The human has given me a lot of toys over the last couple years, but I have to admit....

This new one she brought home is eerily different.

When the human first showed me this thing, I sort of thought it might be another guinea pig that I could purr at! Ceico can be kind of boring sometimes. I mean, he just wants to sleep all the time! And he's less than amused when I try to take initiative and get him to play with me.....

But that's a topic for another day.

Anyway, going back to this new thing.... The human put it on the floor right away, and seemed to be encouraging me to check it out. I wasn't exactly sure what it was, so I approached with caution at first. It didn't smell like another guinea pig, and it wasn't moving at all, so I figured it must be something else.

At closer inspection, it appeared to even have eyes and ears, just like Ceico and I have! It had all the same colors as me, and even the same little white marking on its head, just like me!

Strange.

What was this thing???

Once I got close enough, I started the sniff test. I hate strong smells, and I make sure the human knows that by sticking my nose high in the air and shaking my head back and forth whenever I smell something I don't like.

This object had a less intense scent that wasn't really overwhelming in any way. Still, I could smell something subtly sweet on it, and kept sniffing for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what it was. It smelt good in a way, but it was also distinctly different than my usual favorite scents (ie. lettuce and carrots.)

After the sniffing, there was one more obvious thing to try. All my favorite toys so far have involved either eating or sleeping, so I chose to test out my favorite option....

Eating, of course! (There was no way I was sleeping right after I got a new toy!)

Anyway, I quickly realized this thing doesn't have the right texture to eat. The hairs don't taste particularly good, and they tickle your mouth when you try to chew. The human definitely didn't want me eating it either (which of course, never stops me,) but I have to admit that she was right on this one.

My next inspection consisted of everything else I could think of! I tried running around this thing, jumping over it, sniffing it some more, pushing it around.... It still hadn't moved since I first saw it, so I figured it was pretty safe to let my guard down.

After awhile, I eventually came to the conclusion that this thing was a little boring.... after all, I still can't eat it or sleep on it! But it did smell kinda good, and it was pretty fun to inspect this interesting new guinea pig thing.

Plus, I may be (just a little bit!) biased, but the little guy is awfully good looking too. ;) I think I might just keep him around to play a bit more.

By the way, if you want to see my *very thorough* inspection process, check out the video my human put together below! It captures all of the most important steps I take when inspecting any new toy that the human brings home. :)

Thanks for reading my latest adventure!

~Ace

P.S. For some reason, the human doesn't leave my little friend unattended with me.... I have no idea why, of course. I mean, it's not like I would take the opportunity to try to taste the little guy again or anything....

P.P.S. Apparently my little friend is called a Cuddle Clone. If any of my piggy friends want their human to get them a twin friend that looks just like them, they can use the coupon code ACE10 for 10% off.

Lately my buddy Ceico has been learning to paint a picture using something the human likes to call, "the paintbrush." The paintbrush is this stick shaped thing, with a funny looking feathery part poking out of one end. It kind of looks like a long skinny carrot, although it isn't orange like a carrot (and trust me, it doesn't taste like one either!)

Anyway, Ceico has been learning this new trick for a couple weeks now, but the silly human didn't let me try it out! I can paint too, just like Ceico can! Plus, the human knows I like to put my own spin on tricks, and there is just so much I can do with this trick! I started to think maybe there was a reason why she doesn't want to teach me this trick, although I can't imagine what it may be.....

*Above* A couple of Ceico's finished masterpieces.

Anyway, the human gave in eventually and finally introduced me to the skinny carrot. As I mentioned previously, "the paintbrush" thing tasted nothing like carrots! How disappointing. However, there was still a lot of stuff I could do with this trick. Of course the next obvious thing to try was the feathery bristles on the end! I learned quickly that the human definitely didn't want me to chew on the feathery end.

I, of course, thought she was wrong. Those feathers look edible for sure! But it turned out that the feathers aren't actually made of hay, and they're pretty boring and tasteless. So okay, I guess the human was right this time; eating this new toy was out of the question.

So I resorted to picking up the paintbrush. That seemed to work, since the human offered food every time I picked it up. So.... it was time to have a little fun. I tried picking up the paintbrush again, and put some extra energy into it, throwing the brush as far as I could. No treat. Huh. Not being one to give up so easily, I kept trying of course, thinking the human would change her mind (because throwing the paintbrush is kind of fun!)

We ended up kind of meeting in the middle. I learned that I could pick up the brush with my usual enthusiasm, but the feathery part at the end had to touch the white paper that was sitting beside me. I still threw in an extra toss here and there to see if the human was paying attention, but she seemed pretty adament that the brush was not supposed to be thrown across the room.

We practiced picking up the paintbrush and throwing it at the paper for a few days (pretty boring, I know!) Until one day the human decided to try something different (finally!) This time, she seemed slightly hesitant to give me the paintbrush for some reason, but as soon as she did, I made sure to inspect the new changes thoroughly. The feathery part on the end was blue instead of its usual beige color. I got a little closer for a quick sniff, and it definitely smelled different too! Not like food exactly, but it sure was interesting!

Anyway, the human seemed to want me to keep touching the paper like we had been practicing, so I humored her a couple of times. She seemed surprisingly happy (and sort of relieved?) that I was doing the same thing we had practiced. Then she dipped the feathers into something, and the interesting smell became even stronger! As soon as she set the brush down on the floor, I knew I only had one chance. Snatching the brush, I turned and ran as fast as I could, looking for a place where I could inspect this new smell in privacy. The paintbrush was a lot bigger than I expected though. It didn't quite fit through all the spaces I could, so I might have dropped it and hit it against a few more things than I intended to. After a few tries, I finally managed to get it under the table into my secret den.

The human's eyes grew wide as she exclaimed, "No, Acey!" Seeing as the damage was already done, she surveyed the room, not looking surprised, but not too thrilled, either. Then, sighing, she retrieved my brush from under the table and ruffled my fur, saying something about "needing to cover the whole room in paper for me."

Not going to lie, that sounds like even more fun!

Thanks for reading my latest adventure!

~Ace



P.S. Stay tuned for an update when I finally finish my painting, to see how the rest of my painting experience turns out. :)