Thank you again all. Looking at everything and I don’t even think their cage was big enough for them either. My poor boys. I’m going to look at rescuing some as I didn’t even realise how many were in need of homes. Thank you for all your advise and replies. We have learned from this and so has my boy which is very important.
Please always remember your piggies with sadness as all of us long time owners do once we are over the acute grieving, but don't beat yourself up to badly. What counts is where you go from here. We all have made mistakes or bad decisions along the line and have had to learn some very bitter lessons the hard way. Think of your piggies as your little guardian angels for your future piggies. You can never go back and undo a mistake, but you can pay forward and turn a mistake into a very special legacy.
All my previous piggies, including my childhood piggies from the times we knew so dreadfully little, are still with me in the way they help me to learn more for the benefit of my current piggies and the benefit of other people; in that way they really are my little fury guardians. I never forget the price at which some of the advice has come, but if I can save the life of another piggy down the line then at least I can pay my debt forward! Pet ownership, like parenthood, is a steep learning curve that never stops; but what counts is that we continue to learn and to grow.
Give yourself time. We all have feelings of guilt or failure at the onset of the grieving process, but they are of course so much stronger when you feel fully responsible. You are a loving and caring owner, so it is very upsetting for you. Grieving is not something you can hurry on and there are no shortcuts either.
I have in the last 6 weeks lost two of my biggest personalities myself. I am still grieving for them and missing them badly despite a whole room full of rescue adoptees and having lost so many precious faces over the years!
If you find that you really struggle, please contact the free Blue Cross pet bereavement line. Talking is the best thing you can do for yourself.
SupportLine - Problems: Pet Bereavement: Advice, support and information
When you are ready for it, you may want to consider a memorial for your boys in some shape or form. We have got a Rainbow Bridge section that is there for those that want to make use of it, if or whenever it feels right for them. We all grieve in our own way, so there is no pressure or time limit.
PS: The next issue of Guinea Pig Magazine coming out very soon is also dealing with this aspect, which you may find helpful.
Guinea Pig Mag
Don't rush into new piggies. Give yourself time to clear your head and heart, do your research (you are always welcome to ask any questions you have in our Care sections) and include your boy into the adoption process when you start it. if necessary let the rescue choose the best piggies for you - often the less showy piggies are actually the real gems when it comes to personality!
Just keep in mind that any decent rescues are closed over the holidays to avoid unprepared impulse Christmas gifts that are then dumped back again soon after, so yu have to adopt either before or after, but there is certainly no dearth of piggies in need of a new start in a loving and committed home! The rescues we are listing are all safe to adopt from without any nasty surprises afterwards, but at the same time you ensure that the piggies that take their place will get a safe future with any necessary medical treatment and an assured future so you are always saving more piggies than you adopt.
