Pig-a-palooza

Did you know that March is Adopt-a-Rescued-Guinea-Pig Month?  The Nevins Farm MSPCA in Methuen, MA celebrated with Pig-a-palooza!  It was a two hour event on Saturday afternoon; I made the trip up, sans pigs.

It was a quiet start, but within 20 minutes there was a steady stream of incoming adults, kids and guinea pigs.  Like the Boston Pignic, there was a pen for boars and another for sows (and I briefly spotted a time-out pen).  Most of the guinea pigs that attended had been adopted from Nevins Farm.  What a nice reunion.

There were a lot of events and information packed into the afternoon:  a brief history of guinea pigs, followed by a presentation of how to care for them. There was a demonstration on C&C cage building as well as a Q&A session on guinea pig health with Dr. Pelletier from the VCA in Wakefield.  Joey Phoenix was there taking piggy portraits.  A second photographer was roaming the room - there's an album of her photos on Facebook!

Happy caretakers with manicured pigs; one of the many MSPCA volunteers

I passed by a goodie table for humans (when I returned to buy cookies they were all gone).  Another table had treat bags for the pigs (although I saw a child or two munching bell pepper slices).  I also loved the MSPCA volunteer dressed up as a guinea pig, holding a guinea pig for visitors to pet. 

I had intended to take more photos and attend more of the presentations.  However, I got sidetracked when I ran into some regulars of the Boston Pignic and later found myself clipping nails.  Word got out after I clipped the first two pigs' nails - I had people lined up down the side of the room!  My first pig was totally laid back getting his nails done, but the little kid watching me was so nervous she squeaked each time I clipped.  Later I clipped one black piggy's toe through the quick.  I had been explaining that an over-cut nail can bleed all over the place, but it tends to bother the humans more than the pig.  I apologized to his caretaker, but she was was actually relieved.  Now she'd seen nail cutting gone wrong, and was less afraid to try it herself. 

Before I knew it, the pig pens emptied and people dispersed.  It was all over!  The staff and volunteers at Nevins Farm did a wonderful job organizing this and making it happen.  They packed a lot of good stuff in two short hours.  I really hope this becomes an annual event.  I'll be back next year!