you've heard about the cavy cop?

thanks british library (PD)

You're cruising through the Wellington area of New Zealand.  School's in session, so watch your speed:  if you go too fast you'll have to answer to Constable Elliot.  If you get caught, remember it's all right if you don't look him in the eyes, since that would require you getting down flat on the ground.  You see, officer Elliot is a guinea pig.
Mind you, this isn't a completely brand new concept.  Over at Cambridge's Ethology Institute you can sign up for scent-detection animal handler training at Guinea Pig Camp.

three little pigs

thanks the-athenaeum.org (PD)

Here's another lovely set of George Morland guinea pigs, making short work of a cabbage leaf.

more disrespect gets dished out to the guineapig

thanks  vintageprintable.com. PD

1911:  the inoffensive guinea pig continues to get no respect in this passage from a review of domestic animals. . .

The Guinea-pig, which is often kept as a home animal, has none of the fierce ways of the ferret. In spite of its name, it has nothing to do with the real pig, but is one of the gnawing animals, a timid and stupid creature, that first came from South America. Large numbers of them are found on the banks of the La Plata River, being there known as the Cavy. They burrow in the ground and feed on fruits and herbs.
What people like in the Guinea-pig is its pretty coloring. The wild form is of a grayish-brown color, but as kept on the farm its color is white, with patches of red and black. It is of no use to man except as a pet, for it is not fit for food and is too stupid for anything else. It has been said to drive off rats and mice, but this is a false notion.

-- from Morris, C. (1907-11). Home life in all lands.v. 3. Philadelphia & London: J. B. Lippincott company. 58. 

dude! what did a guinea pig ever do to you?

a repeat image. RIP carlisle xx

1900:  Dear Mr. Pet Care Book Writer, tell us what you think of the guinea pig.

"Guinea-pigs are harmless, stupid,  restless little animals with very few of the attractions of other pets. They show no affection for anybody, and will see their young torn to pieces before their eyes without showing any concern. Their advantages as pets are their ability to keep themselves clean, the fact that they are good at shifting for themselves, and that they are gentle and harmless for children to handle."

But wait! I didn't add the quote (from a young owner, I am sure) that kicked off this paragraph!
"Don't pick a guinea-pig up by the tail or its eyes will drop out. — Tim."

Did I miss a period where cavies were out of fashion?  This (unintentionally hilarious) quote was found on page 101 of:  Biggle, J. (1900). Biggle pet book: a collection of information for old and young whose natural instincts teach them to be kind to all living creatures. Philadelphia: W. Atkinson.

selling guinea pigs, c. 1789

How curious we would find it today to have pets arrive by traveling salesman.  Yet that's what's happening here in this gentle oil painting by George Morland (1763-1804), Selling Guinea Pigs.  The vendor has carried them to the door in his straw-filled basket, and letting them stretch their legs as the family contemplates them.  I love most the blonde toddler hunkered down rapt in watching - here's a detail:

George Morland came from a family full of accomplished artists, and was gifted to the point of becoming an honorary exhibitor at the Royal Society by the age of ten.  It's said that his father shut him away from a normal child's fun and friends in order to keep him creating sellable work.  I wonder if this didn't point him a little toward his life of getting taken by dealers and unsavory friends, for it's said he was cheerful and generous by nature, and a lonely child might grow up to be a man unable to tell a true friend from a user.  His was a rumbunctious and short life, but  he was able to paint animals in a tender, well-observed fashion: notice how sharp and detailed they are next to the palely washed people.

tub time guinea pig

photo courtesy and copyright brynn g

Here's a snap of a family guinea pig enjoying good grooming.  Happy Friday!

"Guinea pigs, guinea pigs, how fine is the day!" 

I heard Mrs. Guinea Pig cheerfully say. 

"Come, come, little dears, we'll go out to play, 

But don't for the world run too far away."

 - from Sense and Laughter, 1881, p. 295,