The Pantry Cupboard Door

Our little Guinea Pig learnt very early on that the sound of the pantry door opening and closing was linked to the possibility of a treat (dry food) for him. He was also particularly sensitive to sounds from the kitchen, especially any sounds to do with the fridge or chopping board. He knew that was linked to the possibility of other treats (vegetables) for him. As soon as he detected these sounds, he would emerge from his little ‘room’ and squeak joyfully in anticipation for a treat that might come his way. As soon as anyone of us walked past the cage, he would stand up on his hind feet or crawl up the side of the cage. When he was very happy, he would do a little dance called ‘Popcorn’ and when he was little; this was also followed by a race around the cage. Around and around he went. We soon realised that we weren’t able to get to the kitchen to get a drink without attracting his attention. I didn’t like disappointing him whenever I needed to get something else for ourselves from the pantry cupboard. Eventually, I began to leave the pantry cupboard door slightly ajar so that no noise was made when we needed to access it for ourselves. But when I did go to the pantry cupboard to get him something, I sometimes deliberately shut the door and then re-opened it again to ‘notify’ him of an impending treat. His reaction was just so funny to watch. LOL. Even though he left us six months ago, I noticed the other day that the habit of leaving the door ajar stayed stuck. I miss him so much.