Musings from the Small’s Room by Snickers (an adventurous young pig)

Exotic, not a word you would really associate with a guinea pig. So, you can imagine my surprise this week when I learned that guinea pigs are classified as exotic animals. Exotic conjures up an image of a tropical island, an unusual creature found only in the depths of a rain forest, a fancy drink with a little paper umbrella, or perhaps that strange looking fruit you have been meaning to try at the local supermarket.

But a humble guinea pig?

Exotic is not exactly the first word that comes to mind. Rotund, squeaky, and adorable may spring to mind, but truth be told I have never thought of myself as exotic. Granted I have only been on this earth eight months, so I am not exactly a man of the world, but after doing a quick poll in the small’s room none of us think of ourselves that way.

But I am thinking that should change …

Why can’t we be exotic, mysterious, awe inspiring? So, I am heading up a campaign to change the décor in the small’s room. We are leading the charge for more color, more glamor and dare I say it an altogether more exotic look to our space. Pig Pig and Nellie, our two most experienced and knowledgeable pigs in the room, are heading up this endeavor. Not that I don’t think us guys are capable of creating an amazing space, but let’s face it there is just something about the way a lady thinks, their style and panache allows them to bring something unique to the table. Kim, Kat, Katie if you are reading this, we have narrowed it down to a tropical island sunset (think Bali or Tahiti) or a lush Amazonian waterfall mural …. Thoughts?

We have babies. It is always nice to have some teeny, tiny piggies in our midst, and these three are no exception. Of course, they are super cute, very entertaining and dying to meet there furever families, but you will have to wait a few more weeks before they will be up on the adoptable animal’s page. Speaking of babies, we also have a lot of kittens currently living in foster homes that will also be available in a month or so. Spring is definitely in the air. But I know you can’t wait to see them so I have added a video of these cuties to the blog, and for size reference their litter box is about the size of a laptop.

Now back to the rest of us, the long-term residents (what we now jokingly call ourselves), myself, Drumstick, Slack, and Fudge have all been here since last year. I mean speaking for myself I was technically born here, well at a foster home, I watched my brothers, sisters and mom get adopted but sadly I am still here. Come on people, there must be someone out there for me!! Check out this video and you will be able to see all the fun we could have together, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cotkdOCD1eY

As you can see in this video guinea pigs clearly love to be part of a herd (yes that is the technical name for a group of us). We can live in large groups but as family pets one or two other friends is perfect. So, if you already own a pig and would like to find a friend you could perhaps match with one of us. I just had an entrepreneurial thought, we need a dating/matching app for guinea pigs, I will mull over some ideas and get back to you, but I do believe I may have hit on something here. Introducing us is not that difficult, but should be done over the span of a couple of weeks. Males and females should be kept apart, I hope I don’t have to explain why! As much as we love our human companions it is always nice to gossip together in our own language.

We have several new rabbit friends in the room, Shamrock has now been with us for just over a month and Daisy recently joined the crew. A bird joined our gang, well two actually but one was already adopted. Jodie is quite a little chatterbox, but has proved an interesting addition to our room as she has a wonderful view out of the window so is able to tell us what is happening on the outside. Puppies have been coming and going, we get a quick glimpse as they are walked past our doorway.

I hope to be back to writing a more regular column, so look out for adoption updates in the next week or two, fingers or toes crossed.