… Queenie…

 

Queenie, the great red pepper lover...

Queenie, the great red pepper lover…

Last month the lovely Queenie (aka as Miss Gobby and Mabel) went to be a star on Planet Guinea, aged 7 years and still a chunky bouncing and in your face girl. She is the Patchy Star always moving around and frequently at the front, having a nose in case she misses something.

Queenie, then named Miss Gobby, first came to Reading Guinea Pig Rescue (now closed) when the current rescue she was in was forced to find homes for all their animals. At the time I was slowly winding down Reading Guinea Pig Rescue with a view to closing but agreed to take in the sows as this was an urgent case.

Miss Gobby soon found love with Cakey and was rehomed to live with him on the understanding that she could come back, (to stay or be rehomed, whichever suited her), when Cakey passed as the Humans were no longer able to keep guineas but recognised that Cakey would need a final friend.

The time came for Miss Gobby (now Mabel) to return to move forward with her little life, despite being a senior pig now it was no reason to condemn her to solitary and the search began to find her a companion(s). After coming to terms with Cakey’s death- seeing his dead body and being given some alone time; the first stop was to meet the Gorgeous Guineas pigs who were looking for someone to add to their friendship group, however Mabel had different ideas and began to display behaviour that was abnormal for her and had never been seen displayed to Cakey or while here. Introductions were done on neutral territory and in a large space (outdoor run) but around 20 minutes was all that was managed.

Another local bereaved boar was introduced to Mabel and she displayed the same behaviour. This boar is now living happily with another sow.

Mabel’s final chance was a home with me, no pressure! I believe there is a friendship group/partner for every guinea, it just needs to be found. Luckily it was summer so all the guineas could go in the run, I sat and watched them in the (empty) run, timing them. When it got to 20 minutes I added a house and then a bit later added another one. All went well so Mabel came out and went back to her cage on a positive note. I had also decided that she needed to leave her name on the front door step and I’d give her another one, it wasnt long before she became Queenie. Eventually, after a few more trials in the run I put Queenie in her new pen with the rest of the herd who promptly ignored her. No one spoke to her, they just went about their little lives as normal like she didnt exist, it was all quite fascinating to watch. This seemed to allow Queenie to explore her new home and settle in.

Over the next few months Queenie really grew into her name, becoming quite a character, difficult when all but 2 of your friends are also strong characters! I will best remember her for her love of red pepper and her shameless begging for it, refusing to eat until she’d been given some. If it wasnt forthcoming she knew exactly where I kept it and moved to the place in the pen where she could see it. Queenie also loved to come indoors and have floortime, supposedly in the kitchen but Queenie would tour the downstairs of the house if possible, usually ending up under the sofa…

The primary school she visited still ask about her, she was a favourite with many children, who remember her for her love of pepper.

Her departure is also the end of an era linked to vet James Brooks (RIP), Queenie’s partner Cakey came via James to Gorgeous Guineas because of a castrate catastrophy which James and Cakey’s human worked hard (and succeeded to put right. Had James not got emailed me asking if I could care for Cakey  post op Queenie would never have met her love match. Unfortunately I couldnt care for Cakey but Chrissie at Gorgeous Guineas could and then we went on to find him a friend…

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Watching the world go by from the kitchen point of view…

Her death was a total shock, although she was around 7 years old she was fit and well. I found her under her house one morning- not even in the open like my others have done, its almost like she just went to sleep and didnt know she would never wake up again….

Queenie and her friends on her first day here…

grass

Spring grass on Planet Guinea…