PRAYER OF GRATITUDE

Tonight it is quiet because Bear is still at the vet, Yum-Yum misses him and mom cannot console him. I would like to offer a prayer of gratitude for friendship between animals. I am just a guinea pig nobody wanted. Since being adopted and creating PandaPigSanctuary, mom has also adopted littleYumYum and, last Christmas Eve, Bear the Beaver Pig. Now we are Three Pigs!  Three guinea pigs and mom!  We are now the family we never had.  And tomorrow, Bear is coming Home! So, tonight, while YumYum is sad, I am grateful that we at least have each other and enjoy the beauty, warmth, and comfort of our first real Home. Mom said "That includes me, too, Panda!"

INCONSOLABLE YUM-YUM

Yum-Yum misses Bear so much he spent the night alone, sadly, in his ferret sleeping bag instead of playing with his toys, rearranging his cage, wheeking, and socializing with me. I've never seen him like this but it must be how I was when Chai moved down to Seattle. In fact, that's probably one reason mom brought Yum-Yum home, to cheer me up.

It's never been so quiet. There is nothing that will cheer him up because even though mom keeps telling Yum that "Bear will be home tomorrow," (well, most of him will be) Wee Willie Winkie has no concept of time.

We live in the moment;
we're spiritual that way.

But, for now, the boisterous, playful, circus-act we know and love as Yum-Yum has retreated into his sleeping bag and is not even hungry. Tomorrow cannot come soon enough.

We all miss Bear. It's just too quiet on the PigPonderosa and there is nothing to be done but wait and listen to the birds singing boisterously outside that "Spring is coming! Spring is coming!" Even the red-winged blackbirds' bright red epaulets are growing in. Handsome creatures! And don't they know it!

For now, however, it remains too quiet, and Yum-Yum has discovered how deep friendship runs within the "Herd that Hears."

BEAR HIDING FROM SNIP-SNIP: If I can't see you, then you can't see me!

YUM-YUM IS SAD TONIGHT

Just look at that face! Well, it's all because today mom had to take Bear up to our vet in Lynden for the big "snip-snip. He had developed certain man-problems which can afflict un-neutered older male boars.

Problem is, Yum-Yum misses him so much he has cried, squealed, and wheaked until his voice reached epic proportion which caused mom to put him in Bear's cage to calm him down because she has a migraine tonight. And give him carrots. Yummy gets upset enough when mom picks one of us up for lap-time, but he's never had an overnight away from Bear and she has a new set of ear-plugs so she can sleep. He is now just lying sadly in his little square soft-house, bereft of joy.

But mom made one magnificent discovery whilst cleaning Wee Willie Winkie's cage tonight. She bought him a wooden toy to chew on (that's how we keep our teeth from growing and growing and growing.)  The chew toy was easy enough for a learning-impaired Teletubby to construct in 5 minutes; it took mom all night to put square things in round holes.

Cleaning Yummy's "secret garden" she discovered he had carefully dismantled hours of work in a matter of minutes, dragged half of his chew toy into his special place, then gnawed on it until it was unrecognizable. He casually left the other half lying dismally face-down against his food bowl.

But tonight Yum-Yum is not chewing on his new toy. He misses Bear and it really shows how sensitive we guinea pigs are to separation and loss.

We grieve.

Our hearts are tender, like yours.

BEAR AND HIS BEST FRIEND HARMONYS

BEAR AND HARMONYS

Harmonys is a little poodle who is one of Bear the Beaver Pig's best friends. When Harmonys comes over, Beaver always offers her his lettuce and kale but she prefers to snuggle noses and lick his snout. He wheaks and wheaks when she has to go home with her mom, but while she's here he thinks he is a dog and loves to play with her! Mom supervises them closely and always keeps her hands on Harmonys because sometimes she gets so excited she jumps around and Bear can't jump. But he sure loves her!

EMOTIONAL HEALING WITH YUM-YUM

"Emotional healing is a most amazing gift that's betstowed by our furry friends...the choice to nurture a pet in our life can bring huge returns on our investment." - Chelle Thompson, Editor of Inspirational Line

Mom wasn't used to being shut in since she got more sick and she was very lonely. She used to see the animals in the woods, mountains, and beaches but could no longer travel to her favorite places. She felt deeply sad by herself without her wild animal friends.

But since we have come into her life and made her home ours, burrowing softly into her heart, she is not sad or lonely anymore. We talk to her and tell her about our day, what we would like for breakfast in the morning, whether we would like a runabout or lap time, and if we want to hear our favorite music. YumYum has a Celtic channel on Pandora that he likes to fall asleep to. Bear the Beaver Pig loves the sound of his teeth rattling his cage or gnawing on his newest cardboard box house. And I love it when mom puts me in a cuddle-cup and we lay on the bed together watching different birds come to the feeder. If it's a little woodpecker, YumYum will giggle. We don't think mom is the same since she met us. She wakes up and we are there. She has a bad day and we are there. She goes to bed at night and we are there. We are always there to comfort her, but we mostly make her laugh just being ourselves. She thought she was rescuing us when she first saw us abandoned at the feed store downtown. But, now she confesses quietly into our little ears how grateful she is: for it is we who have rescued her and given her best friends to share her life with. Who knew little guinea pigs could love as much as we love? Only someone we have rescued really knows how joyful we are when we love and are loved in return.

THE CIRCLE OF COMPASSION

"Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." Albert Schweitzer

HAPPINESS IS...

"Happiness is not in having what you want. But happiness is in wanting what you have." H.H. Sant Rajinder Singh

View from mom's meditation and art chair. Beauty without, beauty within, and happiness when she meditates. She often puts one of us on her lap before and after meditation and we feel quiet and peaceful, too, without knowing exactly why.

Mom used to be an avid outdoors person, wildlife photographer, and athlete. Now she is disabled and learning more about happiness than she ever did before. She says living with us helps because it takes so little to make us happy: a new cardboard box to chew on or hide under, a leaf of lettuce, lap time...she wants us to teach her how simple joy can be. And sometimes she calls us her furry little Buddhas. We don't know what that means, but we are happy here! And the view is delicious in Spring!

LITTLE ACTS OF KINDNESS

"The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a person's life."

William Wordsworth got that right!

Sometimes I'm having a bad day, and just a little petting, a kind and gentle word, or just the warmth of someone's loving hand stroking my fur is all it takes for me to start purring and remember how happy a truly loved pig can be. We feel that most people underestimate how complex guinea pigs' feelings truly are; but those who do understand bring unfathomable joy into our lives. Mom's many neighbors and friends love to put us in their laps and play with us. They will never know how deeply we appreciate them, remember them, and look forward to seeing them again!

Bear's Beaver Teeth

Whenever mom opens the fridge door, we all run out of our houses squealing for whatever is in it but the loudest one of all is Bear, who grabs the bars with his big old teeth and shakes so hard his whole cage rattles! One time he pushed his snout so hard in between the bars it actually got stuck and mom had to stretch the bars apart so he could pull his head out. Relieved, he did the exact same thing again.

Mom asks us sometimes exactly how much of a learning curve we have? We became silent, thought about it, then squealed so loudly and insistently she fed us double kale plus carrots! Whose learning curve isn't very curvy NOW?!

MEET PANDO: NOT JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE

Dear friends,
This lovely gent is my twin cousin, Pando, an international correspondent for NPR (NoPigsleft to Rescue) or something...they shared an office with NPR in Philadelphia and one day he was to be interviewed by the indomitable Terry Gross, who we consider the finest interviewer in the world, NOBODY SHAKES UP TERRY GROSS, NOBODY!

Usually, Terry interviews her subjects by phone. But since they share office space, her interview with Pando was in person. Terry showed up, sharp as a tack, unflappable, ready to hit Pando with some tough issues facing guinea pigs in the world today, controversial questions she hoped would reduce him to helpless stammering. On Air!

Pando took his seat opposite Terry and, with 30 seconds before air time, casually turned around, plucked a fresh, moist poo from his bottom, and began sucking on it loudly in front of her. With 12 seconds left, he swallowed the poo with a satisfied grunt, then gave Terry a "READY TO RUMBLE?" look.

Terry gagged, started having dry heaves, then, let's just say what she did next short-circuited the soundboard she sat poised in front of.

He remains the only interviewee ever to drop a "shock and awe poo-bomb" ruining Terry's composure only seconds before a live interview.  NPR  pulled out an archived talk with Quentin Tarantino while Terry regained her composure and changed into clean clothes before returning to her now spoiled, stinky soundboard.

Pando leaned back and said, "I've got just one word for you, doll, just one word: COPROPHAGY. Do it all the time, look it up, smartypants."

Pando has been transferred to an obscure hamlet in the British Isles where he was to report on conditions for cavies "Across the Pond" in his commentary entitled "Across the Pond."  Unfortunately, he and Dylan Moran met in a pub (we'll definitely save THAT story for later) and have been best mates ever since, which cannot be a good thing.

Nonetheless, we will publish Pando's salty commentaries and even give up space for Dylan,  the human equivalent of Pando (have you seen the guy's HAIR?!) in future postings.  So, that's all for now.  We never know exactly where Pando is or what he's up to.  And that's a good thing.