Recovery Day

Well I woke up this morning, watched STINKY leave with his bike-runner (mum: dog walker that bikes dogs :-)), and I told mum I needed a walk tooooo despite my surgery wound!! Mum said no beach, but leash walk ok.

Look at what I saw!!


Hey mum, I'm pretty sure Mr. Tuxedo is waiting for me to go play with him, that's why his back is UP!


Oh how I wish I could have a kitty too.... I like them very much as well... (mum: well, that's a different kind of "like" if you know what I mean.)


After my boring walk where I didn't get to chase, I mean, PLAY with the kitty, we came home and I started digging. Mum had to put a bandage around my incision so dirt wouldn't get into it. (mum: it's in a hard spot for t-shirts/shorts to cover.)

Then mum put everyone outside. The gurrrrl piggies were in their little rainbow pen, while Sesame piggie was in the big pen with Mean Juice,



Then I spotted something in the big pen...

Hey mum, why does Mean Juice have a fresh corn on the cob to eat???


I WANT ONE TOOOOO!!!


Even Meatball, Squeaky, and Dumpling have one too....

ps. it is VERY rude to call MY piggies fat mum!!!!!

FINALLY, mum gave me a steamed corn on the cob. STINKY was back by then, and since he doesn't have the same skills as the SuperDALE, he got a carrot instead, (mum: Jaffa will chew the entire cob up and eat it, whereas Sunshade eats it like the way we do and leaves the cob.)

So that's what I've been doing on my recovery day :-)

Rainy Day

What do you do on a rainy day???

Well, you lie with your piggies of course :-)



You listen to the mouthwatering crunching sound they make as they snack on treats,


You find the little noises they make very calming.....


And slowly.... you drift off to a world.......


Full of piggies.......


And that's a wonderful world!!

Here is the summary,

Just Chillin' & Piggies

I spent the afternoon chillin' in the yard. I made myself a comfy bed,

(mum: Sunshade LOVES to dig, especially under a covered up area. The main reason we built her a fort (which we still need to post about it....) was because she used to go on children's playground, find a platform to go under, and starts digging. She would then lie in the hole she'd dug, especially during summer time, to escape from the heat I think. She's now doing the same under the fort and the ramp for the fort. The entire under area is all dug up LOL!)

Resting in my comfy bed,



STINKY was out with MY piggies (you can watch him with them on his bloggie), so I kept an eye on them,



My SuperNOSE was on alert too for any treats being dropped by MY piggies!!


Then I heard mum telling D-Guy "Go take some pictures, STINKY is being so cute with the piggies.". (mum: I said Jaffa!)

So D-Guy took some pictures. Here is Squeaky,


Dumpling,


And Mama Meatball!!!


D-Guy is the BESTEST!! He sure knows how to capture important moments in life; My Piggies! (mum: NO pictures of Jaffa can you believe it??!!!!)

Afterwards, I came to check on MY piggies, to make sure everypig was ok,

(mum: Jaffa isn't as intrigued by the piggies are Sunshade is, but he is still excellent with them. He knows he always has to be calm around them, or Sunshade would come and pin him until he calms down. She did that to him the first time he was bouncing playfully around one of the pigs, and he's learned his lesson well.)

WATCH the making of Me & MY Piggies :-)

Yes, MY piggies & I did not win the Unlikely Animal Friends Contest, but because of it, we have made so many new & wonderful friends. One of our new friends Miss Wendy in Australia makes darling hand sculpted Airedales and other animals. She asked mum if it would be ok for her to sculpt ME & MY Piggies!! Mum said YES of course!!!

Miss Wendy has decided to make the sculpting of me & MY piggies into an event where she will put up pictures and videos of the process. Sort of this like, (click on pictures to biggify)


Making of MY SuperBED!!



MY piggies!! The one with the white stripe down her face is going to be Meatball!!!




The process will be documented on the Facebook page - The Hand Sculpting of Sunshade and Piggies

You DO NOT need to have a Facebook account to see it. Just bookmark the link and you will be able to follow the progress. Of course, if you do have a Facebook account, you are welcome to join and participate in the event.

I will try to make periodic updates here on the blog, but it might just be easier for you to go to the Facebook link. Videos will be on there.

Lastly, please visit Miss Wendy's websites:

• Mudpups on Etsy
• Mudpups Facebook Page
• The Hand Sculpting Event of Sunshade and Piggies

Piggiesitting

Mum was stripping STINKY in the yard today and I took on the job of piggiesitting,


The gurrrrrrls Meatball, Squeaky, and Dumpling were in the pen, while Sesame was under the cage top. Mean Juice lost his outside privilege after his running away from home stunt the other day. (mum: we haven't filled the hole yet.)


A pesky crow kept flying back and forth over MY piggies while quacking. So I kept my SuperEYE on it!!! NO bad crow-crow will get MY piggies!!


After about 20 minutes, the bad crow finally gave up and flew away for good!! I could finally take my guard off for a bit,

My Ketchup Piggie

I'm heartbroken......


 My grandbaby Ketchup stopped moving today.....


 She's the little red eyed girl, D-Guy's favouritest,


 This morning, mum and I went to feed MY piggies, and almost as soon as mum opened the bathroom door, she shoved me out. Made me go out in the yard. I was a little confused, so I wanted back in. After about 15 minutes, D-Guy let me in.

I knew right then that SOMETHING WAS WRONG..... because D-Guy smelled very sad.... (mum: she kept sniffing Derek and staring at him. She hadn't noticed anything yet about the guinea pigs... Derek wasn't crying or anything, but sad/upset, wondering if this could have all been avoided.)
Then mum took a box outside with my SuperDALE towel on top. I thought she had gotten me another piggie because that was how mum brought Meatball and Sesame home,


 But when I sniffed it, it didn't smell like a new piggie, it smelled like one of MINE,


 Meanwhile D-Guy was digging in one of my corners. I thought that was kind of strange, but maybe he had finally realized how fun it was to dig Dig DIG!! (I love digging so much!)

Then mum wrapped something in my SuperDALE towel, and I got worried,



I sniffed it and knew it was one of MY piggies in there....


Why did they put MY piggie in a towel!!!!


I told D-Guy to open it up, otherwise MY piggie would suffocate....


(mum: Sunshade was really going frantic. She knew there was a guinea pig in there, but she wasn't sure why it was all covered up and why we weren't letting her near it. Seeing how her anxiety was escalating, I thought it was best to just let her sniff it for herself so she would know what was going on here. We have come across dead crows, rats, squirrels, seagulls, seals on our walks before, and she ALWAYS knew when an animal was dead. She would sniff them very carefully without touching them, and then walk away very quietly.)

So D-Guy opened the towel up for me....



And I couldn't believe my eyes and nose.....

MY piggie Ketchup was lying there lifeless. I nudged her, but she didn't move or squeak.... She also smelled like she had never smelled before....


 Then D-Guy said Ketchup had to go to her new home now.....


 He said this was going to be her new home,


 In a hole??


 I mean, I love holes, but why does MY piggie Ketchup have to stay in a hole....?


 I'm so sad... who is going to clean her when she's dirty, dry her when she's wet, and snuggle up with her when she's cold??


 I asked to have a moment with MY Ketchup.... (mum: she was clearly very sad, and just laid down next to the hole.)



 Then D-Guy said it was time.....


And he covered her up with dirt. I'm glad Ketchup had my SuperDALE towel with her...


I stayed beside MY Ketchup,


 Mum wanted to take me for a walkie to cheer me up, but I said no thanks.. If MY Ketchup had to stay here, then I wanted to stay with her too...


 STINKY was so clueless,



 He kept shoving his toy in my face and then running away, and then coming back to shove it in my face again,



 Couldn't he tell I was SO sad???

(mum: Do dogs mourn? YES. I have watched Sunshade mourn the death of her Giant Georgie, and now her piggie Ketchup. She actually woke up very happy, energetic this morning. Was squeaking her toy and throwing it around. When she saw me dressed in my dog walking clothes, she started spinning and running around out of joy. I thought I would go feed the guinea pigs before we went out, and that was when everything fell apart. Sunshade knew very well that something was up when she sensed our sadness and she was concerned. The moment she got to sniff the rigid Ketchup, she became very solemn.)

Seeing that I didn't want to go out for a walk, mum went out to buy a few things, and when she came back, I was still by MY Ketchup..... (that's STINKY in front of the door)



Me and mum and D-Guy made a little shrine around where Ketchup now lived,


 D-Guy made this boootiful remembrance photo of Ketchup, and I put my pawprint on it,


 I made sure the picture was placed properly,


 A cement block was placed over Ketchup's new home because mum was worried she would get dug up by raccoons and/or skunks that frequent our neighbourhood. (mum: I wasn't worried about Sunshade or Jaffa digging her up, I know Sunshade won't, Jaffa isn't a digger and doesn't care for dead animals.)

I told mum that we should put the special rockies that I had picked from various places, around the cement block. 

 My gift to Ketchup.....


I also told mum to cut up some of Ketchup's favouritest foodables, so she wouldn't go hungry.....


 And I stayed with MY piggie Ketchup....



(mum: she fell asleep like that.... This girl would have normally gobble those carrot pieces up in no time, she loves them, not today though...)

Below is a letter to all my friends at the Rainbow Bridge:

Dear Heavenly Friends,

I hope you are all happy, healthy, and smiley where you are. I have a huge favour I need to ask of you.....

Could you please take care of MY piggie Ketchup when she gets there?

Ketchup is a very very nice little girl, just like MY Giant Georgie and MY Mousie. She was never the strong one as she was the littlest one out of the three piggie babies. She was always the last one to suckle from Meatball because the other two, stronger piggies would each grab a ju-ju to suckle on (they only have two). When they grew older, Ketchup was the last one to figure out how to eat out of the food bowl, or drink out of the water bottle. But she always did figure it out in the end. She was also the one that would just let D-Guy hold her without struggling, and she was the one that liked to snuggle up against me the most. So my friends... she will need lots of caring.....

Do you think you could please take care of her for me until I can get there? D-Guy also really liked her, she was his favouritest, and I know D-Guy would be really happy to know that someone will be watching over Ketchup.

Oh, and could you introduce her to MY Georgie and Mousie? I think they would like her lots!! Thank you.

Sincerely,
Miss Sunshade (I miss you all, my heavenly friends)


(mum: We think Ketchup's death has a lot to do with the bath we gave her on Sunday, and perhaps not having dried her properly. She was still fine yesterday, eating and running around. I have since learned that guinea pigs have pretty delicate respiratory system. It doesn't take much for them to catch a cold, and apparently, they can die from a cold pretty easily. Ketchup was the runt of the litter, she was always a little bit smaller than the rest. She was always the easiest one to catch because she never ran from approaching hand. This was part of the reason that Derek liked her the best, he thought she had the best temperament. I can't help but wonder if she was just always weaker than norm, so she wasn't able to do what guinea pigs normally do. Nonetheless, it was still very upsetting to see any animal die prematurely under your care, and then having to watch Sunshade mourn was extra heart wrenching.

The way Sunshade was acting today was a total reminder of when her giant bunny Georgie died and she mourned his death for 2 weeks. It was very hard to watch.)

For the full story on Me & MY Piggies, please see below: 

The story of Me & MY Piggies,

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