As long as I am physically able to care for them, I think I will always have pocket pets. I currently have a French Lop bunny named Rambo, and in the last two weeks I have acquired two guinea pigs (also known as cavies).

Piggies make fun pets. I was first introduced to them by way of my third grade classroom pet. A brown Abyssinian pig, Whiskers was well loved by everyone. Abyssinians have rosettes all over their bodies, giving them a perpetual bad hair day. I brought him home over summer breaks until one day my teacher said I could keep him. I was thrilled. Whiskers lived to age eight, which is geriatric for a guinea pig.

An example of an Abyssinian

At some point after Whiskers passed, I acquired a pig named Lucy. She was a sweet piggy, and one day I discovered another piggy mysteriously appeared in her cage. The baby was a female, so we kept her and named her Suzy.

The sad fact about guinea pigs is that they don’t live long, the average life span is around four years old. That’s why I gave up on guinea pigs and switched to rabbits. Bunnies can live upwards of 10 years, which is far less depressing.

I had two piggies recently, both passing before last Christmas. My last guinea pig Bob lived to four, and I miss him. He lived in our basement and would greet me whenever I went downstairs. Guinea pigs are cute, friendly, and entertaining. They make some interesting sounds compared to silent bunnies. My guys already know the sound of the rustling of the plastic bag containing their parsley.

Cavies are social animals who do best in pairs. Meet Bert and Ernie, our cute little brothers. They are best friends, they snuggle together and enjoy each other’s company. Welcome to our zoo, kids!

Bert and Ernie