My Positive Passion to Purchase Problematic Pets

Months after two of my cats went missing I realized the house was lonely. Sure I had my parents, but do they sit in my lap and purr for hours on end? No. The end of school was drawing near, with my parents working all summer and my best friends in camp I wouldn’t have anyone left to spend time with. It was when I came to this conclusion that I realized something must be done, which is how we ended up with guinea pigs.

I crafted an argument, constructed a slideshow, and talked, a lot, until finally my parents gave in. On the last day of school, my mom and I went to visit a guinea pig farm, and the next day we had new furry friends. The first guinea pig we named Andy, after the Andes Mountains which is where their origin lies. The second guinea pig we named Papua New Guinea (we called him Papa), you can probably guess why. For creatures that were supposed to be extremely tamable, they were pretty boring. All these guinea pigs did was sit in their cage and eat. At the end of June I went to North Carolina for five weeks, and after saying goodbye to my new creatures, I hopped on the plane and left them in the care of my parents.

I love my parents, but they’re not the best when it comes to animals… When we went up to the guinea pig farm my mother was holding a guinea pig, all of the sudden, it got loose, and while running around the farmer's lawn it nearly get caught in a lawn mower. And then, when we first brought Papa and Andy home, my father was holding Papa when suddenly he dropped him from five feet off the ground to the hard, wooden floor. Not that they did this on purpose, they’re working on mastering the “control factor.” Throughout my time in North Carolina I was sent frequent emails with updates on the guinea pigs. My parents wanted me to bond with these creatures further than I already had, one day I found myself on FaceTime with them! It was halfway through my trip when I got the email informing me that my pets would be put up for purchase on Craigslist.

I didn’t think my parents were serious, but when I arrived back home my mother informed me that the listing already had five potential buyers. It was ridiculous! I had only had a week to spend with these creatures, and I had paid for them, their cage, everything. I pleaded for them to give me a chance to attach to these creatures, but it was too late. They were sold. I now know that we did the right thing selling them, they were a lot of work. TOO much work. But at the time it felt like the cat-loss all over again, just not as intense. However, there’s one thing I still haven’t gotten over. When the guinea pigs, the cage, and all other equipment were sold, I didn’t get my money back!