Guinea Pig Connection

Is It Too Hot To Talk About Cozy Cups?

We're always on the lookout for new sources of things to make a small critter's life luxuriously comfortable and, fortunately, there is a growing community of craftswomen opening up shops on the Web.

(I say "craftswomen" because, so far, everyone we've found out about is female. There may be men out there making stuff...we just haven't run across them yet.)

We have to hand it to this community, they do their best to support the small critter rescues. (Fabric is not cheap, even if you take advantage of every coupon and sale at places like Joann's Fabric & Crafts.) So we do our best to give them exposure, and hope you'll try their products and spread the word about them through your favorite social media channels.

Debbie Warren, who lives in southeastern Connecticut, opened her own online business named Simon's Shoppe. She's been very generous to the rescue. The pigs love the comfiness of her cage accessories, and Cindy loves their durability. Currently, you can find Simon's Shoppe on Facebook. For those who aren't on Facebook and don't want to be (like me), hopefully Master Simon will consider setting up his Shoppe someplace like Etsy (hint hint...nudge nudge). In the meantime, you can contact her at SimonsShoppe [at] gmail [dot] com.

We Are Grateful For Your Response

Nearly two weeks ago we shared with all of you that the rescue was struggling with how to make it through the summer financially.

We were stunned by the response. In less than 24 hours, $800 had come in, ensuring that June's operating expenses were covered. Before the week was out, another $800 arrived, covering July's operating expenses. Cindy tells me that we have also already received enough donations to cover about 25% of August's expenses covered.

We are so profoundly grateful to all the donors who stepped forward so quickly with such generosity. "Thank you" hardly seems enough, but it will have to do until we can find more eloquent and poetic words for you.

On behalf of the piggies...Thank you!

Back Online, Bouncing Back

We never meant to be away so long. But Life has a way of changing our plans and finding new ways to test us to see just what we're made of.

Frankly, we -- and, particularly, Cindy -- could have done with a whole lot less testing, a few more breaks, and a winning Powerball ticket.

The last few months have brought her and I a lot of personal and professional changes. More changes than anyone should have to navigate in 10 months.

The last few months have brought her and I a lot of health and financial challenges. More challenges than anyone should have to cope with in 10 months.

We've come out of our respective ordeals stronger, wiser, more cognizant of what we're each made of, more certain of who we are individually, further affirmed in what and who we are collectively.

That's not to say we came out of all this completely rejuvenated and restored. Cindy is exhausted and burned out. I'm searching to find out how Rumpelstiltskin turned straw into gold, because turning even a sandwich-sized Baggie full of hay into 24K gold would solve our current stack of problems.

But our interactions with 12 pigs from Brooklyn, and two very little pigs named Harley and Danae, amped up our conviction and commitment to the cause. In the near future, I'll share their stories and countless others we've accumulated -- and how the little ones who have crossed our paths renewed our faith, reignited our fire, and changed our perspective.

We hope you'll join us...