My son is currently waging a great campaign. The Great Guinea Pig Campaign of 2009. He wants one. Desperately. A few library books have injected the months-old campaign with renewed vigor.
Yesterday in the car, he was presenting his case and making grand plans. What color it would be, what he would name it, how it would take care of it, how he would protect it from the cat, etc. He mused out loud about whether he should get a male or a female.
J: I think I would want it to be a female, so it could have babies. Then we could give them to other people. [a pause, and a sweet dreamy smile] You know, spread the happiness around.
For all of his pessimistic nature, sometimes the boy is just so wistfully optimistic. It's sweet, isn't it?
And in case you missed it: guinea pig = happiness.
Lighthouses
5 years ago
3 comments:
RUN!!! Run far away!
Guinea pigs are the pet that never dies! They're social, so if one dies, you have to get another so the first one won't be miserable. It's a never-ending cycle of squealing poop and pee machines. And they live FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS! That might sound like a good thing, but take my word for it, it's NOT!
Why not? Well, the cuddly-looking little creatures are anything but. They don't bond to you (don't listen to people who say they do) and all they want from you is food. Our piggies ran and hid from us *every single time* we approached their cage, and we had three of them for FIVE years.
Want a better small animal idea? Rats. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but rats make great pets. They're smart, they bond to people, and they're actually pretty clean. And they only live 2-3 years, so when your kid grows out of the small-animal phase (as most do), you're not burdened with taking care of a pet that runs in horror every time it sees you.
Um ... I guess I sounded pretty opinionated, didn't I? I just wish someone had been as honest with me *before* I'd gotten pigs. (And, btw, we're animal lovers, so it's not about that.)
Did I mention that they pee and poop copious amounts? You simply won't believe the sheer volume that such tiny little bodies can produce.
JMHO. :)
THose kids sure know how to tug at the heartstrings when it comes to pets, don't they? Sheesh. My bro and SIL are dogsitting for my uncle's dog for the weekend. It's a cocker spaniel named Dylan (a girl, yes they are yuppies) and very sweet. They brought Dylan over the other night and the kids went nuts. Poor dog probably didn't know where to run. Eventually I HAD to get them out of the house so we took the dog for an evening walk (you can do that here in MA). By the end of the walk, Ian was scheming about getting his own cocker, Eliza her own golden retriever, and Caroline ... a mix of golden retriever and chihuahua. LOL!
Thanks for the words of warning! I appreciate the honesty. I have also heard that rats make excellent pets. I will tuck that tidbit of information away for when the topic is revisited.
Hannah, I'd love to see that golden retriever/chihuahua mix! Is that even possible? LOL
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