My Final Guinea Pig

 

Rest in peace, my little Max, who died on July 30 in my arms. She is now with her sister Ruby, who died several months ago. Now they are wheeking and playing among the lettuce and pepper fields and there is no pain for either of them anymore.

Ruby died during the night and Max was with her the entire time. So when Max got sick, and i knew it was coming, i made sure she wasn't alone. I held her in a blanket and stroked her fur gently and she passed peacefully in my arms, in my bed, while i was talking to my daughter. It took me minute to realize she had gone still.

The night before she died I gave her a little bath to clean her feet and face, bundled her up and let her dry and rest. The next morning she ate very little and i had to hand-feed the pieces of lettuce and dry salad to her. Up to that point she had eaten very little and her weight had dropped in half. When guinea pigs begin to show signs of illness it's already too late. For whatever reason it is in their nature to hide illness. Ruby went quickly too, right after we realized something was wrong.

I won't be getting any more guinea pigs. We have gained four lovely cats, quite by surprise and now at what feels the right time. One a pregnant mama plus three boys, and they all have Max's colorings. We named one of them after her.

Max