My sweet little Gloria has now been a part of my life for an entire year!
Last year at this time, I was feeling rather lonely- living in a new state, at a new school, with no Nathan, no roommate, and few new friends. I was expressing my feelings about it in an email to Nathan, and his genius idea was "why don't you get a pet? Maybe a puppy... or a fish." I considered it for about a week. I even did some preliminary browsing around local pet stores. Then one fantastic Saturday, Brie and I went into PetSmart, and I saw the display of baby guinea pigs, and I knew...
We held about every baby guinea pig in the pen, and decided on little Miss Gloria, because of her little black soul, her cute little attitude, and her little white bangs.
We took her home in a little cardboard box, and she's been mine ever since. She did suffer from a little respiratory infection when she was new- so she got sent back to PetSmart veterinary services to recover.
Over the past year, I've learned a thing or two about my pig. She LOVES green peppers, apple cores, and blocks of alfalfa grass. She does not love oranges, bananas, or carrots that are less than fresh. When she gets freedom, she runs around the kitchen table at full speed. When I get home from school at night, she begs for her food by saying "weet weet!" She also "weets" anytime she hears cupboards opening- I think she associates it with the sound the cupboards make when she gets food. She purrs when I pet her and she likes to nestle up between my shoulder and my neck.
I admit that I am a total guinea pig nerd. But Gloria (nicknamed Glor, Zor, Lil' G, or Gloria in Excelsis Deo) has been one of my best Michigan friends... through a lot of tuff stuff. She silently listens as I tell her my thoughts about missing Nathan, the woes of waiting and dating, the stresses of graduate school, and pangs of occasional homesickness. Once or twice, she's even licked my hands as I've cried.
She makes me happy every day.
And on this day... similar to THIS DAY
(only stronger and deeper now)
I'm Thankful for Gloria.
Happy Birthday, Lil' G!!
8 comments:
Awww. I wish I could post a picture of my guinea pig. His name is Rico :]
YAAAY!! Happy Birthday to Gloria. I'm glad she's been there for you. :)
Aw...don't you just love my grandpig? Remember when L'il G was in Petsmart ICU? She's a survivor! Just like her grandmama. Did she like the yogurt drops? I know how picky she can be!
Oh the love of a little lamb and her little pig! You are sweet James. Happy Gloria Day - I bet she feels pretty lucky to have you too :O) Miss your face!
Hi Jamilyn!
I LOVE guinea pigs. If I didn't live in the dorms, I would totally have one. My first guinea pig had a lot of health problems and I learned a lot after taking care of him, and my last guinea pig lived for almost 10 years! I worked with a breeder too, so I am also a huge guinea pig nerd, and as such, I have to advocate proper guinea pig health that a lot of poeple seem to be unaware of...
1. Pine bedding (the tan colored kind) is the most healthy.
2. Make sure you give her a handful of TIMOTHY HAY every day. If she eats it all, give her more. You can't really give her too much hay.
3. Parsley and Kale is a VERY HEALTHY treat for guinea pigs and you should give it to them as a treat because they LOVE it and its really really good for them (not every day though). Carrots, celery, and fruit aren't as nutritious as Kale and Parsley.
4. Vitamin C is also really important. Since they don't get it from their pellots (the only proper food) or the hay, its a good idea to put drops in her water. You can get it at the pet store.
5. The easiest method of cage cleaning I ever tried was lining the bottom with newspaper, and then you can just roll up the newspaper with the bedding inside and put it in a garbage bag. Then you're done! It's much less messy this way.
I have a guinea pig book if you ever want to borrow it. Let me know and I'll bring it to studio! :)
gloria is getting old enough to be thanksgiving dinner
Girrl. You need to put up a countdown or something so i can see how much time left!
I would say i love the post but it would be lying. I am so scared of hamsters! :)
Happy belated B Gloria!! I am glad that she is doing so well, I won't even tell you about my guinea pig experiences. The poor things, I do not have a good history with animals.
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