Category: guinea pigs

A Life Update

Posted on by Grayson

In the last few weeks, everything in my life got put on hold. I owe everyone an explanation.

 

Getting a divorce

In 2007, I met my husband. We were engaged in 2012, and then we got married in 2014. Within a few years, I discovered my queerness and gender fluidity. If I’m honest, I thought that once we got through that period, we would be golden.

I was wrong.

T and I are going to be getting a divorce eventually. For now, I’m working on finding a new place to live.

As sad as I am about it, part of it is him struggling with my queerness and gender. I would rather feel seen in full than in part, but it is what it is.

We’ve been polyamorous for a little bit, but he only recently began dating. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means I’ve been on dates and relatively recently more seriously dating. Polyamory is about many loves, and I’m happy to answer more questions about that. I haven’t been as out about it to avoid awkwardness with family, but have reached a point where I’m past that.

Ian, one of my partners, has been instrumental in helping me process my feelings about so many things surrounding relationship stuff. It’s been interesting dating them because they are very similar to me – the real me that often has gotten hidden. It’s been really nice to find the parts of me that I’ve hidden for so long – but most importantly, to find someone who appreciates all the weird things about me.

 

Gus died

Gussy had been sick since Halloween. He passed away on the 16th and went out doing what he loved most – snuggling me and listening to music.

I miss him so much, and I can’t help but think he would still be here if my relationship with T wasn’t tits up. Neither of us paid as much attention to the piggies as we should’ve recently. Combine that with an infection we couldn’t get ahead of and, well, you get the hellish morning of the 16th.

 

What happens now?

Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never felt so many emotions all at once. I’m frustrated, sad, hurt, angry, in love, grieving, working, and more.

I’ve been staying off social media and away from email for a while, and probably will still be slower to respond to things.

My hope is that, within a few weeks, things will find a new stride. Naturally, I will try to keep people in the loop as much as I can.

Thanks for being patient <3

RIP Oreo

Posted on by Grayson
If you follow me on social media at all, you’ll notice that I’ve gotten hella sad and depressed.
Oreo, our oldest guinea pig, passed away Monday night after needing emergency surgery.
He died in my arms. I tried to bring him back. He was just too far gone.
It’s so sad.
In January of 2015, T found a photo of Oreo and wanted to go see him even though we already had our Jaq and Gus Gus. The shelter he was located in was not really used to guinea pigs and didn’t have the right things to take care of him, from food to the cage setup. They also had him right outside of the dog area and Oreo was very scared.
I don’t often talk about things, but I have some emotional… sensitivities or gifts. Empathy with animals is the big one – I think because I had to tone down the human empathy due to my upbringing. I still sense things with many people but have blocked a lot.
Anyway, feeling his fear and worry, I couldn’t stand to see Oreo like that. So I fought to bring him home.
Here’s the Facebook post from January 26, 2015, the day after we saw him:
So I may have just been hella assertive.
 
This little guy’s name is Oreo and he has been at the Jefferson County Humane Society since the end of September 🙁 He’s close to the dogs, and gets very scared when they all start barking. He’s also in a chilly area that could potentially cause more URIs. We went and saw him Saturday, and fell in love.
 
I found out today that our apartment complex has a two pet restriction after getting a sad call from JCHS that we couldn’t take Oreo due to that. I think honestly it is because they allow cats. I can understand how too many cats in an apartment would cause a lot of extra clean up once the owners move out… but a caged animal like a guinea pig?
 
I brought up fish, which are also caged animals, and was like do you allow only two fish?
 
I felt pretty good about it.
 
Needless to say, I won the battle and Oreo gets to come to his furr-ever home tomorrow night
Within a week, he had settled in with T and I – though he was very nervous.
We quickly found that he did NOT get along with Gus Gus, but fell in love with Jaq.
Oreo’s owners prior to being at the shelter had allergies. He was always by himself and wasn’t handled much. As a result, he didn’t know how to act like a true guinea pig. That changed as he and Jaq got to be best friends.
He quickly also learned how funny it was to pee on me.
He even followed in T’s footsteps and started learning about baseball.
He would help me try to wake T up from weekend naps…
And then give up.
And then enjoy snuggles with the biggest smile.
He and Jaq and Gus tried to get along, but Gus doesn’t play well. Still, it made for some cute pictures.
Jaq and Oreo would groom each other…
And snuggle together…

And explore together.

 

Oreo was the first piggie to brave the kitchen, too!
He always took it upon himself to protect Jaq.
They were inseparable.

 

Oreo was incredibly photogenic.

 

 

 

 

T got me the sweetest Christmas present – a drawing of me and all three of our babies.

On his home-a-versary, we fed Oreo a ton of his favorite – red peppers.
He was involved in politics…
And patriotic…
And always promoted healthy body image…
He was grateful…
And he was an amazing snuggler.
When Oreo had his first bladder stone surgery in April, it was hard on Jaq. He visited often until Oreo was well enough to go back home.
He and I watched Ghost Adventures and more together.
We had to feed him baby food.
He also enjoyed eating piggie wipes.
He was so happy when his incision had healed enough to have big snuggles.
And enjoyed sleeping in the sun.
He started behaving in a way that showed the pain relief from this bladder stone, running between T and I looking for scritches and snacks.
He would even skip us and wait by the fridge or in the kitchen for noms.
On Saturday, he was still full of loves and snuggles and popcorns.
On Monday, we took him to the vet because he thought he was impacted with the poos. It turned out that he was trying to pass huge bladder stones lodged in parts of his body.
I will always hate that our last real picture with him was at the vet.
When we brought him home, he had a really hard time coming out from the drug-induced sleep. Around 10 pm he started to breathe funny. I started to pet him and talk to him.
Then he just stretched out and stopped.
I tried to wake him up, to bring him back. I did CPR and mouth-to-mouth. I woke T up and we both tried while crying.
Neither of us really slept. We held each other and cried all night. And in the morning, we did it again.
I somehow knew this was coming. I had pain in places he hurt. I kept having nightmares. I kept thinking what would happen if one of them passed and it was always Oreo in my thoughts.
The nightmares are gone, but I’d keep them if it would bring him back.
On Wednesday, we brought him home for the last time.

 

I love you so much, sweet Oreo. You brought so much love and laughter into this home. You grew from a scared and worried boy into one of the most trusting and approachable pets I’ve seen. You were so amazingly sweet and kind. Even while you were in pain, you were focused on your buddy, on being happy-go-lucky, and on love.
I will miss you every single day until you welcome me over the rainbow bridge.

 

Charging… 90%

Posted on by Grayson

How do you recharge?

Last week, I talked about how integral the piggies are in helping me get energized.
I mean, you cannot be sad and spoon-less while looking at these babies.
Spending time with them does wonders for me. It helps me focus on taking care of myself in a selfless way because I have to be there for them.
It makes it easier to be nice to myself.
When I was in New York at the beginning of the month, it really struck me how much they help me to gain energy and use it wisely… how instrumental they are in helping me rest but also be active.
I seriously missed my boys beyond what words can convey.
When working on building skills for EMDR, I actually picked as my safe place a scene that plays out at least once a week.
The boys take turns running around on the floor and I play with them.
T is getting better at joining in, but in EMDR I see him playing one of his games.
We’re all happy and interacting even though we may be doing different things.
It is the safest I’ve ever felt in my entire life, and it gives me the energy to do what’s best for me and for our furry little family.
Now I want to hear about you – how do YOU recharge?

 

The energizer piggies!

Posted on by Grayson

Tell us about three people who always make you feel energized and inspired by spending time with them.

It’s funny who and what we consider to be energizing, isn’t it?
Coffee? YES.
Parents? Not so much.
Other people? It depends for this mix of intro- and extrovert.
My guinea pigs? Always.
From left to right: Oreo, Jaq, and Gus
These three boys have the power to cheer me up, calm me down, and give me energy on my worst fatigue days.
They never fail.
Before I started on antidepressants about this time last year, I had a really rough couple of days. I would never do anything to my babies, but I started thinking about what would happen if I did.
And it was really gross and scary. I hated every minute of it. My dreams were awful.
The good news is that this helped me get help I really needed both in the form of meds and restarting therapy.
These boys are 110% the reason I’m here right now.
I know that not everyone views animals as equal to human life like I do. This whole concept of guinea pigs saving my life probably sounds strange if you’re one of those people. If I had a puppy, though, would the reaction be different?
I guarantee it.
These three boys are as much a part of my life and my thoughts as any human child I may have in the future could be.
They just have the added bonus of giving me energy instead of taking it away.

 

Therapy Thursday: piggie therapy!

Posted on by Grayson

My guinea pigs are amazing little guys. They’re resourceful, adorable, and both good at hiding and exploring depending on the situation.

One of my favorite things about them, though, is how helpful they are when I feel crummy.

Okay, so maybe they don’t come scurrying along with their medical kits, but still.

Gus is piggie hell on wheels, but that’s why I love him. He’s silly and loves to explore. He tries to move our couch on his own, even though he’s tried it approximately two million times with no positive result. He loves to play and snuggle with me. Gus is warming up to T, but this little guy is my baby no doubt. He knows it too!

Jaq is my sweetheart. He was the shyest animal I’ve ever met when we got him. He still has his timid moments, but he loves to be held as long as he’s comfortable. He loves to give me kisses and cheer me up when I’m sad. Jaq will explore to a certain degree – when it means finding good spots to hide in a corner.

Oreo is so interesting. He’s a year older than the other boys, but never was held much by his previous owners due to allergies. Still, he’s very interactive. He knows his name very well, coos when you say hi to him using his name, and will follow you around the cage – even running to the side of the cage near the front door when you get home.

All three of these piggies have such different personalities, but I think that’s why I love each of them so much. Jaq and Oreo room together, with Gus nearby, because Gus is a fighter – but not a good one! He always gets his fur bitten and loses fights he picks.

If I want to be silly, I bring Gus out and we crawl around on the floor or on my bed. He squeaks while he explores and it is SO adorable. Sometimes we watch sports.

If I’m sad and I need loves, I pick up Jaq. Sometimes that means picking up his bungalow instead of just him, but he likes that. I’ll give him treats and snuggles, and he give me loves. Sometimes I think he had it hard with the other piggies. When we got them, Gus was very dominant and so Jaq didn’t stand up for himself. Now that’s changing and I can’t help but think he mirrors me a lot.

I’m still figuring Oreo out, and that’s okay. He and I are a work in progress, but that makes it good. Oreo is very vocal about when he’s done being out and chitters to let you know it. He doesn’t bite – not even test bites like the others sometimes do. He also doesn’t like all the food the boys do, so I’m working on getting him to try new things. Sunday he found out blueberries are pretty delicious!

Other than sports buddies, what do these three rascals bring me?

They are my best friends and they love me unconditionally. They miss me whether I’ve been gone for days or hours. They snuggle and kiss and play with me to cheer me up – and they can definitely tell when I need it. They’re honestly my babies, and I couldn’t be more grateful for everything they do for me.

Do you have a pet or pets that help you out? Tell us about them!