Author Amanda Dean
Fuzzy Chins
Chinchillas Anonymous
Meeting 8pm, Room 100
As I walked into the room filled with giddy laughter and excited conversations, I felt my heart beating so loudly. The butterflies in my stomach were working overtime and my knees felt a little shaky. The meeting commenced with the main speaker asking if anyone new was in the audience tonight. I cautiously rose and he invited me to the front of the room. I quietly squeaked into the microphone, "Hi, my name is Amanda and I am addicted to chinchillas (the disease is better known as chinitis)". The audience bellowed back at me in a monotone sound, "Welcome Amanda, please tell us your story". The silence in the room before I began my story heightened my tension, but I soon felt at ease describing the events that led me there to that meeting.
"It all began early in 2002. My fiancé (boyfriend at the time) and I had been dating long distance for nearly 3 ½ years and he had moved to Blacksburg, VA, where I was attending graduate school. At the time I owned two pet rats and Darren didn’t feel a connection with either of them. He started to do some research on the internet about other pets that might suit our lifestyle. He knew the rats were not leaving but maybe he could persuade me to expand my family. He discovered chinchillas one day and began to research them as pets and their care. I didn’t pay much attention to his conversations about owning a chinchilla because I thought we had agreed that we would wait for the rats to pass before we invited more animals into our apartment. I did like the sound of owning a chinchilla and I thought they were adorable. They did sound like great pets to own but I left it at that. One night in March 2002, Darren (my fiancé) started talking about a chinchilla breeder he had found in Vinton, VA which was only an hour away. He continued by saying that he had been in touch with her and she had a young beige male chinchilla for sale. I was so taken back and stunned that he had been pursuing pet chinchillas and I didn’t even know about it. I explained to him again that I preferred to wait until the rats had passed away, they were getting old, and I thought the subject matter was dropped. The next day I log on to our computer only to find the cutest beige face staring back at me. Darren posted a picture of the beige male chin on our screen background so every time I used the computer, I would see the irresistible face. Needless to say, it didn’t take me long to fall head over heals for that baby face. Darren was in constant contact with the breeder and we decided that we wanted two chins, so they would have someone to snuggle with and play with at night while we slept. Once I knew it was definite and we were to pick up Joey (beige male) and Roo (silver male) at the end of April, I started to read everything I could about chinchillas. As we purchased the cage and all the supplies, my excitement grew and grew. I couldn’t wait to meet these little fellows. Even though I had never held them or even seen them in person, I knew there was a bond there already. The day finally arrived when we were going to pick up Joey and Roo. Darren and I got up early because we just couldn’t sleep….the excitement was too great. It felt like a lifetime driving to Roanoke and waiting to meet the breeder. Finally the moment had come….we met JoAnn and Bill of Luv N Chins and we met Joey and Roo. I got to hold Roo while Darren had to handle Joey. Thank goodness I had Roo, he was less squirmy. I was so nervous holding Roo, scared I was going to hurt him or that he would jump and get away at the PetsMart, where we met them to pick-up Joey and Roo. We talked to JoAnn and Bill while we held our new bundle of joys….I can’t really tell you what we talked about while I was holding Roo. I was so focused on him and so excited that anything could have been happening around me and I wouldn’t have known. I will never forget that day….I still get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. We brought the boys home and loved them so much. Darren had bought a sign before we even got the boys that read, "Spoiled Rotten Chinchillas, not responsible for lost treats or hearts". I should have known that would be a sign to me of what was to come."
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