Hi Everyone!!!

Yes, three exclamation points because I am so excited!  I am finally home!

For those of you who don't know, I am Bertolina.  For those of you who have met me and decided not to adopt me, it was all a ruse.  It was all  perfectly calculated by me because I just knew my right mommy was out there.  Forgive me, but I had to make you all dizzy and pretty much ignore you when you met me because I waited for the only mamma I wanted: Maria!  She came to meet me on March 24, 2012.  You might wonder why I am being so precise here.  I will explain: It's a special day, a very happy one because I was finally united with my family.  I even have a daddy too! I am so lucky!  That day is such a happy day, I think you should mark it in your calendar and celebrate it every year.  As a matter of fact, I think it should officially become Bertolina Day!!  I am telling you, it was LOVE at first sight! Mamma (not a typo! I say it in Italian because my foster mom has taught me Italian and I'm fluent now) and Papa (that means Daddy in Italian - told ya I'm fluent!) saw me and I saw them, and I just knew I had to go home with them.  I impressed them with my jumping and flying abilities and kissed my daddy right away to seal the deal.  My foster mom was worried I would be too much for my mamma and papa, but she didn't know at that point that they were the ones I had been waiting for! They understand my special needs, they understand I need free range time and a big cage, and most of all, their unconditional love because that's exactly what I will give back to them.

So everyone, I just wanted to make your day and let you know that I am finally home! While you read this, I am probably going for a walk at my new place, licking my papa, cuddling with my mamma or snoozing in one of my masterpiece nests I build.  I do love you all, but I love my mamma and papa more. 

Ciao,
Bertolina 

We receive letters from adopters and volunteers, but occasionally we receive a very special letter written by one of our animals! Check this out: "Hi Fenella- Just wanted to thank you for placing me with Miss V. We are getting along great! I was a little nervous my first day and didn't drink much water, but I snacked on apples, hay and pellets. Yesterday, Miss V's mom gave me broccoli- I LOVE broccoli. I also started drinking regularly from my water bottle--- my family was relieved! I snuggle with Miss V after school and we watch TV together. Miss V likes it when I purr and squeak. I explore the bathroom when Miss V is taking a bath. I like to hide in shoe boxes and tunnels. Blankets are fun, too. I think I've found my forever home... 
Thank you!
Pierre, the guinea pig (and Miss V and family, too!)"

Where's Waldo?....With Mr. E and Marbles! Waldo was recently adopted by Mr. E who sadly had lost his other rat boy. Marbles, a very shy rat around 1.5 years, was very lonely and sad without his brother, so Mr. E contacted Wee Companions. We had just taken in Waldo, who had also lost his last brother. Waldo and Marbles have many things in common besides sadly losing their brothers: both are around the same age, are very sensitive to noises and are shy in nature but once they are comfortable, their beautiful soul shines through. Mr. E came to an adoption where he first met Waldo. Waldo was immediately comfortable with Mr. E and enjoyed Marbles' company, too. To be sure the boys got along, they had another visit at Waldo's foster home.  Yes, a match made in heaven! Waldo very happily went home with Marbles and now enjoys a life of freedom. The boys not only have a very loving daddy but they also have free run of Mr. E's room! Now these are some very lucky rats! Our deepest thanks go to Mr. E and Marbles for taking Waldo home.

Volunteer Michel sent in this lovely letter and holiday photo: "Hi, my name is Michel and these are my two boys, Sammy and Moke. Sammy is the all red boy and Moke has white on his face. One day I was volunteering for Wee Companions and took a little boy home to foster. After two weeks, Fenella called me and asked if I could bring him back for an adoption on Saturday? But by then I loved him too much and said that I would like to adopt him. That was Sammy, in Oct. of 2010. After I had Sammy for a couple of months I realized he was under his blanket all the time, so I thought he might need a friend. We tried a couple of boys the same age as Sammy but he wouldn't have anything to do with them! Then we tried a baby boy, Moke, and we have been happy ever since that day. Some days my boys will sleep near each other, other days they like their own space. Some days, when Moke is snuggled in my t-shirt, Sammy likes to sit on his head! Luckily they have plenty of space to do their own thing. Happy New Year!"

Joy has so much love to give, she has adopted 4 of our hard to place singles and gives them all quality one on one time. She is pictured here on the day she adopted the guinea pig formerly known as Shakespeare. She writes:"....I am technologically challenged, so I need one of my daughters to take some pictures. However, I did want to let you know that all three [4 as of this posting] are doing well...Shakespeare, is now Derek Zoolander, a male super-model. I had been warned that he is a biter, but I have had no trouble. When I put him into his new cage, I thought I heard him purr, which I thought was strange. Now that I am re-thinking it, I believe it may have been a rumble, due to the fact that the previous tenant of the cage was a female guinea pig who passed away. Even though I cleaned the cage very well, perhaps he could still smell her and was looking for a hot date. The only problem I have had with Zoolander was when he crawled up onto my shoulder and tested my ear to see if it was edible. I told him the story of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. I explained that was a very unfortunate situation which did not end well. Zoolander seemed to understand and did not pursue my ear anymore.
Since Zoolander is a super-model, he needs to learn how to negotiate the catwalk. His cage has a ramp in it, and I don't think he had ever been on a ramp before, because he kept falling off. It's not easy being beautiful!"

Norman's new family sent this update shortly after adopting him."Norman is doing wonderful. He’s such a love bug and so sweet. The kids absolutely love him and spent all day Sunday building forts and houses for him out of shoe boxes. We’re still learning his routine and found out yesterday that he doesn’t like raspberries. But every time we enter the room he pops his head up to say hi and waits to get some scratches behind his ears or on his back. So he seems to be settling in very well. I’ve attached a few photos from the weekend. Thank you again for helping me find such a great companion for our family!"

These three young females are on pregnancy watch because they came out of an animal shelter with a male. They are only a couple of months old, so we hope they are NOT pregnant, but must be sure.
Their new foster mom, Tina, reports: "They seem to be settling in. They keep giving false alarms, though. The other piggies know the feeding schedule, but the babies will set up a hopeful wheeking any time they hear plastic rustling and set all the others off." If you look closely, you can see that Isabelle, the white one, has her mouth open wheeking in the photo.

Fat Albert (all black) and Alfred (orange and white)were adopted in November 2011, at just 5 weeks old. Their new family had this great C&C style cage all ready for them! They report: "...as of now the hay rack and that ball seem kind of useless (I don't think the little guys really want to work for it yet). So far, the boys love endive, parsley, cilantro, red leaf and green leaf lettuce as well as arugula and baby carrots…they are not a fan of yellow bell pepper or raspberries. I'll just weigh them in a few days to make sure they're gaining.....they both love the tunnel upstairs and the fleece tunnel below. There's also a water bottle on the second floor so they don't need to travel far if they're thirsty."

This is Albuquerque, a male Syrian adopted out as a youngster in March 2011, now a full grown, much loved family pet! Here are a couple of excerpts from the letter sent to us recently by his owners.
"....He’s enjoying his new home and he gets lots of attention as well as plenty of opportunity to play.....such a pleasure for us and has a sweet disposition. Not once has he ever attempted to bite. His temperament has been perfect...makes perfect little hammie beds and stays very cozy and warm. He’s been getting the best of everything since we brought him home. And we’ve even got a couple of little Christmas presents for him under the tree since we’ll be celebrating his first Christmas as well as his first birthday here in the coming weeks."