Georgia and Francie's Official Thread (with Pics)

[nonamian_girl]

It's occurred to me that I've never officially introduced my oinkers onto this site. So here we go (this will include a story ).

I got Georgia a couple months after my pig Punker passed away, when I couldn't be without a pig any longer. I could have adopted a pig from one of my mom's co-workers who's daughter wasn't taking care of it, but I could see that the pig just didn't suit me and was not in the best shape health-wise. So I did the selfish thing and bought Georgia at PetSmart (please don't yell at me, this was well before I found this site).

I picked her because she was the bounciest, most energetic pup in the bin. However, when I brought her home, she was terrified of everything and really unhappy for a while. But as time went on, I tamed her, and she loved running all over my rented crack shack.

Here is baby Georgia, with my face in the background:


Within three days of having Georgia in the crack shack, an awful thing happened. My boyfriend had an allergic reaction so bad we had to take him to the walk-in clinic. His eyes were so swollen, red and watery that he couldn't see. Naturally, the doctor quickly recommended getting rid of Georgia. I cried the whole way home. The boyfriend felt terrible.

After checking out the allergy page on CavySpirit, we decided to stick it out for another month or two, because we came to the conclusion that living in a mouldy, dusty crack shack was probably what set on the allergies. We moved at the end of the term, and went home for the summer.

I guess the allergies were a blessing in disguise, because they are the reason I found this amazing web site. Frankly, however, it terrified me, because it seemed that although I had thought myself a guinea pig expert, I had been providing them with very improper care. Georgia got a C&C during the first week that I was at home and had access to a car.

Soon I began to realize that two pigs would be a lot better than one. Now that I had fulfilled my selfish needs, I felt really guilty about not taking the guinea pig that had been in need. I wanted to adopt it as a pal for Georgia, but before I could get the consent of everyone (my mom, the allergic boyfriend), I received news that the pig had passed away.

This made me feel REALLY awful, and I vowed to adopt a friend for Georgia.

Summer came and went, and the boyfriend and I moved into our nice, non-mouldy, non-dusty apartment. Conveniently, I had expanded the C&C to a 2x4, which just happened to be big enough for two pigs.

However, before I could think about getting another oinker, I was anxiously waiting for the boyfriend to get an allergy test to see if he really was allergic to the pig. The test showed that he was not only allergic to the pig, but also to any hay that came with the pig, along with all mould, several types of trees, plants, and also dust. Obviously, having a timothy-eating pig who lived on pine bedding was not the best option for him. His doctor basically made it sound like if we don't get rid of Georgia, he'll die. There were many more tears, and once again I turned to the allergy page on CavySpirit. This time, i followed the advice more thoroughly, and got the boy a couple of air filters. We decided to stick it out until Thanksgiving and see how he does. Thanksgiving came and went, and we decided to stick it out till Christmas (my mom would have taken in Georgia, but would not have been overly happy about it).

Obviously, as time went on, we realized that the doctor was wrong, and the boyfriend and the pig could co-exist. Naturally, I took this to be a sign that it's time to adopt a friend for Georgia, who was by this time often making lonely pig sounds.

Here is Georgia with her sexy feet, sleeping in many poses:





(see more below).

[nonamian_girl]

I started looking at PetFinder, frequently in front of my boyfriend, and combined it with long, wishful sighs, and pointed out Georgia's lonely sounds. He finally gave, and within a week and a half of emailing a lady on PetFinder, we had Francie.



This little tyke was cute as a button and loud as a train whistle, and I immediately fell in love.



(see MORE below)

[stitsy&codyPig]

She is adorable and I am happy you got to keep her!

[nonamian_girl]

Unfortunately, Georgia did not seem to feel the same way. She would chase and nip Francie all over the cage, and both pigs seemed very unhappy. I was quite stressed out myself; I wanted the best for Georgia, I wanted to make her happy with a same-species friend, but the situation seemed to be quite the opposite. I would feel terrible if I had to return Francie, but SHE also seemed extremely unhappy and would scream bloody murder whenever Georgia went near her.

But, with the help of this awesome forum, I figured out that there was another problem: Francie was covered with mites.



But, luckily for me, a little Ivermectin can go a long way, as you can see:



(see even more below)

[nonamian_girl]

The situation seemed less than ideal, but with the help of the forum, and the passage of the time, the girls have become quite bonded and happy with each other. There are many piggie trains formed daily, and teamwork occurrs quite often. They still can't share sleeping places, and Francie still gets nipped sometimes, but for the most part, Georgia has learned to accept her and they are happy together.

What follows is a bunch of random Francie and Georgia pictures.



This was taken the first time I held the two of them together in my lap, in an attempt to make them get along. I've never heard so much complaining in my life! It was like two little kids going "Mom, she's touching me! You started it!"



This is the closest the two have ever slept together.



Here is the two eating grass together, when Francie was still a wee baby.

[nonamian_girl]

The trouble makers on my bed.



Sleeping *almost together*.



And my fave pic pif them, together begging for veggies.

[nonamian_girl]

Here's some more individual ones:



Georgia in her laundry-inspired tent.



Francie in a dilapitated, inside out cuddle cup.

In conclusion, the pigs are very happy together, and I am very happy with the pigs. There is a lot of oinking going on, and a lot of piggie trains to and from my room. It's great.

And how does the boyfriend feel, you might ask? Well, sometimes I still worry, and sometimes he gets various symptoms and it seems to take him a long time to get better when he gets sick, but other than that, well, I think this picture says it all:



THE END (at least until I get more pictures).

[Sweet Pea]

They are so adorable!!!

[JennG]

Yeah for happy endings! I'm so glad you were able to stick it out and find a solution. Your piggies are adorable and you obviously love them and your boyfriend. Great job!

[WEAVER]

VERY CUTE!!! I love your story and I am so glad that you did not give up easily and instead did lots of research and made it work. (I personnally would of gave up the boyfriend before the pigs ) I can tell he likes them to and that is great.
My husband is not a big animal fan and never had pets when he was a kid (had a few ferral neighborhood cats but I don't consider those pets, even though he does). We have been together now for almost 10 years and currently have a dog, 2 cats, and three piggies (5 after Sunday), he is finally admitting he enjoys them too. It has taken him a while (and for the most part I do all the "dirty work"), but I can see him slowly coming around. I think it so funny because him and I are so different, but maybe that is what makes our marriage work so well.
We were both up the other night so late, sitting on the edge of bed, just staring at the guinea pig's cage. Talking about ways we can revise it to fit the others, we sat there til 11:00 and poor hubby had to go to work at 4:00. I just think it is awesome to know that he is beginning to see that animals are not just an expense and a lot of work, but they complete our lives and make us better people. I will stop rambling now. . .sorry, this is your thread, about your piggies and your man hee-hee.

[ScottandDebbie]

Thank You... Thank you
Love Happy Endings.
And I *Loved* the wonderful pictures. You have some amazing pics. I love the one with the "kicked out" hid legs while resting. So cute.

[Piglet]

OH MY GOSH! Those pictures are amazing

[nonamian_girl]

Thanks everyone!

Weaver-when I was planning the second floor of the cage, I got the boyfriend involved and he almost took over the whole project!

Sometimes I'll catch him getting the pigs to follow him around and I tease him and say I know he loves them, and he tries to deny it but not very convincingly :P.

[snickers66]

That was such a great story.. Good Luck to you !! and you have amazing pictures ! Such cute piggies.
My husband wasn't that crazy with us getting g.p.'s but he has built their
cage, already designing the next one, brings odd & end things home from work that he thinks the boys could use and I have found him on many occasions giving them snacks ! (yea right, he doesn't like em' )

[nonamian_girl]

I shared these on GL but I thought I'd show them here too. We went picture happy and got a couple good ones of the pigs being silly, like so:
[FONT=Arial]

[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Georgia having a good munch.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]
Francie following Georgia's example.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]

Where's Francie?

[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]

Georgia demanding food, as always.

[/FONT]