Four guinea pigs who were adopted after being abandoned in a box by a London tube station have been named after stations.
The four guinea pigs, all female, were found in a box near a tube station along side seven other pigs back in fall 2019.
After a Facebook appeal by the RSPCA in December 2019, the four were adopted by Emma and her partner James, both 27, who renamed them after London stations: Piccadilly, the mum, Twickenham, Finsbury and Pimlico.
Emma said: “We were actually only looking to adopt two guinea pigs originally but saw these four and couldn’t bear the idea of them being separated!
“Apparently another family looked at the pigs but didn’t take them because Twickenham had ‘scary’ red eyes, which is heartbreaking as she is honestly one of the friendliest, calmest pigs I’ve ever met.
“Guinea pigs may be small, but they have individual personalities and make wonderful companions.”
Emma pointed out that guinea pigs are extremely social animals, which is why in Switzerland the law requires owners to have at least two guinea pigs, under the Animal Protection Ordnance, enforced in 2008.
The original plan was to have the pigs live in a double decker hutch, since they could not manage the ramp, Emma and James designated an area of their living room to their own living space.
Emma said: “Every time we bought something new, we had to buy four to avoid squabbles!
“They used to all sleep together when they arrived (with one on watch), but now they all sleep separately and often out in the open so they obviously feel far more comfortable.”
