Rustling and squealing, scratching and squawking. Petco was full of adorable, but noisy, critters. I was going to get a new pet, a small animal of some sort. As I wandered through the rodent section, I stopped at the guinea pig cages. I looked in the cage and just saw one pig. I was almost about to holler for my mom to come over to see how cute it was, but I decided against it. Just at that moment, she wandered over and I convinced her to come and look at the guinea pig. Then my mom pointed out the little igloo in the cage, and I peered inside of it.

There she was, another piggy. As soon as I saw her, my heart melted. She was tiny and shy, sleeping the night away. I told my mom, “We just HAVE to get her!” I chose to bring her home, a brand new start for both of us. We brought my piggy home in this pathetic cardboard box that she could barely fit in. I tried to comfort her with soothing words in the car ride. When we got home, we started to put the cage together when we got home, and we didn’t realize the size of it. It was colossal! It took us about an hour with my parents help, and we didn’t eat dinner until about 8:00 pm. For the first few days, you’re supposed to let them get used to their new environment and leave them to do what they want to do, but I just wanted to watch her explore her new cage. My mom, dad and I all sat around the cage waiting for her to come out of her hideout.

Nothing.

My 17 year old sister came home from work and started sniggering at us since we “looked weird for staring at what looks like a vacant cage”. We kept waiting, and eventually my dad gave up and went back downstairs. Then pig-pig, the nickname we gave her, poked her little nose out and started to stare at us as if we were complete lunatics. I was trying to hold my laughter in, but when she made a tiny squeaking noise I started to crack up, scaring the living daylights out of her. I kept doing this, each time my mom telling me to calm down, but eventually we both gave up and left her be. We were pretty sure the little rascal came out after we left.

“Sigh”. It’s been a long three days and finally we are allowed to play with my guinea pig! I’m still deciding what I want to name her. We spent a few days trying to let her get used to us, and I was just so excited when my mom told me we could try picking her up. I gently put my hands around her and started to scoop her up when she decided nooooo, I don’t WANT to be picked up and squirmed right out of my hands right into her cage, running back into her hideout. My patience level was getting a bit low. I mean, I wanted to play with my new pet! Would she ever want to be held and played with???

It’s been about two weeks since we got Pumpkin. I finally decided to name her Pumpkin Pie, a great name for my sweet pig. She is spoiled rotten now, getting played with, held, and brushed at least once or twice a day, and we always give her fresh vegetables as treats. I love her with all my heart, and I’m looking forward to our years together. We like to snuggle together and she even sits on my shoulder, pressing herself against my neck. She is so silky soft, softer than any other pig in the world! One of my favorite things is how she gets her exercise. She does this by running around her cage at top speed, hurdling over the tunnel, running into the tunnel, coming back out, run around another lap, run into her pigloo (a hideout), goes in a few circles, runs back out, and repeats this quite a few times… she is one unique little piggy!

Having a pet guinea pig is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. Pumpkin pie, my little pig that is as sweet and innocent as an angel… sometimes. When she get’s hyper at night, she’s unstoppable. They aren’t nocturnal, so when we play with her at late evening she gets excited. She likes to chew on your jewelry and shirt when you’re holding her, tries to crawl right up to your face so you kind of have to give her all the attention she wants, and if you pet her little muzzle or head, she might even try to push your hand away from her by lifting her head up with quite some strength. I bet she thinks she is as strong as an ox. Other times, she might just sit on your lap and let you gently stroke her, as calm as she can be. She even purrs when she’s happy! My family, including me, had never heard a guinea pig purr before. It all started when we first took her out of her cage. My mom, dad, sister, and I all took turns petting her, my dad going last. Pumpkin would just sit there, until my dad started to gently scruff her behind ears. I was about to tell him, “She probably doesn’t like that… she’s not a dog!” That’s when she started to purr and we all started to laugh. This is when I got really attached to my brand new guinea pig.
Pumpkin Pie is my sweet, lovable, darling guinea pig. I love her just so much and I hope we have years to come together, me spoiling her rotten. I have so much fun with her, and my family does too. She is a pet that we can all enjoy! I still am looking forward to a day that we might get a dog, but guinea pigs have to be one of the best pets in the universe. Pig-pig and I are going to be BFF’s for a long time!