Not quite cats

Jason and I had discussed getting a cat closer to the first of the year, since Korshka disappeared a few weeks ago and there've been no signs of her. Our plan was always to fetch her from my mother in law's once we weren't paying set up fees for phones, internet, rent, etc. but that changed when she went missing.

I've been getting really lonely here,and since having our dog Addy in the apartment wasn't an option, I went to the apartment office and started asking about pets. Were I to have a cat, the deposit would be 400 dollars, half of which is non refundable, and an additional 10-12 dollars a month on pet rent. That isn't completely out of our budget, but I would have had to wait until after the holidays to get a kitty because we try not to spend more than 2 or 300 bucks at a time on anything that isn't groceries or rent so we have a cushion in case we have something unexpected happen (Like when Hurricane Ike hit and we had to completely restock our fridge).

I didn't want to wait that long. Emotionally, the holidays have always been a difficult time for me, and there's nothing like a furry little pal for a pick me up. We're settled in where we are, have steady income, and have settled into a predictable routine, so I knew taking on the responsibility of a pet was something I could handle. I asked some more questions, and found out that there is no pet rent or deposit necessary for a caged animal such as a hamster. I'm not terribly fond of hamsters (Been bitten one too many times!) so I immediately thought of guinea pigs. They're big enough if one of them scampers away, I'd be able to find them, and not so fragile and delicate as to have a heart attack from one of the kids giving it a gentle pat while it's in my lap.

So here are my two little males, Marley and Hendrix. We got them from Citizens for Animal Protection, a shelter in the area. Those were such great names Jason and I decided to leave them as is.

They really don't shoot lasers out of their eyes! I just don't know how to use the red eye feature on my camera. Plus, they were really excited about dinner time. These guys can really pack it away too, Hendrix(the brown and white one) ate a quarter of a carrot and Marley ate a huge sprig of parsley as fast as he could get it in his mouth. I'll try to get better pictures in the weeks to come.

Anyone of sound mind and body getting a pet should seriously consider getting them from the shelter if at all possible, especially for little guys like these. Not all shelters even take them but it might surprise you who does. When I was perusing the pages at Petfinder, I saw they had rats, mice, guinea pigs, and even lovebirds at the local SPCA.