Pig Notes

We're In The New York Times!

We were one of several specialty rescues interviewed for an article that appeared in the Connecticut section of today's New York Times. The article, titled "For Abandoned Pets, the Kindness of Strangers," is currently available on the newspaper's Web site.

The print edition of the article ran with a great photo of Cindy and Pogo (one of the rescue's sanctuary pigs...and one of Minerva's roommates). Regrettably, the photo did not make it into the online version.

Our thanks to the article's writer, Gail Braccidiferro, for doing the article and helping to raise the public's awareness of specialty rescues in our state.

A Better Bottle Brush

Do you find yourself wishing that your bottle brush cleaned your guinea pigs' water bottle just a little bit better?

Our finned friends in Fish Land may have an option you'd like better -- a filter brush. I came across this option purely by accident years ago, when my pet supply store didn't have a critter bottle brush in stock. I bought the brush as a temporary solution and wound up liking it so much that I've stuck with. The one shown here (which is what I have) is the Aquatic Gardens Flexible Twin Head Brush, which retails online for about $3.99.

What I like about the brush is that the bristles don't mash down within the first few uses and, even if they get a little flat, they can be restored simply by running your fingers over them in the opposite direction. The flexible wire coil in between the brush ends makes it easy to twist a brush end around so that you can really scrub at the top and side surfaces of the water bottle, and even in that hard-to-reach spot just inside the bottle's opening.

The brush heads are small enough that you can run them down both ends of the drinking spout for 8-ounce and 16-ounce bottles. They are, however, just a little tight when you try to pull them back out...but I've never had one get stuck.

The brush heads clean quickly under warm or cold running water, and dry quickly as well. Because the brush is 19" long, it can be a little trickier to store than the standard critter bottle brush but its cleaning ability far outweighs this.

You'll be amazed at how much cleaner your critter water bottles can be!

Someone For Everyone

During Adopt a Guinea Pig Month, we wanted to let folks know about a wonderful little book.

"Someone For Everyone" is an enchanting story, told with full-color photographs, about a guinea pig waiting for a new home for much too (inexplicably) long after her siblings left for their new homes. Sitting sadly in her cage, this lovely and lonely little pig gets advice from the other animals in the store about why it's taking her longer to find a home.

This book especially touched us. Every once in a while we have a pig -- or a pair of pigs -- that we think are, to use Cindy's word, just "awesome" but, for some reason, take longer to get adopted out than we can understand. This book illustrates perfectly that it's all about personality and timing -- finding just the right match between humans and guinea pigs at just the right time. And, sometimes, the perfect match takes a little more time to find...but when it shows up, it's for life.

The book was written and published by two writers in Australia, and is available for purchase online. The book is $19.95 (Australian currency), which works out to about $18.66 in U.S. currency (based upon the currency exchange rate right now); when you order through PayPal with your credit card, your cardholder will handle the conversion and will likely show you the charge in U.S. currency on your next statement.

Get yours today!!

March Is Guinea Pig Month!

Our beloved little ones get a whole month of their own (thanks ASPCA!)!

We'll be appearing at Aetna on March 12 as part of their ongoing program to connect employees with the non-profits operating in their communities. Pets Press is also running several articles about guinea pigs in its March issue, due to hit stands any day now. We're also awaiting word on the publication date of an article -- featuring specialty rescues around the state (including us) -- in the Connecticut section of The New York Times. (The reporter said it's likely to be in the last half of the month.)

If you know someone thinking of adding guinea pigs to their family, please encourage them to adopt!