Thursday, October 06, 2005

Fridays with Cheeta

Do you remember when you were a kid & got sick, how good it felt when your mom would rub your back? Or lay in bed with you, even though you were now 10 or so. It always made me feel better. Our treat when we were sick was 7up, chicken noodle soup & comic books.
As a parent, kids get less needy as they get older & when they get sick, they're so sweet & it kinda feels good for them to need you again. They want to be held & hugged & are so compliant, no arguing & they aren't yelling, "NO!" It's as though they're revisiting the days of when they were such an loving & affection baby.
This is what Fridays with Cheetah are like. It's gardening days at our complex & many gardeners are out there with their edge trimmers, lawn mowers and rakes! Oh, she hates the rakers! They scare her. So, my finicky piggy who normally snubs her nose at my affections, likes to come stand by me. Better yet, she likes to lay right by my feet when I'm on the computer. I can pet her & pet her all I want without her snapping her mouth at me. (This is 1/2 fun & 1/2 finickiness for her) But on Fridays, she's mine, all mine. Shortly after 1 o'clock, it all ends. She's aware they're gone & now she's back to Miss Independence.

Then, I give her some grapes, she gets them handfed to her as she obediently sits. Have you ever been sneezed on by a pig as you're handfeeding it grapes? Have you ever looked at the size of a pig's nostrils? They are HUGE. Now, imagine your hand right under said blowholes. It's messy. But actually, it's hilarious too.
I can always feel her sneezes coming, but once I start feeding her treats, she doesn't like to wait. So, I brave the coming storm, brace myself & keep shoveling the grapes, one by one, until an eruption evolves from her nostrils & soaks my generous hand. And then, I keep feeding her grapes until she's eaten every last one. Then, I get up to go and wash my hands.

Since most of you probably haven't lived with a 4-legged pig in your house, you probably don't know that they also make a moo'ing noise when concerned or looking for someone. When she runs, she barks. It's a very deep and loud bark. Last week as we were walking her, she was startled & let out a deep bark. Our neighbor's daughter (in her teens) happened to look over & my hand was over my mouth. (I forget why) But the girl looked at me and said, "Was that you?" She thought I belched!

Everyday she gets 2 scoops (about a tbsp. each) of raspberry flavored pellets with selenium & other vitamins in them. 1 scoop in the morning & 1 before bed. She knows when it's time for her treats & also if she's being shorted a scoop. I put each scoop in a 1'x 1' box that has building blocks in it. Pigs love rooting & she gets to root through the box to get all of the pellets I've scattered in the box. When she wants her treats, she goes over to a floor fan & at the bottom of the fan, covering the legs is a plastic covering. She moves the plastic covering up & down so it makes a sort of clicking noise. This is how she communicates. Normally her timing is just right & at night if she goes over there Tarzan will look at me & I'll say, "She's right, she has 1 more scoop coming." After she gets her scoop, she's tucked into her pillows & blankets for the night.

posted by jane at 10:30 PM