Bindi Heeler's Herd

My job takes a hiatus over the summer, which means I get to stay home all day. That is not a skill I am good at. I need to be out doing something, preferably with a regular schedule, and contributing to society. So while I look for temporary summer employment, I have been thinking of goals to accomplish at home with the animals to keep me busy... and sane. - First, I will be petsitting my boyfriend's dogs in my home for three days a week. Marbella is a 70-lb. black Labrador/pit bull mix with the energy of a racehorse and the pull of a freight train. Addie is a chunky Chihuahua mix who adores all human beings. Together, they are a handful. Add my dog Bindi into the mix, it's a full-on rave party at Jay Gatsby's house. Anytime my boyfriend has come over with the dogs, we've suffered the syndrome of living in a house blockaded with gates, angry cats, dog crates, incessant whining, closed doors, and heated "discussions." It's difficult to put Marbella and Ad...

Good morning! It's time for a walkies! Are you ready? Walks are an important part of your pet's day. Even if you have a fenced-in area, walks are vitals because it gives you time to bond with your dog, get exercise, and make sure the yard is safe for them. I don't have a fence yet, but I'm looking forward to getting one so Bindi can spend more time outside.

Hello, all! It's a stunning Sunday morning here at the Ivory Mermaid Cottage. We're taking it slow this morning after last night's house party celebrating my buying a house for the first time back. I don't normally stay up so late, so I'm moving a bit slow, and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about our recent change in rodent bedding. *** I've owned rodents of some species or another since I was a child. Hamsters, Guinea pigs, and chinchillas have usually been around either as a kid, during college, and as an adult. My first Guinea pig was Nibbles, and I got him when I was in 5th grade. My first chinchilla was when I was in college, and I named him Nimbus Cloud. I don't remember my first hamster, although I do remember having one named Blackie, and somehow my father killed it while I was on vacation with my mother... Anyway... And now I have my first rabbit in my late 20s along with two chinchillas and two Guinea pigs. For all that time, I...

Recently, I managed to get to the grocery store, which means there's a lot of fresh veggies in the house for the piggies and the bun-bun. Honestly, I've never had so much healthy stuff in my fridge before now. In fact, the check-out lady scanning my food was making fun of boyfriend because I bought all these fresh vegetables and then he had to pay separately for like an energy drink, spicy seasoning, and a microwaveable dinner. "So you have to pay for the unhealthy stuff, huh?" she said to him. I laughed. "Actually, all the healthy stuff is for the rabbit and the Guinea pigs. They eat better than we do." This morning, all that healthy stuff came out to create a giant breakfast salad for the vegetable-eating trio. It's Saturday, and with no work to get to, I thought it'd be fun to really put some effort into this morning's feeding routine. The breakfast salad got to be so large that I had to upgrade from a dinner plate to one of my nice servin...

The last time I wrote about the piggies, they were living in separate cages. I said that they were about to experience a big move, though. It's happened, and it's awesome! *** When Butter Stick and Apple Butter first joined us, they were living in separate cages. Butter Stick's cage was a decent size with bedding. Apple Butter had a smaller cage with some bedding and also fleece mats. I was really unhappy with Apple B's cage, though, because it was constantly wet. I don't know if she was peeing on every inch of floor space or if the water bottle was leaking excessively or what. Either way, it was not a nice environment for her. Something had to be done. I tried to see how Apple Butter would do in Butter Stick's cage. Not good. Together, the cage went from a "decent size" to uncomfortably small. They couldn't get away from each other. So back to the wet cage Apple Butter went. This Saturday, I struck upon an idea. Why not use the playpen a...

Does anyone else get to-go food for their pets? Tonight, I attended a fancy banquet for work. There were salads already placed at every table setting. At my table after dinner, there were several leftover salads. Looking at all the wasted green, I started grabbing Styrofoam bowls of unwanted salad as my coworkers looked on in concern. "I'm going to take this home to Makoa," I said. Of course, then I realized it was all iceberg lettuce, and rabbits can't eat that anyway! But, the cucumbers from my salad this past Saturday were definitely brought home in a take-home box! The waitress tried to take them away, and I rushed to tell her, no, those are going home to the rabbit. She replied with an uncomfortable giggle. Anyway, on to the story - adopting Castiel. I've talked quite a bit about the Guinea pigs, rabbit, and chinchillas lately so I thought I'd share a story about one of the cats. Castiel is a two-year-old neutered male orange tabby cat and quite l...

You may have noticed in my first post that there was only one Guinea pig listed in the herd. And, that's not good! Guinea pigs are very social animals, and they need the company of other Guinea pigs to be happy. Similar to chinchillas who usually are found in bonded pairs, Guinea pigs need social interaction from other piggies. So, even though Butter Stick lives in a bedroom with two chinchillas and a rabbit (and visiting cats), she needs her own kind to snuggle and talk to. Butter Stick is a "re-homed" baby. One of my co-workers texted me saying his friend wanted to get rid of her Guinea pig and did I want it. I had the space and the financial means, so I said yes and immediately started doing research. All of my research pointed me to having more than one Guinea pig. When Butter Stick arrived, I noticed she was extremely quiet for a Guinea pig. Piggies usually wheek, chatter, squeal, and "talk" essentially. Butter Stick was silent. I've had a Guin...