That First *Moment*

[laurc19]

I thought it would cool for people to share their stories about that first time you really felt the bond with your chin.

I have a couple...

The first time I was giving Charlie scritches and when I finished and went to pull my hand out he grab my finger with his little paws and pulled it back...

The first time Charlie hopped on my head and started grooming every inch of my hair

Zorro and I haven't had many moments... he is a little more stubborn (my lil brat!) and Charlie is the mama's boy!

 

[Rickman]

Glad Charlie wasn't a fur-chewer! haha
First moment I had was when I was giving the herd LifeLine in a paste, off a tablespoon! Went to pull it away with a trace on it, and they'd grab or bite the spoon to keep it there - guess they liked it! Also push each other away with their paws, to get more!

 

[ChinchillaSteve]

The first scritches.
and walljumps against my chest

 

[mishellyshel]

Me & Richie have had many moments over the last 4 years but recently since he has been sick I see how much he truly depends, loves & trusts me.
I had my fiance' build a huge cage for my then 2 chins and I put him in it to explore before puttin in permanently. He was so afraid that he just kept running back to me and jumping in my arms. Also the way he looks at me when I am handfeeding often brings a tear to my eye. and the way he just comes over and chills on my shoulder for a few minutes during playtime is so funny.

Stitch has taken a while to come around, got him off CL in January of this year and he is finally trusting me. Since moving him into his new cage, he practically lives in his fleece tube............when he started letting me give him some love while laying in there, i knew were were going to get along just fine.

Zucca hasnt even been with me a month, so we havent had time to "bond" but he is a very tame sweet chin............not to mention litter trained! I think he will come around nicely.

 

[Jadebf700]

I am still having my first moments but since I have been sitting on the floor in the room we closed off, he has been using me as a jungle gyms. Yesterday, he climbed up my legs and put his front two paws on my belly to sniff around. It was very cute! He is also starting to follow us in his cage as we walk by.

 

[3CsMommy]

Sadly I wasn't sure mine loved me back until after we'd had them both for at least a year. Back in February, I had 5 teeth pulled, and besides being doped up to kingdom come, was in some pretty bad pain. But, since the Now Former Taller Half is very lazy about chin care, as soon as the general anesthesia wore off, I got up to check the cage, etc. I'd rested my chin on the edge of the door and just started talking to them because I knew I didn't smell like I usually do and didn't want to flip them out too bad... when Cervantes came over, mashed his fuzzy chin butt up against my sore jaw and did the Comfort Call. Meanwhile, Crash hopped up, sniffed my face all over, and then fell to grooming my eyelids and eyebrows, also making that little grunty Comfort noise. We spent a good 10 minutes just sitting there, and to this day, they've never both loved on me at once, so I can only guess that it's because they realized somehow I was uncomfortable and wanted to try to make me feel better.

 

[Jadebf700]

That is one of the cutest stories I have ever heard... I love when animals sense there is something wrong.

 

[Luci]

im sure there are more that i have, but one in particular still amazes me.

i was looking in the mirror while wearing this new dress and gizmo's cage is right next to it. so as im standing there, i feel a slight tug on the dress and see him reaching through the bars, holding it in his hands. i was in love!

so now when i get ready, he sits in the top corner to be close to me so i ask "how do i look", and im sure he approves!

 

[Laurie]

Well I have several chins and have bonded with some, and some not. What bonded me to Abigail was her illness. She developed a URI while pregnant. I had to hand feed her and feed her her meds and after that she was always quite the snuggler with me. Plus I gave her Solange after all her babies died within a few days after she delivered.
Mick St. John and Wesley bonded with me right away and I have their breeder to thank for that. Kim held them daily and it really helped them bond with me I do believe.
The most special bonding story for me is with Bobo though. She basically hates everyone and I'm not kidding! She's my first chin and we did everything wrong! We chased her to get her back in the cage, we dragged her out daily and so and so on. She's very fiesty in her cage--kacks, bites and sometimes sprays (she hasn't done it in quite awhile though). On August 1, 2008 we learned my sister Lisa's breast cancer had returned and was terminal. Lisa had battled this triple negative breast cancer for 7 years so this news was so awful. I went home that night after spending the evening with my entire family and just fell on the floor in front of Bobo and GiGi's cage and cried. Bobo came over to the front of the cage and sat by me. She let me open the door and pet her and hold her and she sort of held me while I cried. She didn't sass, or kack, or bite or even spray. She just loved me when I needed it most. I'll never forget that moment ever.
Today she's back to her sassy self, but when she hears me say I'm sad Bobee she comes to the front of the cage and just sits quietly as if to say, it's okay mom I'm here for you.

 

[Tillygizmo]

I have some..

Tilly was my first chin and I made a lot of mistakes with her as a kid. I was too young to have gotten her and she definitely suffered through my teen years. My first real moment with her was when my family moved and I came home from college to get the last of my things (which was mainly her) to bring to school. We sat in my childhood room together and I just held her and cryed..I realized that she somehow understood and was there for me.. it was amazing.

With my second chin...Gizmo, we don't have moments often..she is super stubborn and detached out of fear. Sometimes though, when she wants to get out of the cage and i put my hand in near her chest to stop her she just grabs onto my finger with her paw and stares at me for a minute right in my eyes.

With Freckles, everything is a moment with her. She loves to have human connection..she is wonderful. She will just sort of cock her head to the side and stare at you and you can tell she is wondering what you are thinking and she LOVES when you talk to her. We have moments everyday... we are really connected..

With Charger, he is mainly my fiances as far as connection..but he and I do have fun sometimes. Just today during playtime I would take these corn husk things he goes crazy for and put it near his face and then slowly drag it away and he would come after it and like drag it back ...and finally when I let go he would take the whole huge thing and run away with it and I would laugh and then he would run some more and I would laugh again..and he kept doing it and I think he knew I liked it...he is cute

 

[rach_leigh]

I am Kunya's 2nd owner (and final!) he has bonded with me completely. He loves scratches and when I am done, he stands up and touches his nose to my face! It is the *sweetest* thing ever! I just love him so much! I have not had Ashe for very long, but she is starting to come up to my hand and groom me, so we are making progress. When she is out for playtime, she loves to sit on my shoulder too. I just love them both and feel so blessed that they are in my life! :dance3:

 

[Newt]

I bonded with Rosey as soon as I met her! She was in a pet store and in this horribly small and totally empty cage. All she had was a small wooden tunnel...no shelves or nest box or anything. Anyways I went over to say hello and pressed my face against her cage. Rosey came straight up to me and gently nibbled my nose through the cage bars. Of course I took her home immediately!

But....I couldnt stop thinking about the other chin who was in a separate cage in the pet store. That chinny was terrified, and as her cage was pretty bare, the poor wee thing had nowhere to hide either. After a week of feeling bad, I went back to the store and got the other chinny....that was my Poppy! Well Poppy was quite frightened and took a very long time to tolerate any kind of contact. She would jump onto my shoulder when it was time to go to the playroom, but wouldnt have scritches or let me hold her.
Then a year and a half ago Poppy got pyometra and had to have an emergency spay. I slept beside her cage for three weeks, handfeeding her critical care and pellet paste, and putting individual hay strands into her mouth (she had a collar on and couldnt feed herself poor baby).
She was a very brave girl and was obviously determined to survive. The best thing that came out of this awful time was that now Poppy and I have a very strong bond. She loves scritches now, and in the playroom she likes to spend half of her playtime just sitting on my shoulder and cuddling into my cheek. She's so sweet now its unbelievable!!

Ive had Jasmine for nearly a year now after finding her up for sale on TradeMe (the NZ version of Craigslist). She obviously wasnt handled much, so is very skittish, and she hates to be touched. But we're working on that slowly but surely. I'll never forget the first time she voluntarily jumped into my arms so that I could carry her to the playroom...that was such a big leap forward!! I am hoping that one day we'll bond just as strongly as I have with my lovely Rosey and Poppy!!

I am a lucky Mommy!!

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

With Mr. Whiskers, it was the first time I saw him in the pet store. I asked if I could pet him and the owner said, "Sure, go ahead and stick your hand in -- he's really friendly". The minute he started whisking me with those amazing whiskers, I blurted out, "Oh, my God, you are the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! If I could take you back to Denver with me, I'd name you Mr. Whiskers and love you forever!!!" And I did!!!

I first met The Snuggler when I was attending a show. I noticed a cute little baby chinchilla making an escape from his cage and alerted his owner to the fact. He was so cute, I asked if I could hold him. She allowed me to, and he spent the rest of the afternoon asleep in the crook of my arm or on my lap. I immediately christened him "My Little Snuggler", and everyone was sure that I was going to be leaving with him that night. I really wanted to, but had just gotten Mr. Whiskers and Baby back together after neutering them, and I thought it best to check with my vet before I added a 3rd chinchilla to the mix. He advised against it, so I didn't call the breeder. When Baby died suddenly and unexpectedly a few weeks later, I called Nicole (Riven) to see if My Little Snuggler was still available. She said, "Yeah, he's here; he's been waiting for you to call!!!"

Since Little Two Paws was so small and had only 2 legs (both on the right side) and a little nubbin on his left rear, I would let him have playtime on my bed with a flannel sheet to protect his nubbin, which was not an open wound, but just tender, pink tissue -- no fur had ever grown over it. He would skitter around and get moving pretty fast, (especially for a 2 legged chin). I would lie there on my stomach propped up on my elbows watching TV. He would race all around the bed over and around me, and then run under my chest between my elbows, snuggling in his little "safe" place. I was thrilled that he did that!!!

 

[6Dusters]

Little Dude has been here for a couple years. But only within the last couple months he wants to be scratched under his chin, have his chest rubbed and snuggle my hand. I'm loving it! All my chins have bonded in different ways. Smooching, feet pettings, grooming me in the face, buddah rubs. They like to nose greet and some mutter a conversation. I really enjoy the soft whisper conversations and they close their eyes before bed. I had no idea I would enjoy their company so much.