[Cherish]

So, my cousin (lovely as she is) has never really understood why I'm so adamant about not buying animals from pet shops. I've explained my reasons for it over and over again, but she always just thinks I'm over-reacting.

Anyway, after falling in love with my guinea pigs, she decided to get a pair of her own... from a pet shop. I offered to take her to a shelter, and even look through her local classifieds with her, but no, she wanted to go to a pet shop and pick out a pair of cute little babies from the dozens they had there.

Well, she'd had them just over a week before my husband and I popped round to see her two 'girls'... and one is a boy. I mean obviously a boy. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell with young ones, but this little guy couldn't be more obviously male if he grew a beard and started drinking Fosters Brew.

So, now the female guinea pig is very likely pregnant (which is extremely dangerous, because she's still a baby herself) and I've got an extremely unhappy new edition to my herd sat wheeking for his girlfriend in the quarantine cage.

Sometimes having your point made for you isn't really all that satisfying.

Oh, well, at least the experience has left my cousin vowing to never trust a pet shop again.

Anyone have any similar experiences?