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* 07/10/2001 By Donna of ABC Gerbils:
Does anyone want to join in on building a top l0 list:
The top ten clues that you may have too many gerbils...
Reason #10 - When you have to take a second car on vacation so
you can bring along the gerbils.
(I'm up to nine tanks and had to drive my own car to the beach
house with every conceivable floor and seat space taken up with
the little rodents -- I fear my friends & family may step
in at any moment with an intervension plan...maybe it's just me?)
Donna....ABC Gerbils.... www.abcgerbils.com ....9 Tanks, 21 Gerbils,
Plus 7 available pups and 2 on reserve
*Melanie Gall
#9 - After telling about your gerbil-ful day your friends with
young babies shake their heads and wonder how you have the energy
to do it all.. (Although I have only 2, I wish I had more.. so
here is my contribution to the list)
*Deb Rebel...
You can't go on vacation because all the petsitters have you
on a blacklist even though you've offered to pay by the hour for
petcare. Not even the live-in sitters will allow themselves to
be conned by a full fridge, a hot tub, and satellite tv.
You grew up on a farm, and now spend almost as much time as you
did back then, doing chores. They don't whinny or moo, but you
still have to do water, lug feed, treat what you find, and muck
old bedding. And the ones at the front are even more impatient
than the ones at the back of the rows.
You're guilty enough to put in emergency lighting and fire extinguishers
in your small animal room; with clearly posted exits...the rest
of the house has one smoke detector, the animal room has three.
All cages are numbered with tags identifying each animal and
you log everything on computer to help keep them all straight.
The veternarian makes housecalls to your place and blocks out
the whole afternoon.
You stock up at the wholesale place and all the store sales for
your family for a month and pet supplies for a month, and you
spend more on the pets than the people.
The petstore, feed store, and vet are on speed dial, and you
still have to punch in your parents' number.
The petstore lets you buy in bulk along with their regular orders
at discount.
You can actually buy yourself direct in enough quantities to
qualify as a dealer for water bottles!
Every petstore and feed store and veternarian has your phone
number as a rescue person for unwanted gerbies.
Every petstore manager has your phone number as an emergency
after regular hours resource when they find sick animals. (You're
cheaper than the vet)
Your number is given out by petstores to new owners who find
out they're grandparents (hubby rolls over at 2 am panic calls
by total strangers over the litter they just found in their cage
because Gerbie and Gerbill are now Gerbina and Gerbill).
By necessity you have become an accomplished lay-Vet. Able to
do injections, put in stitches, and perform necropsies. Your own
vet will allow you to assist with your animals.
Your other half doesn't venture near your animal room anymore
and doesn't ask how many as they really don't want to hear that
astronomical figure...as you only have an approximate count and
usually give the count in 'cages' not 'heads'.
You purposely buy the extra thick garbage bags so your bedding
refuse bags won't spring a leak as they are lugged through the
house and out back to the garbage cans. House trash still rates
the bargain place cheapo bags.
The gerbils rate fresh off season blueberries freighted in from
Uruguay. Your family rates the 'fake blueberries' blueberry muffins
from a mix.
You actually take the male in to the vet to be neutered with
a 2 week old litter underfoot and one in the female because you
don't want to split them up.
'4 Digit' gerbils happen. They were 'free' but the vet bills
have added up... so you get to eat macaroni a lot and cut your
own hair.
There is no such thing as a free day (day off) anymore, and no
free weekends. You have chores every day and all weekend you clean
tanks. Milk cows would tie you down less. [they have to be milked
morning and night same time every time, if you want vacation you
have to get neighbors to cover for you and you in turn for them].
[Suddenly I feel like, "I really don't have thaaat many";
I'm still laughing over these...Donna]
*Heather Kowbel
#8- You find yourself eating less food and going out less cause
you just *have* to buy that cute little toy for your gerbils (and
you have to buy it for every cage..which in my case is 3 cages
right now)
*Mary Slaughter
#7 You find yourself scrounging unprinted cardboard in strange
places (fast food drink holders, fruit separators, carpet rolls,
printer toner packing, etc.) even while on vacation.
*Ann-Marie
When someone asks you how many gerbils you have and you have
to stop and think but still can't come up with an exact number,
it's just easier to say "oh, maybe 30 today??"
*Tana of The Little Rascals
When you can't have people over for dinner because you have no
dining table ... because the dining room is full of shelves holding
gerbils!
When you tell people how many you have and there is a HUGE pause,
followed by "HOW many?!?!"
[comment by Deb Rebel]
Most non gerbil owners, usually react to a number of four or
higher. Most gerbil owners, go into triple digits to get the same
reaction.....
*Crystal Cavies and Gerbils
what about you know when you got too many gerbils, when Your
food bill is less than theirs!! or when you spend more time feeding
them, and sorting them out than you do the kids.
[between 7/10 and 7/14, 2001]
--- Janet Morrow of the American Gerbil Society [AGS] wrote:
> Yesterday my doctor called to speak with me. When my husband
got home I proceeded to tell him about the conversation. It started
like this, "My vet called today..."
> When you call your personal physician a veterinarian you
know you have too many gerbils...
"That's sad. . ." Kathy, The Kuntz Clan
When you break a toe or cut a finger and you refer to it as 'I
broke my left rear paw...'
Deb R.
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