Bit annoyed at people saying 'they are just guinea pigs'?

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Cgilchrist

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I am a bit miffed today I was talking to my best friend at lunch and as some of you know I am waiting for Smokey to come through GA having his teeth done. Ok we have had a bit of a bad run of poorly pigs (mainly just uti, and URI nothing a dose of baytrill hasn't fixed) but with 11 what do you expect? Basically my friend said' don't take this the wrong way but don't you think it might not be doing you any good having all these piggies? I know you love them but I am worried that the additional stress they are putting you under isn't good for you? and sometimes I wonder if the vet is making a fuss *** I had my piggies for 8 years (she had 2 boys) and they had no problems with their teeth' I said I do understand what she is saying but I do get more pleasure from them than stress and that there are a lot of people on the forum who's piggies have never had teeth problems and there people that have had a few piggies with them it is just the way it goes. the problem is that my mum keeps saying 'what's wrong with the pigs now' and I know hubby and I worry a little but having lost Paul when it could have been avoided if we knew about CC and the vet wasn't clueless we don;t really want to go through it again. All our piggies except the first 2 are rescue piggies and i feel that I have taken them on from some horrid lives adn they deserve to be looked after properly. I don't spoil them rotten just make sure they are happy and healthy sorry I am just really upset 8... starting to think I have a problem but hubby is the same they are our children. Anyone else had this?
 
I completely understand where you are coming from. Our piggies and hamsters are our children (we don't want any fo the human variety) but people have to make stupid comments and don't undestand that they are more than "just animals". I hope Smokey's op goes well today and you have him home soon.
 
Don't worry I know exactly what you mean. This is why we have this forum, beacause we all understand.
My mum loves guinea pigs but my two have had a run of problems and big vet bills so she's taken to saying "what's wrong now".
I mentioned I'd been on the forum and there was a pig up for adoption who I'd fallen in love with (Otis) and I really wanted to give him a home and she got quite funny saying I don't think that's wise. (and I'm 32! and haven't lived at home since I was 18)
My OH loves the boys as much as me. We've been having some financial difficulties lately and he'd spoken to his best friend about it who was visiting. He said they're an expense you can't afford, you need to get rid of them!
He was politely but firmly told by my OH where to go!

Ignore them all, we all understand how much they mean to us and why they're so special. I pitty any person who doesn't have the love of a piggy. They are our boys and always will be.

Paws and fingers crossed for Smokey. x
 
I was going to post something similar to this actually.

In January my FIL's dog was pts, the vet sent them a sympathy card. It was the same vet I took Bailey to when he was pts, but I didn't get a card. It gives the impression that because it's a guinea pig you shouldn't care so much? :(

Sending good luck vibes for Smokey xx
 
Bless. I think your friend is trying to say that she's noticed, and worried about, how much stress you have been under lately with the piggies having been ill etc. Perhaps not worded the most sensitive way, but as she sees it the piggies are the source of your stress, rather than recognising it's like having a sick child or relative, you don't blame them for your stress and worry, it's simply them being unwell. (Hope that makes sense.) She's worried about you clearly, but not being as into animals as you are it's **** harder for her to understand.

I've been through similar when I got my first dog years ago, even in my late 20s and 2 kids of my own! She was a rescue with a broken leg which needed a few ops and eventually amputated. I went through so much with her and I think my parents struggled to understand why I was putting myself through so much stress and bother. Years later taking in foster dogs to my home, running about and cleaning up after them, syringe feeds through the night etc...... My parents finally accept that this is who I am and what I do. The stress etc I go through helping these animals is much less than what I'd be doing knowing they were suffering and not bothering to help.

It only took my parents 30 odd years to catch on.... hopefully your friend is a bit quicker on the uptake. ;)

The animals in our lives are part of our families, no doubt about that. Some people just can't get their heads around it. For those I avoid animal chatter and go to forums like this to indulge. :)
 
Bailey said:
I was going to post something similar to this actually.

In January my FIL's dog was pts, the vet sent them a sympathy card. It was the same vet I took Bailey to when he was pts, but I didn't get a card. It gives the impression that because it's a guinea pig you shouldn't care so much? :(

Sending good luck vibes for Smokey xx
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I got a sympathy card from my vet in May when our hamster was pts. I was very surprised; it made me both laugh and cry. When I told my daughter's teacher that she may be a bit tearful because of the hamster, she (the teacher) looked at me as if to say 'Why are you telling me this?'.

I have another friend that has a guinea pig who couldn't believe that I actually buy vegetables especially for the guinea pig. (It's not that her's doesn't get veg, it just gets the unwanted and left over bits like cauliflower leaves and broccoli stalks etc so is still well fed)
 
Piggies rule !

Sending hugs to you i know from experience exactly grrrr what you mean !
Someone said to me one day "if you dont mind me asking what exactly do Guineapigs do " and "its only a guinea pig thats alot of money to spend on JUST a pig " after a £400 vet bill.
Everyone has different priorities in life and my first is my family, my piggies are included in that i dont worry about explaining it any more i just feel justified by my emotions and their love in return.
Helen xx>>>xx>>>
 
Same here!

My mum thinks I have gone bonkers and wants me to get a life... I'm in my mid-forties! Same sort of argument about vet bills as well, so what's new? Never mind that I have made more friends through the forum than in all those years before!

My mum-in-law was rather sweet when she wanted to know how many piggies I've got exactly last weekend when we went up to stay with her. We managed to smuggle Ffowlyn past her when we rehomed Ffion (much to her very vocal displeasure) and have been a bit vague on numbers since. When I said: "Nine, and you have said hello to them all last time you were staying with us!" she only answered "Oh, I thought you had more!" :)) :)) :))

In the end, it's my life/hobby and as long as my hubby is prepared to put up with it, I'm not bothered.
 
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katiepops said:
Don't worry I know exactly what you mean. This is why we have this forum, beacause we all understand.
My mum loves guinea pigs but my two have had a run of problems and big vet bills so she's taken to saying "what's wrong now".
I mentioned I'd been on the forum and there was a pig up for adoption who I'd fallen in love with (Otis) and I really wanted to give him a home and she got quite funny saying I don't think that's wise. (and I'm 32! and haven't lived at home since I was 18)
My OH loves the boys as much as me. We've been having some financial difficulties lately and he'd spoken to his best friend about it who was visiting. He said they're an expense you can't afford, you need to get rid of them!
He was politely but firmly told by my OH where to go!

Ignore them all, we all understand how much they mean to us and why they're so special. I pitty any person who doesn't have the love of a piggy. They are our boys and always will be.

Paws and fingers crossed for Smokey. x
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This is exactly what my mum said. she is great and I know they are worrying but we can afford them OH and I are still paying back quite a bit of money from the wedding and we would be over £1000 better off without the piggies but it is £1000 well spent I say and the bit we owe form the wedding will just take a little longer to pay off. It is frustrating that it's cost but when you take on a pet you take responsibility for them and I could never forgive myself if I didn't do everything i could for them when they are poorly and I'm not stupid so i wouldn't let the vet rip me off I always look on here first so i know what to expect.
 
I know what you mean. Some people don't see guinea pigs as worthy pets. They think only cats and dogs and other big animals have their own personality. Guinea pigs are boring, and instead of paying 70 pounds for surgery why not get a new one. And, by the way, guinea pigs are for children not for grown ups.
I wouldn't say my pigs are my children, but they are definitely familiy.

So just don't listen to those who don't understand. Call me childish. Who cares? I don't care about most people the way I care about my guinea pigs. Those people are the ones who are not worth it.
 
Cgilchrist said:
This is exactly what my mum said. she is great and I know they are worrying but we can afford them OH and I are still paying back quite a bit of money from the wedding and we would be over £1000 better off without the piggies but it is £1000 well spent I say and the bit we owe form the wedding will just take a little longer to pay off. It is frustrating that it's cost but when you take on a pet you take responsibility for them and I could never forgive myself if I didn't do everything i could for them when they are poorly and I'm not stupid so i wouldn't let the vet rip me off I always look on here first so i know what to expect.
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My OH said to me the other day he knows who'd get fed first if times got really hard :(|)
 
Thanks guys I feel better now! I don't have human kids and hubby and I are not really keen on the idea at the moment. My friend is spending £2000 on implants for her daughter (who is 16 ) as her front baby pointy teeth have come out but no big teeth are coming through and I totally understand this because she wants to be a model (and looks just like twiggy but with boobs and has really got a chance )but just because she is flesh and blood/ human it isn't strange spending all that money on kids but i am like that with my piggies just different people's ideas. x
 
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i had a bit of a fit yesterday about this. Alfie had already had a broken leg, and we thought maybe he was ill due to something teeth related. mom said that i needed to think about it logically, and decide on a cut off for money etc if he had hugely repeated vet bills. she wasn't being mean or anything, but ended it with 'after all, he's just a guinea pig'. i sat there with my dying little boy and had a bit of a tantrum ") she really wasn't being mean, i think she was thinking of me more than anything, but still...

i think part of my rant was along the lines of 'do you think uninsured Americans go into hospitals, find out the price of their son/daughter's care and say 'well, it'd be more economic to just pull the plug. we can have more, after all.'

i'm only 18, but that's exactly how i view my pigs. if Alfie had been okay and needed repeated procedures for the rest of his life, i would take out a payment plan and pay by any means necessary, as long as it didn't destroy his quality of life. i didn't have him long, but he was one of my babies, and if you're solely responsible for something, and it literally couldn't live without you, then you are not it's 'owner', you are it's mother and should act as such. i chose to keep my piggies, and regardless of the heartache (and gosh there's been a huge amount for me this year 8...), they deserve the best life i could possibly give them.

sorry for the rant, but i hadn't been able to rant about that to anyone yet, as no one seems to understand, and i just miss my little guy so much. i woul've gone to the ends of the earth for him, if i'd even been given the chance
 
caviaporcellus said:
I have another friend that has a guinea pig who couldn't believe that I actually buy vegetables especially for the guinea pig. (It's not that her's doesn't get veg, it just gets the unwanted and left over bits like cauliflower leaves and broccoli stalks etc so is still well fed)
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Me & OH don't eat a lot of fresh veg except salad so most of what I buy is for the pigs & buns :)

piglet fancier said:
I know what you mean. Some people don't see guinea pigs as worthy pets. They think only cats and dogs and other big animals have their own personality. Guinea pigs are boring, and instead of paying 70 pounds for surgery why not get a new one. And, by the way, guinea pigs are for children not for grown ups.
I wouldn't say my pigs are my children, but they are definitely familiy.

So just don't listen to those who don't understand. Call me childish. Who cares? I don't care about most people the way I care about my guinea pigs. Those people are the ones who are not worth it.
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Oh yes only cats & dogs are "grown ups" pets rolleyes
When I've told people I have gps before they ask how old my children are :{
 
Just to add she emailed me to say she just worried that they take all my time and money and she worries about me, but I nearly said so do your kids whats the difference :x don't want to offend anyone not that I'm anti children they are just not for us yet and I don't see why it is so odd to have that kind of devotion to another species obviously the mother child bond is second to none but piggie human bond can come close I'm sure x
 
Cgilchrist said:
Just to add she emailed me to say she just worried that they take all my time and money and she worries about me, but I nearly said so do your kids whats the difference :x don't want to offend anyone not that I'm anti children they are just not for us yet and I don't see why it is so odd to have that kind of devotion to another species obviously the mother child bond is second to none but piggie human bond can come close I'm sure x
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I have one child and am not the most natural of parents so understand that children are not for you at the moment. My OH always says about pets "oh it's just a guinea pig" "it's just a cat" but they are not. They depend on 'owners' to take care of them.

Even though he says these things he will still buy veg specifically for them and is starting to understand that they are more than pets to me.

I could rant on all day but one positive is that people around me who see how passionate I am about piggies and resucing are looking at them in a different light. Perhaps all us TGPF people will convince people one at a time that have personalities, foibles and eccentricities just like people.

Power to the piggies and slaves! -c
 
Nicquita said:
i had a bit of a fit yesterday about this. Alfie had already had a broken leg, and we thought maybe he was ill due to something teeth related. mom said that i needed to think about it logically, and decide on a cut off for money etc if he had hugely repeated vet bills. she wasn't being mean or anything, but ended it with 'after all, he's just a guinea pig'. i sat there with my dying little boy and had a bit of a tantrum ") she really wasn't being mean, i think she was thinking of me more than anything, but still...

i think part of my rant was along the lines of 'do you think uninsured Americans go into hospitals, find out the price of their son/daughter's care and say 'well, it'd be more economic to just pull the plug. we can have more, after all.'

i'm only 18, but that's exactly how i view my pigs. if Alfie had been okay and needed repeated procedures for the rest of his life, i would take out a payment plan and pay by any means necessary, as long as it didn't destroy his quality of life. i didn't have him long, but he was one of my babies, and if you're solely responsible for something, and it literally couldn't live without you, then you are not it's 'owner', you are it's mother and should act as such. i chose to keep my piggies, and regardless of the heartache (and gosh there's been a huge amount for me this year 8...), they deserve the best life i could possibly give them.

sorry for the rant, but i hadn't been able to rant about that to anyone yet, as no one seems to understand, and i just miss my little guy so much. i woul've gone to the ends of the earth for him, if i'd even been given the chance
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I know sometimes it takes someone you love to help you make the right decision but they need to totally 100% understand how that pet/person/item makes you feel not how they would feel about the same thing or how they think you should feel about it thats the difference. Sorry for you loss xx
 
I'm glad I'm not the only 'soft' one around here -as my OH puts it, his hobby is cycling mine are the girls, I dont ask him to help with them, or pay the bills incurrred for them but I still get the comments and looks to say what again but there only guinea pigs, I have recently spent quite a lot of money on Lily (dental) and I dont regret a single penny and even to the point of setting the alarm for night-time feeds for her. when the OH commentated on this my reply was 'just be thankful I'm a caring person at least when you're older you know youll get looked after'. he hasnt mentioned the amount of time and effort that I give the piggies now.
 
Deb H said:
I have one child and am not the most natural of parents so understand that children are not for you at the moment. My OH always says about pets "oh it's just a guinea pig" "it's just a cat" but they are not. They depend on 'owners' to take care of them.

Even though he says these things he will still buy veg specifically for them and is starting to understand that they are more than pets to me.

I could rant on all day but one positive is that people around me who see how passionate I am about piggies and resucing are looking at them in a different light. Perhaps all us TGPF people will convince people one at a time that have personalities, foibles and eccentricities just like people.

Power to the piggies and slaves! -c
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the thing is hubby is just the same as I am about 'his little soliders' we both aren't that keen on children so if we don't have the desire/need and certainly don't have the pennies why do something because people 'expect it' or because it is the norm? I like to think we are just being sensible and I can't be heartless because of the love we give to piggies, family and each other!
 
Just to say he's come round ok but have to have a full discharge appt at 5.30 so I hope there is no bad things to tell me! :(
 
Well everyone is different, has there own quirks, non of us are 'normal' and like things that others think of as 'strange'.

I can't understand why some people thinks train spotting is interesting in the slightest but i don't criticize them for it. As long as as whatever someone likes to do doesn't hurt anyone or anything else than i ain't fussed- not that i want to hear all about it :)

I think the best thing you can do when people moan/criticize you about your piggies- say you don't care what they think or hit back about something you don't like about what they do lol.

Anyway hope all is well with your little guy, fingers crosses :)
 
JackyB said:
Well everyone is different, has there own quirks, non of us are 'normal' and like things that others think of as 'strange'.

I can't understand why some people thinks train spotting is interesting in the slightest but i don't criticize them for it. As long as as whatever someone likes to do doesn't hurt anyone or anything else than i ain't fussed- not that i want to hear all about it :)

I think the best thing you can do when people moan/criticize you about your piggies- say you don't care what they think or hit back about something you don't like about what they do lol.

Anyway hope all is well with your little guy, fingers crosses :)
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i second this. however, you should maybe avoid hitting back with a comment about the pointlessness of their children :(|)
 
Nicquita said:
i'm only 18, but that's exactly how i view my pigs. if Alfie had been okay and needed repeated procedures for the rest of his life, i would take out a payment plan and pay by any means necessary, as long as it didn't destroy his quality of life. i didn't have him long, but he was one of my babies, and if you're solely responsible for something, and it literally couldn't live without you, then you are not it's 'owner', you are it's mother and should act as such. i chose to keep my piggies, and regardless of the heartache (and gosh there's been a huge amount for me this year 8...), they deserve the best life i could possibly give them.

sorry for the rant, but i hadn't been able to rant about that to anyone yet, as no one seems to understand, and i just miss my little guy so much. i woul've gone to the ends of the earth for him, if i'd even been given the chance
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i am in exactly the same situation as you Nicquita, if I could have been given the opportunity to save Spud I would have given everything I had to have kept him alive. Some people just don't understand.

The last night of Spud's life was also my year 13 prom - I told my friends I didn't want to go out because of him being at the vets, and they replied with "it's just a guinea pig", which just made me feel worse. i did go out in the end, but the whole night, i was thinking of him. my friends said i was being silly, wanting to call the vets at midnight to see how he was. truth is, if I had, I would have found out then that he wasnt eating, and I would have actually left prom and gone to the vets to see if I could convince him to eat. when I told my friends this, they looked disgusted.

Some people love their dog, their cat, their car or their flippin' stamp collection. We love our pigs, and why can't people understand that? They mean the world to us all, I just wish people wouldn't judge. Just because the animal is bigger, or lives longer, doesn't mean it should be loved any less, doesn't mean it doesn't have the opportunity of changing a persons life. Whether it be a pet mouse, guinea pig, cat, or dog, they all leave pawprints on our heart, no matter how big or small.
 
It's your money and time you are spending, and if you want it to be on guinea pigs then that's fine. :)

Loads of people spend loads of money on cigarettes, alcohol, fast food, cups of coffee, tv, clothes they don't need, etc. Or on whatever their hobbies are, and our hobby is keeping pets (well so much more than a hobby!).

If I had to pay £400 for an op for a guinea pig or somethng, then I don't know if I'd be able to pay it, because I don't have that kind of money, but if I could then I would want to pay it, definitely. If you have the money, then why not. And come to think of it, I've spent hundreds on their hutches, runs and accessories :) and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Some people just don't understand how much animals can mean to some people. My animals are the most important thing in my life after my family. Life wouldn't be worth living without them, for me, so I don't mind spending money on them, or spending my time looking after them.

It's nobody else's business.

I think some people are just jealous. Because when people come to my house they say it's lovely with all the animals around and they'd love that, but they are basically just not interested enough or too lazy to actually care for them. My sister said I was irresponsible and needed to grow up because I bought rabbits. But I'm 22 and bought them with my own money and pay for everything for them and look after them perfectly well, so what's the problem?

I am mad about animals, but I don't usually talk about them to my friends, because it might bore them. I'd tell them things like, "I got a new puppy" and I put the photos on Facebook, and when they're at my house I'd show them if I had a new pet or something, but only if they wanted to see, which of course they do! Who doesn't want to see a cute new animal. :)

But my friends in college (doing vet nursing) are all mad about animals too so we often have conversations about our dogs and one girl had guinea pigs and is mad about them so we always have conversations about them and nobody else understands! They just don't know how cute they are, and think we're a bit mad. But one day we brought in some of our guinea pigs and everyone loved them. :)
 
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Nicquita said:
i second this. however, you should maybe avoid hitting back with a comment about the pointlessness of their children :(|)
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I would never say that :red it was just an example her daughter is actually lovely just a way of explaining what the piggies mean to me! Kids just aren't right for me and hubby at the moment lots of people get lots of happiness from their children and I don;t want to criticise anyones choice that would be a bit hypocritical after starting this thread! :(|) She is just looking out for me and she is still my best friend I just think she could have worded it better and maybe waited til I wasn't waiting for my bubba to come round from a GA! but I think it took her a lot of guts to say it and her intentions were all good i just get frustrated they don't understand and make me feel like I have somethnig wrong with me co I am so obsessed with my piggies.
 
Yeah she was just looking out for you, but chose a very bad time to do it.


I have to say that I admire all of you who put so much effort into looking after sick piggies and spend so much money on them too. I'm so lucky all of mine have been healthy so far and never had much wrong with them at all. I'm also very lucky that vet bills in Ireland are nowhere near as expensive as the UK. But it's amazing, you'd do anything for your piggies :)
 
I remember many years ago now being a few hours late for work because i had to sit with a hamster who was dying and i got moaned at when i got to work because in their words "It was only a hamster".

When it comes to our furry friends it doesn't matter what size we love them deeply. To us they will never be "just a anything"
 
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