Our New Addition

Fresh off the heels of my "no babies here" post, guess what. We have a new addition! Yup, a furry little baby has joined the family. As Tim puts it, his "son". Yes, he will kill me for writing about all the cutesy things he does with our new furry baby on my blog for all to see. But you know what? He's admitted to me that he doesn't read my blog anymore, so that sounds like an open invitation to me! Plus, I'll know who tells him about it if he does find out (here's looking at you, Susie and Alice)! :) Haha.

After we lost my little love Scooter, I knew I wanted to get another guinea pig for a couple reasons.

1 - I am such a sucker an animal lover. Honestly? If I lived alone, I'd probably have like 10 guinea pigs. Tim has limited me to 2. There are so many out there without homes it's not even funny. No one ever thinks of guinea pigs that way, but it's true. You know what? There's a guinea pig rescue in our area (Have-a-Heart Guinea Pig Rescue). "There's such a thing as a guinea pig rescue??" Same reaction I get every time I tell people about it. I have been to this rescue (it's in Burlington, NJ). It's where I got PC, the other guinea pig I have, 3 years ago. Basically it is this woman's house with tons of guinea pigs (and other animals), and she also has guinea pig foster homes she has to house them at when her own house gets too full. My point is that just like cats and dogs, there are guinea pigs out there also without homes and a cage of their own and love from a family. So I knew when we lost Scooter I wanted to help another homeless GP.

2 - Guinea pigs are social animals. They like to have companions (companions they get along with, of course). PC definitely seemed lonely after Scooter died. I felt bad leaving him home alone during the day, or turning the lights out on him at night. He had always had his big brother right there with him during those times. So I knew I wanted to try to find PC a friend.

Some people don't like to get another animal when they lose one they loved so much. I am not trying to replace Scooter. Trust me, he could never be replaced. But it does fill in the hole in your heart just a little bit, and perhaps it distracts you from the pain you feel. And it's providing a home for an animal that didn't have one.

So I was all set to hit up the guinea pig rescue this weekend. I had been emailing with a foster home and the rescue. Then I get an email from Amanda:

So I went to the dr today and I overhear this woman talking about how she got her kids a guinea pig and as it turns out her husband is really allergic to it. Its name is Arnold, or "little fella". He is 2 1/2 months old. Her name is Debbie. Here is her number.

Heart... strings.... tugging. I thought I must've told her about my plans to go to the rescue, but apparently I didn't. I'm just the guinea pig lady (totally fine with me). I called the woman, explained to her that I was interested, but that we needed to do a meet and greet to make sure they weren't going to fight or anything (sometimes they can get violent, and that's not a good match). I told her if it didn't work out I would be happy to take little fella to the guinea pig rescue. She was so grateful. Turns out there was even more to the story.

A man walked into a 7-11 holding up a guinea pig and asked if anyone wanted it. Poor little guy! Debbie happened to be in that 7-11, knew her husband was highly allergic, but, like me, couldn't let a little stray go without a home. She decided to bring it home and figured surely one of her friends or family would be able to take him in. Two months later, she still couldn't find a home for him. Her local animal hospitals and rescues were overcrowded and didn't want to take him. Then Amanda overheard her at the Dr and that was that! I met her in a Walmart parking lot (don't judge me), we let the pigs meet, and I brought the little guy home.

He's a fiesty little guy, that's for sure! I guess it's because he's so young (about 3 months). He has so much energy! He was pretty scared at first, being in a new home and in a real cage and all (he was in a rubbermaid bin for 2 months!), but he has quickly warmed to us and his new big brother. I compare it to like having a baby, because he squeals like crazy just to be able to come out and play or be held (attention in one way or the other). He's even got a little baby belly, it's so cute! And he runs around and around and around when we put him in the playpen on the floor. He runs circles around our fat big boned PC.

Tim is enamored with the little thing. He says Scooter and PC were his stepsons, but that Little Fella (hold on, we'll discuss the name in a minute) is his son. When he takes a drink of water he's like "Awww look! He's drinking!" um... yes, love. PC drinks all the time. "Aww he pooped!" Lol. And when I come to bed at night I get "What was my son doing before you came upstairs?" Yup, he's hooked. He may not have been much of a guinea pig man before, but he sure is now.


So names. He'll be called little fella for the most part, but like I like to point out to Tim, he calls PC "fat boy" and that's not his real name, so the baby needs a real name as well. I'm thinking Tyson. Here's why:

Mike Tyson via Google Image Search

Right? Right??

Bonnie made the suggestion of TyKo (Tyson and the first two letters of our last name), and of course for some reason Tim likes that better than just Tyson. I think he just doesn't like my suggestion because it's my suggestion. God help us if we ever do have kids. They'll never be named. Or they'll be named something like TyKo or Little Fella.

-C
xxx

PS - I told the rescue and foster home I wouldn't be coming afterall, and told them the whole story. They were glad to hear I was helping out a GP that needed a home, and didn't go to a pet store or something. Remember how many pets are in shelters and rescues before going to a pet store, my friends!