Percy was my uncle. He looked after me and Biggles when we first left our birth mum and aunties and sister and cousins and came to live here. He had led a fairly quiet life up till then, but we soon changed all that.
Percy was a mystery pig, because nobody knew how old he was, or where he’d come from. Except Mummy saw him in a shop advertised as being 5 years old, and she thought he would fit in well with the pigs here then. Also she didn’t think many people would want a five year-old black pig five weeks before Christmas.
Well, she was wrong, wasn’t she, because she did! She went back to get him two or three days later. He lived in the grey cage opposite the others who were here then, Dylan and Dougall, and Oscar on his own. And Kevin was upstairs with Midge. I think that was how it worked, anyway. Then it wasn’t long before Dougall died, and Dylan went upstairs to live with Kevin and Midge, and Percy moved into the blue cage here we found him a year and a bit later.
It turned out he wasn’t five at all, though. Mummy and her friends worked out he couldn’t have been much more than eighteen months old when she brought him home. He grew quickly when he was here and developed what Mummy calls a ‘classic boar shape’.
When we arrived, Percy was astonished. He was also worn out with us rushing around and jumping on him. He soon sorted us out and explained how pigs should behave. I’m afraid I didn’t listen to his teachings much, although I liked the stories he told us.
Percy managed the blog for a long time, and did the A to Z in April with Kevin. He’d gone upstairs to live with Midge and Kevin then, and we’d taken over the blue cage. And maybe Biggles had moved next door to me. I get confused.
Then Percy got a lump on his cheek, which was called a sarcoma, and Dr Sally and the other doctor he saw couldn’t do anything about it, so eventually he died. That was very sad. I still miss him a little, but I’m usually too busy with Roscoe and Neville to miss him much. I remember snuggling him, and him reassuring us when there were scary things like thunderstorms, though.
He was a very amiable person, and got on with everyone. I think he was very clever, as well. He had little tricks and signals he did with Mummy. Like patting her shoulder was a signal. I’ve learned to do it too, but sometimes I forget to do it at the right time.
So that’s P for Percy. Next week, Roscoe’s got the letter Q. We’re all trying to give him ideas on what it might stand for, but nobody’s come up with anything yet.
Tomorrow is Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, and Mummy says ten lucky people can get the first 3 ebooks in the Princelings series FREE at Smashwords until midnight tomorrow night, Pacific time, which means about 8 am on Wednesday if you’re in the UK. You need to add the code RL68R at the checkout. Be lucky – and I hope you enjoy it!
Bye for now
Bertie xxx
George's Guinea Pig World 
Do you think maybe they listed him as being five years old to get attention from someone like your human, who would want to give him a home for his last days? Or maybe it should have said, “1.5 years old,” but the “1” and “.” got lost somewhere? Either way, I’m glad you all got to have him in your lives, because he sounds like he was a pleasant sort of chap. Squeak soon, Joshua
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Digby gives a similar signal when he has to pee, nudging my cheek or shoulder with his nose. Maybe he’s channeling Percy.
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Percy’s was the first entry I ever read when I first started reading George’s Guinea Pig World in 2016, I believe it was. I remember him well!
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Thank you, thank you! I was a lucky winner! I’m usually too late to win anything! Perhaps I should read them aloud to our Ralph Piggum.
Percy Pig was quite a handsome boar.
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You were very lucky to have him – he sounds quite the gentleman! And handsome, too,.
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