Love Isn't Logical

Our household has been home to guinea pigs for over ten years. Affectionate, quiet animals, guinea pigs demand little attention (unless they're sick).

Through the local Episcopal Church we have been long-time contributors to the Heifer Project, which donates farm animals to Third-World villages and instructs recipients on how to care for, use, and breed the animals under the "teach a man to fish" principle. We've taken field trips to the Heifer Project's demonstration farm, now closed.

"Cuy" = guinea pig; a cuyeria serves...(World Ark)

These two of our interests converge in South America, where guinea pigs are a source of protein in the village diet. The Heifer Project has an active guinea-pig program in Peru.

In 2013, Heifer Peru started working in Ccorca to help families raise and sell guinea pigs. The animals, which are indigenous to the Andes, have been a food staple in the region for thousands of years, and are an important part of local culture.

Unlike large animals, guinea pigs are eaten in one sitting and do not require refrigeration. Yes, that's a very practical point of view, unlike incurring pocket-pet medical expenses that vastly exceed the cost of the pet herself. But love isn't logical.