To see two terrified guinea pigs stuck in a cage too small for even one, without a house to play in, a cuddle cup to snuggle in, a wooden toy to chew on, only one food bowl and two water bottles, nothing else...knowing they are no longer wanted, maybe
never really were, strangers walking by one by one deciding they are not worth taking home...over and over they sit, close
together, paralyzed, terrified.
Then they are taken to a home. They are given fresh hay, natural, healthy food, vitamin-fortified water, and THEN...
one by one, they are removed from their cage, wrapped in a warm, soft blanket, given a fresh piece of organic lettuce,
and they are petted! At first it is terrifying but - wait! The lettuce, why they've never eaten anything fresh before.
They have only had the same dried pellets day after day...and that lettuce, why, it's delicious!
And the blanket! At first they are not sure because it is not anything they have ever felt before, soft, warm...cozy, they
can bury their heads, feel their fur become warm, their bodies becoming cozy, so they relax...
Until, THE HAND touches them and they freeze! Will it hurt them? Will they die? It is soft, too, it is gentle, it seems
to know where it feels good on their stunned bodies...they relax, and the hand finds the places where warmth and
gentleness begin to seep in, are allowed in, begin to feel - Safe?
Soon, they feel like they have never felt before, the warmth and softness of their blanket, the taste of a fresh vegetable,
and the hand that knows how to melt their terror as they settle into something foreign...what is this? Their guard is
disappearing and the terror in their tiny bodies and eyes drifts away slowly as they begin to breathe in something,
what is it? What is this thing? They hear the words, "I love you" but what? What?
AND IT IS GOOD.
Day 2. They are gently removed from their tiny prison and placed on the floor...they freeze! They have never been out of
the cage before! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? ARE THEY GOING TO DIE NOW? WAS YESTERDAY TOO GOOD TO BE
TRUE? WE SHOULD NOT HAVE LET OUR GUARD DOWN, IT'S ALL OVER NOW!
The baby takes a few tentative steps and realizes those things attached to her little body, those legs and tiny feet actually
MOVE! She takes a few more steps and realizes she has a nose and it smells guinea pig smells...and she follows those smells
and her legs keep moving and her feet feel carpet and they like it so they begin moving faster and just a little faster and
THEN SHE RUNS! She never knew she could RUN! It's
sooo fun! In and out of tunnels and narrow alleyways between
other cages with guinea pigs standing on their hind feet looking out at them, watching two little girls learn how to walk,
discover they can run, and experience PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIVES! They run and chase one another
with wild abandon and popcorn with glee! (
Popcorning is a term describing when guinea pigs are so happy they literally POP up into
the air or jerk abruptly in the midst of a wild gallop as if having a seizure, switch direction, then take off at an even faster gallop! Guinea pigs popcorn when their Glee feels almost like more happiness than they can endure: it is Joy Supreme!)
This is new. This is something altogether novel, this feeling safe, this feeling happy, this being ALIVE! The girls ARE happy! The girls FEEL safe. The girls KNOW WHAT BEING WANTED FEELS LIKE!
The girls feel LOVED.
AND IT IS GOOD.
Why rescue two funny-looking guinea pigs left abandoned at an old hay and feed store downtown?
So that while eating an almond butter, banana, and jam sandwich with a glass of
soymilk for dinner,
a human soul can
experience two nearly inanimate souls spring to LIFE, know joy and experience love for the first time
in their short lives. And the human who "rescued them" what about her? She gets rescued even more.
Why rescue? Because They save us! They return our humanity back to our lonely, aching souls.
AND IT IS GOOD.
