Meet Clary Sage!
I met Clary Sage at the Jefferson County Humane Society the spring of my junior year. I was volunteering at the animal shelter with my best friend, so I was used to meeting little, fuzzy babies. Of course, being a guinea pig she stole my heart along with her cage mate, Cinnamon.
Their names were originally Jupiter and Lulu, and their owner gave them up because she claimed to be allergic. That may be true, but Cinnamon was already a year and Clary Sage a few months old. To me that seems like a long time to have animals that you're allergic to, but everyone has their reasons. I'm no animal rights judge.
As you can see in the picture, Clary Sage is all black and she has tuffs of hair that look like mow hawks all over her body called rosettes. She's considered to be an Abyssinian/Abyssinian satin. Cinnamon was a smooth, long hair with a mixture of white, brindle brown, and a lighter orange-brown. He was considered an American/American satin breed.
When I first brought them home, I was only supposed to be only fostering them until I found them permanent homes. Eventually, both my parents would visit them, pet them, and found themselves loving them as much as I did. Soon they told me I could keep them both. I was so happy!
If you haven't already figured out, Cinnamon was a boy and Clary Sage is a girl. For obvious reasons, I had to keep them separated. My dad had built this wooden crate some time before this, so I took it and took a piece of an old cage and drilled it in the middle of the crate. This way they were separated, but could still visit each other. Some time passed, and we all began to notice Sage's belly getting much rounder.
Yeah, she was pregnant. I was so excited for actual babies, but I knew I couldn't keep them all. I also had no idea how many pups she'd have. How would I find a home for 6 or even 12 pups? A guinea pig's gestation period is two months. I waited quite impatiently, but during this time I had put Cinnamon and Clary Sage in their own cages. Clary Sage stayed with me in my room, so I could keep an eye on her.
Guinea pigs can have complications when giving birth, so I just wanted to make sure she and her babies were safe. I didn't need to worry though because I woke up one morning for school, peeked in her cage, and found three fuzzy babies!
Pups are born with their eyes open, teeth grown, ready to eat solid food, and legs working almost instantly. They're really just miniature guinea pigs. Two of them were a brindle brown color that they got from their dad, and the third was a calico. All of them had the rosettes like Clary Sage. I named the twins Ginger and Oregano, and the calico was named Cilantro.
By the way, the spice names started after my first guinea pig, Basil. It just seemed too cute of an idea to pass up.
When the babies were old enough, I hurried to find them homes. Unfortunately, I was only able to find a home for Cilantro. Ginger and Oregano had to go the local pet store. Normally, I wouldn't support doing this, but the pet store was in high demand of guinea pigs. When I talked to the manager, he informed me that all the guinea pigs he currently had were all sold and just awaiting for their new owners to pick them up.
When I went to drop them off, I noticed that all the other guinea pigs were kinda plain and some even ugly. My babies were gorgeous, and the manager as well as his associate agreed. I knew they'd find homes instantly. I refused to take money, so he offered to give me guinea pig feed for payment. He ended up giving me more because of how pretty and healthy my babies were.
During all this, I also noticed something wrong with my sweet Cinnamon (he was the only guinea pig I've met that would lick you). He constantly bit at his back causing bleeding and scabs. He also kept having seizures, which were so scary. I took him to the vet to find out that he had a severe case of mites. After two or three visits, some medicine, and much money spent he became a healthy guinea pig again.
Sadly, Cinnamon did pass away a few months later. He was really young since guinea pigs have a life span a minimum of 4 years.
That was Clary Sage's back story. She's so sweet and loves getting her chin rubbed. She's also very curious. When I first met her, I left my hand in the cage and looked away for a quick moment. Then I felt a tug on my fingernail, and it was her just checking me out, ha. I love her so much!
Meet her sister, Apple Mint!
After Cinnamon died and the babies were gone, I felt bad for Clary Sage. Guinea pigs are very social and normally live in big groups.
The animal shelter didn't have any guinea pigs, so I went back to the local pet store to pick out a sister for Clary Sage. I found this little cutie, who is also an Abyssinian/Abyssinian satin. When I first sat her next to Sage, I was shocked about how small she really was. I was almost afraid Sage would hurt her, but like the sweetie she is Sage was gentle and welcoming.
Apple Mint is my feisty baby. If I take her out, she wants to run and explore. If I pet the top of her head, she shoves me off. She does love a good cuddle every once in a while though.
Okay, here is my warning for buying from pet stores; if you get a female, she will be pregnant.
Yes, Apple Mint was pregnant. At such a young age for a guinea pig too! I separated Sage and Apple Mint when I was expecting her to pop, so that Apple Mint wouldn't have to be anxious about having another bigger guinea pig around.
My best friend had spent the night with me, but she had to get up early for work the next morning. When she got up, she looked in the cage and yelled, "Reggie, babies"! I got right up, and there were four absolutely adorable babies.
One had mainly a dark orange with some white here and there and what looked like black eyebrows. Her fur had rosettes, and her nose was pink. I named her Pumpkin Spice since it was November when she and her siblings were born.
Another girl was completely white aside from a marking on the top of her head. She also had rosettes and a pink nose. Her name was Garlic.
The last sister had a solid brown face then the rest of her was white with light orange. Once again, we had rosettes but a brown nose. Her name was Peppermint.
The little boy was white with brindle brown markings. Like all his sisters he had rosettes, and he had a brown nose. His name was Cloves.
All three sisters went to a lady that my sister worked with. She had three children, and they each got to have a guinea pig. I was so happy with this outcome!
My little boy was a Christmas gift from Santa for my aunt Leslie's nieces, Abby and Josie. They actually renamed him Chili, which was just perfect. He ended up being a little mean being fond of biting (sometimes even drawing blood), and he was super protective of his food, which I found the same thing with Cinnamon.
Clary Sage and Apple Mint were reunited and love sleeping, playing with their igloo, and munching on celery together.
Now for my favorite Christmas present of 2012. Emi the chiweenie.
Emi's parents were Precious the black dachshund and Jake the blonde chihuahua, which were my sister's dogs. She had four brothers and sisters.
Mamaw and Dude worked together to get me this precious puppy around the beginning of December. I was working in the floral department after closing at Hobby Lobby when my co-manager called me to the front. I thought I was in trouble when he told me to go check a register.
I rounded the counter to see my mamaw and husband crouched down. At first I was really confused until I saw Dude pull a puppy out of his jacket. I was ecstatic. I jumped, screamed, awwed, cried, everything. I snatched up the little puppy, and she seemed almost glad for it.
I chose the name Emi after one of my favorite writers, Emily Bronte. My family likes to say, "Emi, Emi, Emi," really fast in a high pitched tone. She responds very well to it.
Her favorite words are treat, outside, and toy. Her least favorite phrase is, "Go to bed". As soon as she hears it she'll roll over on her back and give me the sad eyes. Sad eyes are indeed her specialty. She also loves all animals and barking at all humans/sounds. She lives true to her dachshund nature.
She loves to kiss, which is my fault. I enable her. When I do Pilates, she likes to be right in my face to lick me the entire time or sit on me when I'm doing something while lying down.
She does have her annoying tendencies, but Emi is still my baby.
And our newest member, Fitz!
Isn't he handsome? We adopted Fitz from the Animal Village of Little Rock. He was free due to a special they were having, and he was neutered with all his shots updated. We also discovered he's declawed. We didn't have time for a kitten, so we were so happy that Fitz turned out to be two years old. God truly blessed us with the perfect cat.
Like Emi, we named Fitz after an author. In this case, we chose F. Scott Fitzgerald. I mean, who doesn't like The Great Gatsby? To me, he's an unique cat that deserved a fitting name.
He's usually really chill. His favorite places to hang out are underneath living room window, in the hallway, underneath the bed, and wherever I happen to be when I'm home. Actually, it took him no time at all to become attached to us. He's so loving!
It doesn't matter where you decide to pet him. He loves it all. I don't know many cats that like their bellies scratched, but he doesn't mind. If you're not touching him though, he'll tell you. He is very vocal.
He does play every now and then. I've gotten him to attack yarn, and a few times he was determined to catch my shadow. He's also wrestled with Dude before, which is how we found out he doesn't have claws.
When it comes to the other pets, Fitz is usually just laid back. He hasn't seemed interested in the guinea pigs at all. In the beginning, he didn't care for Emi either. Now, they have a forever game of tag going on. Fitz will sit on the ottoman, Emi comes up to nose him, he swats her playfully, she noses him again, and they continue with that for a good bit.
Fitz isn't without quirks though. He loves to open up cabinets. When I first witnessed him skillfully using his paw to open a cabinet, I was appalled. I had never seen a cat do that. He just likes to do a little peek then he's on his way. I think he's checking for mice or monsters to keep us safe.
He also loves q-tips. I have to put of the q-tip box now or else he'd eat them all. The cute thing about it is that he doesn't just eat them anywhere. He takes them to his food bowl, which is where I always find the remnants. I love that he doesn't leave too many messes for me. I told my friend not too long ago that he's a q-tip thief gentleman.
Overall, Fitz is just a great addition to our awesome family.
There you have it! All my babies : ) I hope you enjoyed reading about them. Do you have any babies of your own? Let's hear about them!
