A Rough Ride

Dakin called us on a Sunday afternoon to give us the "good" news:  Bugsy and Pumpkin Spice were being adopted.  When could we get them back to the shelter?  I wanted to say:  in another week?  I had been prepared to have the pigs for at least a month, not a paltry two weeks.  I settled on Tuesday afternoon - it was the earliest time between meetings and appointments that we could make the drive into Springfield.

Rob offered to drive, which turned out to be a very good thing.  When we brought the boys home fro the shelter, they hardly moved the whole trip.  This time, we didn't get out of the driveway before they started bickering.  We joked that they were blaming each other for why they had to leave a nice cage and good treats.  But 10 minutes from home, the snapping and complaining escalated into a whirling ball of fur.

I've seen this happen to my pigs twice (between Victoria and Willow, then Willow and Pinniped... hmmm... see the common element?) and a few boars at pignics.  Luckily, we were stopped at an intersection when the fight broke out.  Rob pulled into a parking lot; I launched myself into the back seat to break up the fight.

Not cool!

Once I managed to get the door open, I dumped the carrier on its end to break up the fight.  Never, ever break up a guinea pig fight with your bare hands.  I've seen some nasty slashes from people who have done that.  I snatched Bugsy before they could start up again. 

I spent the remainder of the trip to Dakin in the back seat.

Bugsy did not want to be held, so I put him back in the carrier to sulk.  Pumpkin Spice was very upset, then started to settle when I wrapped him up in a towel on my lap.  He spent most of the trip trying to wedge himself into the smallest corner he could.

Poor piggies.  Not a good ending to an otherwise nice stay.  About 10 minutes before we arrived at Dakin I put Pumpkin back in the carrier.  There was grumbling and some mild chattering, but neither piggy was ready to start that up again.

Because of COVID-19, I left them at the front door of the shelter, after having gotten the attention of a staff member.  I warned her that they had a full-blown fight on the way there and she assured me they'd be put in a large cage in a quiet spot immediately.

We found it disconcerting to walk by the empty cage that afternoon.  I cleaned out the cage and we put it back downstairs as soon as we could.  Some mornings I swear I hear burbling; I know it will take a few weeks for that to fade away.  As will the urge to save my veggie peelings or pull lettuce out of the fridge first thing in the morning.

It was sad to see them go, especially with such short notice.  Overall, fostering seems to have worked for us.  We really enjoyed having guinea pigs with us again.  They were cheerful and entertaining.  Turns out we're both allergic to the hay in varying degrees; the short term nuisance of stuffy noses was tolerable.  Getting the hay out of the house made parting with the pigs a little easier.

I am hopeful for more fosters this summer.  Maybe?  COVID-19 has turned the world on its head, so who knows.  But I made sure to pack the cage and accessories so that all the necessary stuff is on top for a quick setup.  Piggies need a place to stay for a while?  Come on over!