Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Nerves

 UT Tyler in April. It is crunch time for school, Patriot Days are our only solace, before planing trips (and classes) for the summer.
          That and I got two guinea pigs. I went to purchase one pig as some sort of pet therapy. After committing, I did further research only to discover that they are herding animals. Since I couldn't afford the hay for a herd I figured they would do better in at least pairs. So now I have these two wheeking vegetable eating poop machines. I love them.
         At first, I was crushed because the little guys wouldn't come out of their personal huts. I wanted to give them a good home, to hand feed them, to play with them, but they weren't having any part of my human contact. Chuck, the larger red one, was eating the coveted carrots meant for Ollie, the smaller one. They would dart into their homes if you came near them. I thought they hated me and each other, but I looked it up on the internet that they are just nervous when they rehome and can take months to adapt. If something tries to stand over the piggie, they will think it is a hawk trying to eat them, like their ancestors, or the countries that raise them now as meat animals. I was hurt, so my pets made me really think about the worst parts of people. 

Lazy Never coming out of your hut.
Selfish Eating your food, and then your neighbor's food.
Skiddish Yeah. It can be awful to be afraid when you don't need to be. The only hands that are coming near you are to feed you and take care of you. I became more patient.

            After the past few weeks of trying to coax the little guys out of their homes with carrots and cucumbers, they are finally starting to warm up, but sometimes run back into their cages.

                    Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between a hand feeding you and a hawk.

Monday night Ollie, the smaller more reserved one, popcorned and it made it all worth it for me. Patience and Perspective.



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