Pets bring incredible joy into the lives of their families with their presence and personality. So for our final issue of the fall semester, meet Louis the guinea pig! He belongs to The Etownian’s very own Editor-in-Chief, graduate student and occupational therapy major Sophie Hanenfeld, who lovingly calls him Lou Lou for short.
Lou Lou has brown and white fur and a silly tuft of hair on his head that fans out and parts in the middle, making it look like a hole. According to Hanenfeld, he has quite the attitude for such a small piggie, but ultimately, he’s very sweet and affectionate.
“Lou Lou is very prissy but portrays it in a cute and quirky way,” she said. “He loves to be with me but will start squeaking if I pet him too much.” Hanenfeld jokingly acknowledged his annoyance, calling him “the most dramatic pig you will ever meet.”
Like most guinea pigs, Lou Lou has a lot of energy and loves to “popcorn” and jump around his cage when he’s happy. He also likes to adorably greet Hanenfeld whenever he sees her. “Any time I walk into my room, he will get up and come say hi for a nose boop,” she said.
Hanenfeld found him at a local pet store during her senior year at Elizabethtown College. “I saw him and instantly felt a connection,” she said. “I knew he was meant to be my piggie.”
She decided to name him Louis because it made him sound like a distinguished gentleman, similar to her previous guinea pig Augustus, whom she referred to as Gus.
“Gus sadly passed away before my senior year of college,” Hanenfeld said. “He had been with me my sophomore and junior years and helped me through a lot. I didn’t think I could get another guinea pig because I was really heartbroken over his loss.”
Although she wasn’t expecting to find another guinea pig, Lou Lou brings Hanenfeld a great deal of joy and she loves him dearly, evidenced by the vast enthusiasm she had while talking about him.
However, Gus wasn’t Hanenfeld’s first guinea pig, either. Growing up, she had a guinea pig named Sweetie Pie, which inspired her to find a new animal friend for her home in Etown.
“I’ve always loved animals, and I knew that at college, I’d still want to have a companion,” she said. “I knew that having a piggie in college would be the perfect critter for me. I’ve always been a fan of piggies, and I find them to be the most adorable creatures.”
