The Power Of #Chinchilla Cuddles

Mollie and Maizie are affectionate chinchillas. Maizie especially, since Mollie tends to be a bit shy and reserved a lot of the time. They almost always come bounding up to the door of their cage to greet me just on hearing me enter the living room (where all the rodent gang’s cages are). They also like to be petted and played with, and will often climb in to my arms for a cuddle (not usually a long one, but still). I was very glad of that this morning.

Today (August 11th 2016) marks two years since I lost my Kero dog. I still miss him terribly. Between the anniversary of his death, and the sad news I got from someone I consider to be a very good friend on Tuesday (which I won't share, because it's not my news to tell) I was feeling really low when I woke up from my nap in the early hours of this morning.

But then I went in to the living room.

As usual, Mollie and Maizie bounced over to greet me at their cage door the moment I walked in to the room, so I opened their cage door to give them some attention; I do that most times, to encourage them to continue with their eager greeting.

Maizie immediately climbed up on to my shoulder, where she stayed for several minutes, cuddling up to my neck while “grooming” my hair. Meanwhile, Mollie was climbing all over my other arm. They even stayed there when they realized Kelly was watching, which is the unusual part... They normally dash back in the cage when they realize they have an audience (hence the lack of photos of me cuddling them). They stayed put even when he spoke.

I think they knew I needed some critter cuddles today.

Cuddles from them don't make everything better; chinchilla cuddles can't take away the pain of losing the dog I loved - and still love - so much. But they sure helped.