Apparently I like black animals. My standard poodle Violet is jet black. I love Toothless, the dragon on How to Train Your Dragon, and now, meet Rhino. He’s the little black thing in the picture above. He’s a 4 week old Peruvian Guinea pig who hitched a ride home with us from the state fair on Monday. Can’t see him? That’s because he’s a bit crazy when it comes to getting his picture taken and would rather tear around his cage torturing the dog. And after multiple attempts at trying to get pictures of my dog I have come to the conclusion that black animals are decidedly un-picture worthy.
How did we decide this was a good idea when we are trying to simplify things? Well, we really didn’t think about it to be honest. I walked into the cavy barn with my 4 year old who promptly started screeching about how much she LOVED all the Guinea pigs and wanted to take one home. Then I saw this little guy and when I said hi he actually looked up at me and held my gaze. That was pretty much it for me. And daddy is kind of a sucker so I had Molly ask for it. 😉 The rest, they say, is history…
Although I am sick and had to take frequent breaks, I spent the day setting up his new home. He seems appreciative. Really. His sequels of glee as he tears from one end of it to the other attest to his sheer happiness in his new home. The dog is excited too. But really I think she is just waiting for her chance to eat him.
So.
Once I brought this cage in the house in all it’s hugeness I realized (with the help of my husbands annoyed stare) that I was going to have to make room for this thing. I have been meaning to clear more stuff out of the dining room anyway so I ended up spending the afternoon rearranging the dining room so that the addition of a giant Guinea pig cage wouldn’t be so overwhelming. It was just the thing I needed to motivate me through the head cold induced stupor. I would have just sat on the couch all day if it wasn’t for this little guy. Thanks Rhino!
I purged more books so I could move the bookcase. Got rid of a superfluous chair in the dining room. Found a new home for my financial “office” basket and finally decided what I am going to do with the growing pile of church music on my dining room floor (even if I haven’t done it yet). I also dusted.
I would like to believe this in turn inspired my husband too because when he got home from work he reorganized the girls room and put down a nifty alphabet foam block “rug” in their closet! Pets are totally amazing!! They are also great motivators for little kids to clean up their messes and eat their dinner. Because, you know, you can’t pet the Guinea pig if you haven’t done x, y or z.
Seriously I think Rhino is really just a glorified rat (which my husband already said no to) but that’s cool with me. He is, in fact, sitting on my lap “talking” to me as I write this and I think he is pleased with himself for inspiring me to write. Especially when he is the star of the post!
Here’s the thing: when you make room in your life by getting rid of the clutter and “noise” and you start focusing on your priorities, it seems to free up some room for fun, if complicating, things like pets. They lower your blood pressure too so you can always consider them medically necessary and therapeutic if you have to justify them to yourself. If I wasn’t slightly impulsive I’d be missing out on rat-boy snuggling in my lap right now making cute little rodentia noises. And everyone should have that pleasure 🙂
Really. How can you resist that? Violet certainly can’t!
Have a pet-acular day!
Liz 🙂