Work in Progress

The long ride to Nevins and meeting must have been terribly stressful for Pinniped, and I'm sure the little one was overwhelmed with the drive home and the new surroundings.  It was only 6pm, I was exhausted, and I still needed to set up the travel cage and get them situated in it.  But before doing that, I wanted to continue the neutral-territory meeting a little longer.

They both spent the entire ride hiding in their cozies, so I set them down on the kitchen floor, cozy and all.  And no one budged for a full 30 minutes.  Not even lettuce enticed Pinni out of her cozy.  I needed to move things along if I wanted to get to bed before midnight, so I extracted the two of them from their hiding spots.  Even exposed, it took them a few moments to start moving about the area.  But once they did start exploring, things continued very much like it had at the shelter.  Pinni's behavior became a bit more aggressive, now that she was on her home turf.  There was some yawning, some mutual humping, and a few bites from Pinni.  But the little one took it all in stride.  She was entirely unfazed by Pinni's actions, and would sit there quietly when Pinni declared herself as Boss Pig.

I learned, when I adopted Pinni and Bertie, that newly introduced pigs and a multi-level cage do not mix.  So I set up their travel cage and put them in.  Things continued to be relatively calm that evening, with a few shouting matches and some more drive-by bitings from Pinni.  Whenever I checked in on them (I even snuck down to look in at 2am), the little one seemed very relaxed checking things out in the cage, hovering near Pinni (often stealing food from her) or generally burbling around.  When I heard the little one whine and cry loudest, I would check in, and often found her successfully barring Pinni from entering the house or cozy.  What a cheeky little rodent!  I never saw Pinni guard her or chase her away from the food as she had with Willow.  So Pinni's actions may appear mean or threatening, but she clearly likes this little one.

Everyone relaxed a little over the next few days; Rob and I spent a lot of time researching and discussing what the little one's name should be.  We though it should be something Irish, since we adopted her on St. Patrick's Day, and we had a few names in the running (Aine, Eithne, Clover).  But none of the names felt right when we tried them on her.  In the end, the name that came and stuck had nothing to do with her adoption day.  Say hi to Cannoli.

The change in Pinni over the first four days was impressive.  By Monday morning I saw her tossing her head and popcorning around the cage.  I would hear them both puttering around the cage.  Pinni still bites Cannoli and rumblestrutts at her, but after watching for a while, I understand why:  Cannoli is almost constantly underfoot.  Who hasn't snapped at a younger sibling that just won't go away?  Cannoli takes the hit, perhaps runs away, and in minutes is back by Pinni's side.  Turns out, in Pinni's quite way, the feeling is mutual.  On Thursday, when I took Cannoli out to weigh her, Pinni searched and cried for her.  Even though I worry about Pinni's butthead behavior, she's obviously taken a shine to our new addition.