It is 50 years since the first guinea pig has come into my life and has sparked a life-long love!
Wuschel (1971-1981)
Of course, things were very different in those times - no rescues running guinea pigs, for instance, and we knew so little about guinea pigs and their needs; including the vets. Nevertheless, Wuschel lived a very healthy life to nearly 10 years and was a much loved part of our family.
But having that historic perspective helps me to understand that we are all on the journey to welfare and deeper understanding and that there is so much more still to learn. Animal welfare is both a societal aim but it is also a very personal life journey for all of us; and it is a journey with constantly moving goal posts. We can only ever do the best at the time; even if in retrospective some things make us shudder.
My own journey over half a century has also taught me to never disrespect the real love or anguish of somebody who cannot necessarily provide optimal conditions and expert vet care. The striving is there in the small steps just the same as in the big steps. Practical improvement and learning to understand is something that every one of us can do, in the small as well as in the big - that is at the very heart of living welfare both writ large and in the little daily detail.
The happiness and love of all those piggies along my journey through life has been real and unfeigned form both sides, even when conditions were not optimal in hindsight. You can only ever live in the moment; but every moment is rich - for both our piggies and us. Things don't have to be perfect to achieve that; in fact, the striving for total perfection and the fear of getting it wrong can sometimes rob you of the wonderful blessing of enjoying the here and now simply as it is; the way piggies do. It is perhaps the greatest lesson that our pets can teach us.
Wuschel (1971-1981)
Of course, things were very different in those times - no rescues running guinea pigs, for instance, and we knew so little about guinea pigs and their needs; including the vets. Nevertheless, Wuschel lived a very healthy life to nearly 10 years and was a much loved part of our family.
But having that historic perspective helps me to understand that we are all on the journey to welfare and deeper understanding and that there is so much more still to learn. Animal welfare is both a societal aim but it is also a very personal life journey for all of us; and it is a journey with constantly moving goal posts. We can only ever do the best at the time; even if in retrospective some things make us shudder.
My own journey over half a century has also taught me to never disrespect the real love or anguish of somebody who cannot necessarily provide optimal conditions and expert vet care. The striving is there in the small steps just the same as in the big steps. Practical improvement and learning to understand is something that every one of us can do, in the small as well as in the big - that is at the very heart of living welfare both writ large and in the little daily detail.
The happiness and love of all those piggies along my journey through life has been real and unfeigned form both sides, even when conditions were not optimal in hindsight. You can only ever live in the moment; but every moment is rich - for both our piggies and us. Things don't have to be perfect to achieve that; in fact, the striving for total perfection and the fear of getting it wrong can sometimes rob you of the wonderful blessing of enjoying the here and now simply as it is; the way piggies do. It is perhaps the greatest lesson that our pets can teach us.
