Happy New Year

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, or since I've fostered guinea pigs and hamsters. Between the economy and my then-job, it was difficult to manage. My boys remained with me, of course, and I gave them every bit of attention I could whenever I was free. Bobby died at a bit over 3 years of age August 3, 2010, and I miss him dearly. Phin is still alive, and is now 5 as of November 2010. He's an old timer! He's enjoying being cranky and spoiled.

I don't know if I'll return to fostering guinea pigs (I can possibly foster hamsters without issue), but I do want to write about Mr. Butterfat a bit more. Since he's in what may be his twilight years, I want to capture him as much as I can. He'll be my last guinea pig for a long time, if ever. My love of cavies is as strong as ever, but my allergies to them have worsened over the years. As much as I enjoy my time with Phin, it usually results in me breaking out in hives and hyperventilating.

So here's to a year of good times and good memories, of health and happiness, for all of us.

Crittertastic!

Today, Chris and I helped the North Jersey Guinea Pig & Hamster Rescue save 30+ hamsters from who knows what. We picked them up from the Liberty Humane Society yesterday afternoon, dropped a few of them off with another rescuer and brought the rest to Carla. We decided to adopt one and foster two.

To the left are Diva and Starlet, who are up for adoption. They're both very young, and incredibly sweet in spite of what they've been through.
They were rescued from a careless owner who left his/her hamsters to breed until there were over fifty of them. Three of them were so sick and injured they had to be put to sleep. Unfortunately, I was unable to rescue two of them because they had to go back to the hell they came from. I just hope the owner is responsible this time around.

Pfefferneuse III is the hamster we decided to give a permanent home. He's a jumpy but sweet little powder puff that I fell for at first site. Since we brought him home he's been relaxing a bit. As I type this, he's sleeping away.

Here's a photo I took of him before putting him in his new home. We'll hook the wheel up to his cage tomorrow. For now, I think he's content just to sleep in a dimly lit (soon to be dark), quiet room.



Phin and Bobby are as adorable and awesome as ever. I managed to get a few photos of them and Layla recently. Here's a photo of Layla the fashion model, and Phin & Bobby during floor time, playing in an old pair of sweat pants.






Layla in her new rain coat.















Phin and Bobby have a pants party.















A scrunched up Phin.
















Bobby picked the cozier leg.

Happy Guinea Pig Month!

Apparently, March is Adopt A Rescued Guinea Pig Month, a month worth celebrating!

I'm still trying to design a logo for the North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Rescue, but things have been a bit hectic with the most recent addition to our family, Layla. She's a strong, sweet Bullmastiff-Labrador Retriever mix. A family member of mine had to give her up due to allergies. She loves attempting to groom the pigs, but the Phin and Bobby are so not having it!

Speaking of the boys, they are doing very well. They're fat, happy, and loved. Bobby will be a year old in about a month. Time flies! When he came home, he was about or a little over six weeks old if I remember correctly.

It's almost time for Springtime photos. I'll be sure to post those as soon as they're taken.

Endings & Beginnings (An Image-Heavy Update)

When we came home from the rescue on Sunday, we found our little old Pandora curled up as if asleep. Unfortunately, she would never wake up again. Our Pandy passed away sometime between late Saturday afternoon and early Sunday evening. Here's a photo of her from her first day home.

It broke our hearts, but I think Chris took it a bit harder as the girls are his babies. He decided he wanted to adopt the hamster we are fostering. So sorry to see you go so soon Pandy. We'll miss you, and were glad to finally give you a permanent home filled with love and care. Good night sweetie.

My good news is that I've decided to start fostering guinea pigs for the rescue. This weekend we picked up two boys to help Carla out. Their names are Walter and Logan. If you're interested in either of these two adorable boys, contact Carla of the North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Rescue for an application.

Walter is friendly and affectionate 1.5 year old chocolate, beige, and white American. His family gave him up after deciding on getting a dog. They felt that there would be no room for their guinea pigs once they did. I have my opinions on that, but I'll just be polite for once and keep them to myself.

Anyway, our wonderful Walter has taken to begging for attention and treats, which is just too adorable. He's going to make such a great little friend for someone.

Logan is our resident tough guy. He's a black, gold, and white American Crested. At six months, he doesn't weigh much more than our little Bobby, but he's got a lot of courage. He's a curious boy and likes to sniff around for adventures.

Lo-lo and Bobby often call out to each other, while Walter and Phin seem to talk among themselves from their respective cages. It's funny to see the young bucks and older boys forming little piggy cliques. I've never heard of such a thing.


I woke up at 05:13 this morning with an idea for a name for the baby (I didn't want to wait on Chris anymore). So the baby is now called Ursa.
The idea hit me when I remembered the day we picked her up from the shelter; as I held her she began to roar at me. I thought of calling her Leona, but then thought better of it. I gave the task of naming her to Chris, but we were still calling her the baby.

Aside from her little roar, I thought about the ad Chris found in one of his old comics about hamsters which referred to them as "little bears." So Ursa seemed perfect when I thought about her little roar.

As for the boys and Amora, they're all doing well. I'll end the entry with photos of them taken earlier this week.




An amazed Amora poses for the camera.








A fattened Phin after a snack of strawberries, sitting in his favorite place in the world -- his pigloo.










A bigger Bobby, safe and snug in the back of his cozie.

Motivational Pigtures: Charm

Motivational Pigtures: Upstage

This message was brought to you by Robert O. Goren and the League of Extraordinarily Adorable Pigs (LEAP).