Bernard and Edmund
18 months since I added to the blog.
So much has happened - including the demise of our beloved Hedgehog the guinea pig pictured here with Kitty our eldest cat who has unexpectedly mellowed into the most loving and loyal of friends . We initially acquired Pearl our senior Birman because of Kitty's unwillingness to act as lapcat when Nat was little , not to mention her tendency to bite scratch and kick(with claws) at every opportunity. Now Kitty appears whenever I sit down , assesses the best angle of approach ( Kitty has never been stick thin or particularly agile) and thud she is snuggling at my chest purring and crooning.
Hedgehog had survived the death of her companion pig Tinkerbell and even in her last weeks shouted for a hand fed grape every time the kitchen was entered. At the end she moved less and less and we knew it wouldn't be long . She finally died on Remembrance Sunday 2012 early hours of, with her human friends with her.
Kitty and Hedgehog
It wasn't a week before I started researching rescue piggies and was soon emailing Layla at www.NorthEastGuineaPigRescue.co.uk . Once Layla had checked us out and ensured we had an indoor run area as well as the hutch , we met Bernard and Edmund two piggy brothers who moved in with us around a month ago. We are realising the benefits of enrichment , ie giving the pigs floor time of at least six hours per day when they are out of their hutch and have space to run skip and popcorn as pigs like to do. We set the pen up every evening and then pigs can come and go as they please. Its easy enough , a waterproof dog car seat cover , no longer functional for the car due to the straps breaking , covered with newspaper then a £3 fleece . Enclosed by a dog puppy pen which folds away flat when not in use this gives the pigs the ideal space to run about and enough room for their hideys , food bowls, trays of hay and readigrass and toys.
Bernard and Edmund
It wasn't a week before I started researching rescue piggies and was soon emailing Layla at www.NorthEastGuineaPigRescue.co.uk . Once Layla had checked us out and ensured we had an indoor run area as well as the hutch , we met Bernard and Edmund two piggy brothers who moved in with us around a month ago. We are realising the benefits of enrichment , ie giving the pigs floor time of at least six hours per day when they are out of their hutch and have space to run skip and popcorn as pigs like to do. We set the pen up every evening and then pigs can come and go as they please. Its easy enough , a waterproof dog car seat cover , no longer functional for the car due to the straps breaking , covered with newspaper then a £3 fleece . Enclosed by a dog puppy pen which folds away flat when not in use this gives the pigs the ideal space to run about and enough room for their hideys , food bowls, trays of hay and readigrass and toys. 
