Blog A Time for Reminiscence

[BrowniesMemory]

Today marks a year since I adopted Sherlock and Holmes, and I'm pleased at how far they come. Over the past year, they've gone from huddling at the back of a cage to coming over to see if I have food and occassionally let me pet them before running off to avoid getting picked up.

I've been in a pretty reminiscent mood lately, especially since I found pictures of Brownie and the other guinea pigs I had when I was a kid. My parents had taken all my piggies to a cavy savvy vet when they first started getting sick, but by that time the vet said their wasn't anything that could be done. I still tear up when I think about how in the end she held on until I got home from school. I know she wanted to be able to say goodbye and to spend some good moments in her last hour.

I'll never forget Brownie, though I wish we had known some of the things we know now. Afterall, we didn't have home internet access in 1995, and I don't think there were sites like this back then. Even so, I can't help but feel guilty for the one fatal mistake that we made, and I know my dad felt pretty guilty, especially for hurting his little girl.

[SUB]Brownie(middle) and her two children Blackie and Fluffy.
Taken before we discovered Blackie had babies and Fluffy was a boy.
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In her memory, I created this account so that I could research and make sure I knew as much as I could for when I was able to adopt a guinea pig or two in the future. Now I am the proud mommy of Sherlock and Holmes, and I'll never forget the feelings I had that day. I hadn't yet turned 23(my birthday's in March), and my brother was the one who drove when we went down to Tallahassee to hopefully get these two guinea pigs I'd seen on petfinder. Because the day before had been a holiday, I knew they'd still be there in the morning. We left around 8 or 9 in the morning, before the shelter was even due to open, because I wanted to get there as soon as possible after they opened. The whole ride down I was so worried that someone else would get there first and adopt them before we could even get down there. As far as adoptions went, it was a first come basis.

We arrived around lunch time, and had to take a detour because of roadwork on the main road to the shelter, I had already know about that from calling ahead. We arrived and I went in, leaving the carrier in the car for the time being, and was pointed in the right direction. There they were, bigger and even more gorgeous in person. I spent what must have been an hour speaking to them and seeing if they would come forward; naturally they were at the back of the cage or under the giant fiddlestick tunnel(I guess it was the size used for rabbits) and I couldn't blame them. So I close the cage door and go back to the front desk to start the adoption forms.

[SUB]Sherlock(left) and Holmes while I cleaned their main cage.
They do get regular floor time.
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After confirming that we did own our house and calling my dad (since I still live with my parents), I signed the forms and paid the fee. The lady asked if I had my own carrier, since she wasn't sure if the carboard type would survive all the way back to Albany. I said I did I went out to get it and go retrieve my new furbabies. I admit I was a little nervous about picking them up since I hadn't held a guinea pig in at least 13 years and I didn't want to hurt them. Eventually I was able to gently grab them and put them in the carrier to bring them home. We went straight home, afterall I wasn't going to eat until they were safely in their new cage with food water and hay of their own.

[SUB]Back when they first moved into the new cage; before houses were added.[/SUB]

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A few monthes later they recieved their 2x4 c&c cage, and boy were they happy. Now a year later, I'm adopting a third piggie from a local owner and will be bringing her home Saturday. However, since this post is already so long I'll wait until Saturday to blog to tell her story.