Bye Bye Tomppa

P

Piggies4Evah

Junior Guinea Pig
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My dear Tomppa has passed today on his 5th birthday. He was battling chronic bloat for the past 3 months, likely due to bone pain, as he had an old fracture in the femur. Last week, a dangerously large food mass was flushed out of his stomach with medicine and fluids. However, he got a UTI as a result of all the stress and medicine, which made him pee more and become more prone to infection. Sadly, his little old body couldn't take it anymore, and he passed away from bloat on the last day of his antibiotic course today, as his body couldn't handle all these simultaneous issues and the toll the antibiotics had on his stomach.

I will miss my darling so much. He was a survivor and always bounced back quickly and started nibbling on food after any medical concerns. This time, however, he decided that he would rather pass on to the next realm instead of battling it anymore. He will be missed by everyone who knew him and by his cage mate.

I will try to spend as much time as possible with the piggie who was left alone. Still, I am quite sure I do not want to continue the piggie cycle anymore, since I have a very stressful medical history with my now-gone guinea pigs and it has taken its toll on me. I will have to rehome the remaining 1.5-year-young piggie later, but I will let him grieve first, and I will stay here to support him. If you have any tips on rehoming so my guinea pig can find a loving home for the rest of his life, feel free to share them.

Goodbye my Tomppa,
Lovingly,
Your ownerIMG_20260806_114737.webp
 
In the picture, he is having one of his signature tummy massages to help the gas move, and he was really comfy. This was some days before the whole UTI debacle. Oh, how bright he was. I will miss how much this guinea pig loved life. I am proud to have had such a kind-hearted guinea pig who never quarreled with other piggies. The vets always complimented how kind and calm he was when we went for a visit.
 
I am so very sorry you lost your sweet boy I can tell from your tribute to him how much you love him and I know he is watching over those he has left behind and he'll guide you as to what is best thing to do
Popcorn happily over The Rainbow Bridge 🌈
 
CTWC said:
I am so very sorry you lost your sweet boy I can tell from your tribute to him how much you love him and I know he is watching over those he has left behind and he'll guide you as to what is best thing to do
Popcorn happily over The Rainbow Bridge 🌈
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Thank you this cheers me on x
 
I’m so sorry Tomppa had his call to the rainbow bridge. Popcorn high over there gorgeous boy ❤️
 
So sorry to read that you have lost your beloved Tomppa.
Your love shines through your tribute.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry that Tomppa made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge instead of celebrating his special day with you. That must have been soo heart-breaking for you.

Please take pride in having got him to live a normal lifespan and to hit the big 5 with you thanks to your good care. We can sadly never choose when and what from our beloved ones die; that is beyond our control.
We can only ever give them as many of the happy todays in loving care that guinea pigs measure a good life by, as they don't have a concept for an average life span but they know very well when they have a good life...
As long as you give them the quality of life that is the stuff of piggy dreams, you are not failing them, however short or long your piggies live.

Tomppa will always have a special place in your heart and your memories.
 
Wiebke said:
BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry that Tomppa made his journey to the Rainbow Bridge instead of celebrating his special day with you. That must have been soo heart-breaking for you.

Please take pride in having got him to live a normal lifespan and to hit the big 5 with you thanks to your good care. We can sadly never choose when and what from our beloved ones die; that is beyond our control.
We can only ever give them as many of the happy todays in loving care that guinea pigs measure a good life by, as they don't have a concept for an average life span but they know very well when they have a good life...
As long as you give them the quality of life that is the stuff of piggy dreams, you are not failing them, however short or long your piggies live.

Tomppa will always have a special place in your heart and your memories.
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Thank you sincerely. It's getting better day by day, but he is very much still on top of my thoughts (which sometimes manifests as tears). A family has also shown interest in rehoming his friend (who has been surprisingly active and not apathetic at all, even though in the beginning he searched for Tomppa). He will have a great rest of life ahead of him in a responsible and caring home, even though it pains me to lose another piggy so soon, although I subconsciously know it's best for him to live with a new piggy friend elsewhere.
 
DavRz said:
Very sorry you lost your sweet boy, RIP Handsome Tomppa
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Thank you. Thinking of him very fondly, also picking up his urn as soon as it's ready. <3 He will be placed in the home next to his two friends he lived with since he was a baby.
 
Piggies4Evah said:
Thank you sincerely. It's getting better day by day, but he is very much still on top of my thoughts (which sometimes manifests as tears). A family has also shown interest in rehoming his friend (who has been surprisingly active and not apathetic at all, even though in the beginning he searched for Tomppa). He will have a great rest of life ahead of him in a responsible and caring home, even though it pains me to lose another piggy so soon, although I subconsciously know it's best for him to live with a new piggy friend elsewhere.
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HUGS

Please brace yourself that you are going through a minor version of the grieving process with every piggy of yours (or that you have looked after for a time) that leaves your home even if you are still in contact, as I know from my own experiences and as rescue fosterers can also tell you. You may prefer to break contact if it hurts you too much. That is quite common and not a sign of not caring, but actually very often the opposite.

I am mentioning this not because I am criticising in any way your decision, which is the best you can make if you are ending your ownership and cannot foster an older rescue piggy for the time being; but because it can really upset you majorly when it takes you unexpectedly with all the inevitable soul-searching and guilt that are part of our human species wiring, unfortunately. That is the price we pay for loving and caring; it is the other side of the same coin. :(

Anyway, I hope that this helps you in your current still very emotional state so you can mitigate this foreseeable hurdle. We continue to be there for you for as long as you need for moral support.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

Please brace yourself that you are going through a minor version of the grieving process with every piggy of yours (or that you have looked after for a time) that leaves your home even if you are still in contact, as I know from my own experiences and as rescue fosterers can also tell you. You may prefer to break contact if it hurts you too much. That is quite common and not a sign of not caring, but actually very often the opposite.

I am mentioning this not because I am criticising in any way your decision, which is the best you can make if you are ending your ownership and cannot foster an older rescue piggy for the time being; but because it can really upset you majorly when it takes you unexpectedly with all the inevitable soul-searching and guilt that are part of our human species wiring, unfortunately. That is the price we pay for loving and caring; it is the other side of the same coin. :(

Anyway, I hope that this helps you in your current still very emotional state so you can mitigate this foreseeable hurdle. We continue to be there for you for as long as you need for moral support.
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Yes, it already feels like a more minor version of the grief I had with the loss of Tomppa, even though the lone piggy Ville still lives with me. I think my mind is slowly adjusting to the thought that soon he will be in another home, hence feeling melancholic at times. I found it important that the new family could give me occasional updates on his life, so I expressed this thought to them. I think that would help me cope with the situation, as then I would surely know that he is doing well and is happy.

He is 1.5 years old, and I got him as a baby to be a companion for Tomppa, as Tomppa's friend passed away last year and I didn't want to introduce two adult boars to each other. However, I got him with the idea that he would only be with me until Tomppa passed and then I would rehome him. So now that Tomppa has passed, he is in the same situation as Tomppa was back then. The difference is that he is so young, so I would have to get him a new baby companion and continue the piggy cycle for several years more. While I love him, I feel like I need to de-stress myself and not have pets for some time, since these 5 years have had all sorts of ups and downs (but in the end I'm happy I had the chance to care for such lovely piggies!) It feels like the right moment to stop the piggie cycle after Tomppa's passing, since he was the last one of the original piggy trio I took care of since 2021. I am proud to have nurtured Ville for over a year and to have seen how he grew into a very healthy and food-loving, kind-natured piggy. So I sort of feel like I am giving a treasure of mine away so he can continue to blossom in a caring environment, and where people are committed to care for him for the rest of his life. The family also told me a baby boar has been reserved to live with him, so he will have a friend waiting for him there! It truly seems like a perfect setting for him to continue to after my care. :)

Here he is eating cucumber yesterday.
 

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Piggies4Evah said:
Yes, it already feels like a more minor version of the grief I had with the loss of Tomppa, even though the lone piggy Ville still lives with me. I think my mind is slowly adjusting to the thought that soon he will be in another home, hence feeling melancholic at times. I found it important that the new family could give me occasional updates on his life, so I expressed this thought to them. I think that would help me cope with the situation, as then I would surely know that he is doing well and is happy.

He is 1.5 years old, and I got him as a baby to be a companion for Tomppa, as Tomppa's friend passed away last year and I didn't want to introduce two adult boars to each other. However, I got him with the idea that he would only be with me until Tomppa passed and then I would rehome him. So now that Tomppa has passed, he is in the same situation as Tomppa was back then. The difference is that he is so young, so I would have to get him a new baby companion and continue the piggy cycle for several years more. While I love him, I feel like I need to de-stress myself and not have pets for some time, since these 5 years have had all sorts of ups and downs (but in the end I'm happy I had the chance to care for such lovely piggies!) It feels like the right moment to stop the piggie cycle after Tomppa's passing, since he was the last one of the original piggy trio I took care of since 2021. I am proud to have nurtured Ville for over a year and to have seen how he grew into a very healthy and food-loving, kind-natured piggy. So I sort of feel like I am giving a treasure of mine away so he can continue to blossom in a caring environment, and where people are committed to care for him for the rest of his life. The family also told me a baby boar has been reserved to live with him, so he will have a friend waiting for him there! It truly seems like a perfect setting for him to continue to after my care. :)

Here he is eating cucumber yesterday.
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HUGS

My Beti (formerly Betty) is a bereaved vet referral I took in just before Christmas 2021 because nobody wanted her just post-pandemic where I send an update about 3 times a year. She was about 1 1/2 years old when her same age companion died and is now 6 years old.
And I kept in contact with my own piggies while I was in hospital and too ill to look after all of them.

Still, you never quite know how you will react. Just be kind with yourself if it is not quite what you expect from yourself.
 
Wiebke said:
HUGS

My Beti (formerly Betty) is a bereaved vet referral I took in just before Christmas 2021 because nobody wanted her just post-pandemic where I send an update about 3 times a year. She was about 1 1/2 years old when her same age companion died and is now 6 years old.
And I kept in contact with my own piggies while I was in hospital and too ill to look after all of them.

Still, you never quite know how you will react. Just be kind with yourself if it is not quite what you expect from yourself.
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The active contact thing sounds lovely indeed. I am glad this seems to be a rather common habit with other bereaved guinea pigs and their caregivers as well. For now, I still feel like I can never go fully no-contact with Ville, but of course, time will tell. My feelings might go in a reverse direction after he is truly not present anymore, and thank you for sharing the thought that even going no-contact is caring. Or perhaps it's indeed true that I cannot go on without some updates during the year, and then I have to ask the kids to send me some pics of the piggies :D He will be picked up on Sunday along with the cage and other stuff, so that will be when the loss will hit pretty hard. In the following weeks, it will be easier to assess my truest feelings, as my house will have been pigless for some time already.
 
Piggies4Evah said:
The active contact thing sounds lovely indeed. I am glad this seems to be a rather common habit with other bereaved guinea pigs and their caregivers as well. For now, I still feel like I can never go fully no-contact with Ville, but of course, time will tell. My feelings might go in a reverse direction after he is truly not present anymore, and thank you for sharing the thought that even going no-contact is caring. Or perhaps it's indeed true that I cannot go on without some updates during the year, and then I have to ask the kids to send me some pics of the piggies :D He will be picked up on Sunday along with the cage and other stuff, so that will be when the loss will hit pretty hard. In the following weeks, it will be easier to assess my truest feelings, as my house will have been pigless for some time already.
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Deal with it as it happens but have no fixed expectations for yourself. Grieving does funny things to you and can take you in strange directions. Give yourself time to adjust to a pig-free house. It will feel strange as first. But at no stage feel bad about yourself if you react differently to what you think you would.
 
Piggies4Evah said:
He just left. My emotions are very mixed, even though I'm happy for him. I'm sobbing.
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HUGE HUGS

Of course your emotions are totally mixed because whoever wants a beloved to go? But rest assured that you have done your very best for him and have put his needs and his welfare before your own pain.

Be proud of what a brilliant and caring mum you have been to him but also give yourself time and space for a little while to not be OK while you face your human side of the bond. Let it out if you can; it is no discredit to you and only speaks of the depth of your love.

We continue to be here for you for emotional support for as long as you need since we totally understand what you are talking about and what you are experiencing.
 
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