Paige was keeping one of them for herself (see Paige's blog) and Bree and I were transporting 7 of the little things back here...
What a day.. We have NEW appreciation for the words "fast as a greased pig" and "STUCK LIKE A PIG" - Oh my goodness, they are fast little suckers (trying to catch them was like a "who's on first" comedy routine) AND once you do catch them I swear people 10 counties over could hear them YELL and YELL and YELL!!!
So, we transfer them into my 2 carriers - one is a larger dog carrier - we put 4 in there so not to "crowd" them and the other 3 in a container with a "flip" lid.. It was hot, hot, hot yesterday so we put one container on EACH side of Bree in the back seat and got the truck cooled down so they wouldn't get heat sick...
Well, the piggles like to climb on top of each other and look to escape every chance they get - so Bree basically had to ride the 2-1/2 hours with her little arms stretched over the top of the flip container to keep the 3 from escaping..
Now Paige told me the info from the breeder (that piggles have no body temp regulator - they can get overheated and overchilled without them even knowing it) - and I take my duties of being the transporting of piggles quite seriously! The gals from up North were going to be picking up said piggles from our house after 5pm.. I felt sorry for the little ones being handed off 3 times in one day - So, I called home to hubby as we were on our way back and asked him to:
Go get the bunny playpen and set it up in the garage and reinforce the bottom (because these little piggles can push HARD to escape) with landscape bricks and that we would be sure they couldn't escape (as it would be weeks to catch one since they are so dang fast) and he said he would have it ready for us..
We arrive home and he takes one container and I take the other and we enter the garage and I have Bree close the door JUST IN CASE one should escape during transfer to the playpen...
He gets a "lesson" in HOW loud pigs SCREAM - now in yuppyville, IL I was prepared for the neighbors to either a) call the police as they thought someone was being murdered from the blood curdling screams or b) that I'd have animal control at my house within the hour from reports of animal sacrifice...
Bill (hubby) or "The Big Nasty" as Paige has taken to calling him was frightened by their screams (I am CERTAIN he will have nightmares). The transfer is completed with no escapes! But they put up a fuss and got ALL worked up!
I was SO worried that they were overheated - so, I had to hook up a fan to blow on them, then I got SO worried that the fan would dehydrate them, so spritzed them with some water - then I got SO worried that they'd get chilled from the fan - so, I called Paige.
She said pick one up and cuddle (it looked like it was shaking) - Oh my gawd, I swear, that you could HEAR him 10 miles away - he did NOT like being held by me, I really did try to cuddle him, but he was not having ANY of it!
Well, by this point the humidity was about 90% and I was as dripping wet as they were - and I was still worried, so I pulled a chair out and my knitting (you didn't think I would miss connecting knitting to this post, did you?) and kept an eye on my responsibilities (all 7 of them) until the gals arrived
The gals arrived around 6:30pm and the process of catch and scream started ALL over again... After the piggles were on the road one leg closer to their destination homes, I finally relaxed..
Bree was such a HUGE help and good sport and knowing that we couldn't keep a piggle.. She was given a cute, girl, pink piggie all of her own...
Meet Pearl..
She doesn't scream, poop, require to be let out, nor run away...
Here are some adorable pics of my friend Paige and her hubby with their new bundle of joy... Meet "X" (they have YET to name him - poor little boy is going to have an identity crisis) - I suggested "Zucco" as in Danny Zucco as in "fast as a GREASED pig" - hahaha - If you have name suggestions, hop over to Paige's blog and leave her a comment (link is on my blog) -
