
since  Scoot arrived here. 
 
Soturi has been wary of Zebra after his reception from Scoot, and Zebra has  
been curious but not aggressive. I had to leave them the day after I put them  
together, to come to the UK for my sister's 50th birthday (we celebrated by  
building a huge sandcastle on a nearby beach!), but have kept in close contact 
 with my partner, who says they are not exactly close friends yet, but there 
is  no aggression and both seem fairly relaxed.
 
I have been saying for a while that I wasn't getting any more piggies - the  
lack of vet care for them here is so frustrating and upsetting, I hate having 
to  watch them slip away when illness strikes. But I also hate any of them 
living  alone, particularly in the summer when they are outdoors (and oh, how 
they love  to be outdoors!). I certainly won't be acquiring any more girls, as 
the 7 all  live together in the summer. But boys .... hmm, here's hoping 
Scrabble will live  for an exceptionally long time.
 
I will try to add Scoot and Soturi to my Blinkz site when I get a moment,  
although last time I tried to add Scoot I couldn't upload the photo. I am really 
 excited about having a little one again, especially as he is so fluffy - I 
only  had 3 fluffy ones left of the 10, and I do have a particular penchant for 
that  bad hair day look - possibly because it is the look I have permanently  
myself!
 
So, welcome to the Dolly Mixture family, Soturi, and here's hoping you and  
Zebra will be on snuggle terms by the time you move indoors for the  winter!
 
Wheeks from Dolly Mixture Mummy Slave, Debbie