I wasn’t aware that I had the gene for ‘chinchilla addiction’.  I had always had some kind of pet when I was growing up, from dogs and cats to a deer and a raccoon.  Not to mention the rabbits and cows in between.  I married a man with two children and had gotten involved with raising them, thus my ‘pet days’ were over.  But as the kids got older, I got to missing my furry buddies (be they big or small).  Hubby did NOT want to mess with scooping poop, fleas or the other drawbacks to pet ownership.

One day we were watching the Marc Marone Pet Shop program on TV and they featured Chinchillas.  I had heard about them but didn’t have a clue as to what they were.  They were ADORABLE!!  Marc was hitting on all the points that I wanted hubby to hear, like their fur is too dense to get fleas.  I then started to spend a lot of my time researching them to get as much info as I could to go to battle with hubby.  The internet has tons of information so after I ‘had all the answers I needed to go to war with hubby’ I proceeded to whine and nag until he gave in.  I found a breeder in Rock Hill, SC that sold me my first chin, Abe.

Abe was such a joy.  He was very skittish at first and it took awhile to get him used to me, but once he learned to trust me, we had a bond.  I never thought I’d get so attached to a furry little animal, but I did.  Unfortunately, 2 years later, he passed away from a respiratory infection.  I still get a little sad when I think about him.

Hubby got me a cat to replace Abe.  Later that year, I got transferred to Atlanta and had to get a second residence there in addition to Tuscaloosa.  I got lonely being over there by myself, so guess what?  I got another chin!  Then I got him a girlfriend……

After they had their first litter, I knew that I wanted to breed chinchillas.  I started purchasing better quality chinchillas specifically with breeding in mind.  I’m now back in Tuscaloosa all the time and have a large room in the bottom floor of my home that is called the Chin Room.  All my ‘little angels’ are very spoiled and well taken care of.  They are not just a hobby with me, they are my ‘mental health saviors’.  I find cleaning their cages a great form of relaxation.  Since I’m doing something to make their lives nicer, it makes me happy, therefore, the relaxation.  If I have a bad day at work, all I have to do is go down to the Chin Room in the evenings and spend time with them.  They never fail to make me smile.