[Gpdd] ANNOUNCE New Piggyfriends Part One.

[Penny Charlesworth]

When I brought home my little sows, Petunia and Peony, who were a part of that big RSPCA rescue, I told our Rodentologist that, if she had any more piggies needing a home, I would have room for a couple more sows to share Hope's huge pen with them. Or I could take a neutered boar. I have more boars here than ever before and have not as much room as usual.

Two weeks ago, she heard of a neutered boar in need. He was 5 months old and had entropion. For any of you that might be unfamiliar with this, it is an eye condition, in which the eyelid turns inwards, sometimes trapping the eyelashes. In severe cases this can be treated with surgery. My Bianca, a Piggyfriend from long ago, suffered from this, so I had no hesitation in offering him a home. Bianca, a beautiful white Peruvian, was not too severely affected, needing checking daily for any eyelash that might have been trapped and having ophthalmic drops administered as necessary.

He was due to be dropped off at Cavies' Castle on the same day that I was going there to bring dear Frodo home for burial, as well as Bramley, who had stayed at the hospital for a few days following the removal of a benign cyst.

He was coming along with some invalids from GBH rescue and should have arrived before me but it looked as if I would be making a return trip to fetch him home. I was sitting on the Cavies' Castle sofa having a coffee and being generally miserable about Frodo along with Chris, our Rodentologist, who had just lost a patient, when the ladies bringing the piggies finally arrived, having got lost along the way. I had been about to leave with my boys when they came in carrying box after box of piggies.

Chris had not been expecting this many and had not prepared enough cages to take them all so Sue, one of the helpers, and I searched out spare cages and boxes to take them all. I think ( no, I know ) that people take advantage of Chris's kind nature and passion for piggies and expect her to find homes for far too many. She is not even a rescue, although she often has a piggy or three in need. The invalids were taken for assessment and then she was told that Jackie at the rescue didn't want them back and could she rehome them?

First of all, I saw the little boy that was to be mine. He was the biggest 5 month old that I had ever seen. Obviously a LAPS member in the making. He was bred by one of the ladies making the delivery but was no use to her as a stud pig because of the entropion, which is hereditary and also useless as a show pig but as a Piggyfriend, he is priceless. She only breeds Goldens and he is typical of the breed with a bright gingery red coat and lovely red eyes. He happily sat on my lap and munched parsley until Tich, the other Rodentologist had time to check out his eye. 

The entropion is very mild, the eyelid just being a little misshapen and may not even need treatment but, whereas we had been led to believe that he had been neutered a while ago, he had only had his op a couple of days ago and still had his stitches. So he cannot live with Hope and the girls for a while but he might make an excellent new friend for my bereaved Shadow.

He had been named by his breeder and was called Chariot!!! His mother is Charity, and she names her pigs with the same initial so that she knows which line they are from. "I don't mind if you rename him", she said. That's good. I don't know if I could live with Chariot. Chariots of Fire maybe? He is red, after all. I don't think so. His father is called Endeavour so maybe I could call him Morse ( English readers may be familiar with the TV detective of that name ).

I put him into his box whilst I looked at the other pigs. Two sows were rapidly found a home following a phone call to a Cavies' Castle member, who had been looking for two more. Two down, how many more to go? Then a box was opened and two tiny boars were inside. Both 5 weeks old, a fluffy white Rex with a ginger patch below one eye and a very small red coated friend. I had to pick them up and cuddle them. The red one was the runt of his litter and the Rex may well be a relative of my Crystal, who came via the same breeder to Cavies' Castle, unwanted because she has a slight head tilt. He looks so like her, except that she has ginger around both eyes.

"Don't pick them up", said Sue, "You won't be able to put them back". How right she was. She has no room for more piggies, having taken three from the RSPCA rescue herself but I could squeeze in an extra cage, couldn't I?

I had no carriers for them, having only taken one for Bramley and a small box for Frodo so Chris found two cardboard boxes and we improvised. 

So I came home with three extra piggies and they are so very welcome.

I am splitting this into two parts as my story is becoming far too long.

More shortly. Damn! It is snowing again!

Penny and the Piggyfriends.