Nelly

Nelly, who I named after my sweet grandmother, is my kitty. It wasn’t until I took her to the vet and we checked her adoption records for the first time that I realized she shared my grandmother’s birthday. What are the odds? So she is extra special to me. I got her from a shelter when she was only 4 months old. Nelly is a very independent cat, which I appreciate given my busy schedule. She likes to do things on her own terms, like cuddling and letting others pet her. Nelly loves to nap with me. I call her “Moo-tee” which is a baby way of saying “Mushi,” which is how people call cats in the Dominican Republic. But my honey calls her “Moody,” which is also accurate.

She turns 11 years old this year. I hope to enjoy her company for many more.

Layla

This is Layla, who is now 8 years and 4 months old. Someone used to tell me she would outlive everyone else because of her tough attitude. She has for sure outlived her guinea pig years. Someone gave her to me, along with Basil, her hubby. They were both about 3 months old. Layla is very demanding. She used to drive Basil insane, to the point of him hitting himself against the walls of the cage. She also had some issues with her baby, Bingo. Sadly I had to separate them all. (Too much bullying.) Perhaps they just needed their own space. Don’t we all?

Layla loves to eat lettuce, Italian parsley and blueberries. She loves cuddling with me.

The following two piggies are no longer here but this post wouldn’t be complete without them.

Basil

Basil, who I used to call “poopilandia” because of his excessive amounts of poops, was my second piggy— given to me with Layla. I also called him “handsome fella,” because he truly was. He had a little streak of grey hair at the top of his head that made him look exceptionally handsome. Basil enjoyed taking road trips with me. He also had a special look – he would tip his head down and shine his eyes at me sideways, like he was flirting.

Basil was quiet. He loved his celery, grapes and raspberries (not recommended to feed guinea pigs too much fruit, only little pieces once in a while).

Next is my very special piggy, Bingobella.

Bingobella

When I got Layla and Basil I thought they were both females. But, Basil’s behavior made me wonder.

I soon noticed that Layla seemed bigger than usual. I blamed it on her diet. She could eat a whole bowl of salad.

One afternoon, after a fun time at the park with Basil and Layla, I got home and to my surprise noticed Layla jumping (we guinea-pig-people call it “doing popcorn”). I got closer to the cage to make sure she was OK. Then, I noticed she was giving birth! I could not believe my eyes when the baby’s first instinct was to reach out for the celery and cucumbers, which turned out to be her favorite treats. Layla wasn’t even done cleaning her up.

And that was Bingobella — who grew up to be bigger, stronger and louder than her parents. And her name? As I said, her arrival was quite a surprise to me, so I thought naming her “Bingo” was appropriate. But I also felt that the name needed more of a feminine touch so I thought of combining both of her parents’ names into one: Ba-la — Bella. And that’s how I came up with the name, Bingobella. She was also beautiful which of course is “bella” in Spanish.

I don’t have children but I see my pets as my babies. They really become your family. And they were all a great support for me during my cancer mess. It made me happy to see them. They were also a reason for me to put up with the treatments.

Both Basil and Bingobella have left an empty space in my heart. I miss them a lot.

But I believe in the Rainbow Bridge.