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Coping with grief

helloitsbecca

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 27, 2016
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Hi all. I lost my Angus yesterday and I am so grief stricken, it’s unbelievable! Every time I look at his empty cage I burst into tears but yet I can’t bear to clean it out or wash the blanket he was wrapped in when I took him to the vet. I feel like I’m being ridiculous. I still have William (they both lived alone, side by side and I can’t face getting him a new friend yet) and that helps but I feel like I had a special bond with Angus due to him being quite a sickly boy. Does anyone else have any experience with this? How long does it take to ‘get over it’ if you know what I mean?
 
I'm so sorry for your loss, grief doesn't really have a time line, and is different for each person. So really, it takes as long as it takes.. which I know isn't helpful. It took me about a year to get over the loss of my most precious pig Bramble, who had special needs and was closely bonded to me. It usually takes me a few months to process the loss of piggies that I dont have such a close bond with, who preferred their piggy friends and didn't require medications and extra care every day. It seems like it will never get better, but I promise that it does. ❤
 
Grief isn’t ‘got over’ in a few days.
It can take a long time for the process to work through.
You are still in the early stages when the grief is very raw.
There is only time that will ease that and the amount of time differs with every loss.
Holding you in my heart
 
Hi all. I lost my Angus yesterday and I am so grief stricken, it’s unbelievable! Every time I look at his empty cage I burst into tears but yet I can’t bear to clean it out or wash the blanket he was wrapped in when I took him to the vet. I feel like I’m being ridiculous. I still have William (they both lived alone, side by side and I can’t face getting him a new friend yet) and that helps but I feel like I had a special bond with Angus due to him being quite a sickly boy. Does anyone else have any experience with this? How long does it take to ‘get over it’ if you know what I mean?

Hi!

I am very sorry for your loss. Since every bond with another being is unique you can never predict how you react. Accordingly, there is also no set time limit or schedule.
The best thing you can do is being kind to yourself and not expect anything of yourself. Just ride the wave. Talk it out of your body if possible. The Blue Cross run a special pet bereavement emailing and phone service during office hours. You can find the contacts at the end of our grieving guide, which you will hopefully helpful in making a bit more sense of your feelings and experiences. Other unconsolable forum members who have been encouraged to try it have all come back with positive feedback and feeling a little better in themselves. The service is run by specially trained volunteers and is confidential.

Here is the link: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
 
I am very sorry for your loss. Grief can affect people in different ways. It isn’t a case of ‘just getting over it’
I know that you will be hurting now so be kind to yourself as you grieve but I promise you that the pain does lesson in time x
 
So sorry for your loss.
Grief is very painful and does take time to come to terms with, but the pain will fade in time .
I once saw grief described as a box with a button that had a bouncing ball dropped in it. At the start the ball bounces wildly and every time it hits the button you feel overwhelmed by the pain, as time passes the ball bounces less and less and so it hits the button less and the pain is less.
Be kind to yourself, it is still early days. I could not face cage cleaning and packing away my piggy things for at least a week when one of my boys died. So do things at your own pace and don't listen to anyone who tells you to "get over it".
Sending you hugs.xx
 
Thank you everyone, you have all been so kind and the guides were really helpful ❤️ I woke up this morning with a clearer head - I finally managed to have a shower and a meal that wasn’t mini cheddars lol. I am going to attempt to clean out the cage today so I can give William some more space and to stop him staring into the cage looking for Angus (and possibly a lady friend if I decide to neuter!). X
 
So sorry for your loss. I know exactly how you feel as I lost one of my precious boys last week. It will always hurt but I try to take some comfort in knowing that I did everything for him and he loved his life. Go easy on yourself and give yourself time. We are still devastated over losing our boy, as I am all my animals (we lost one of our horses over summer too).
if you ever need to talk just send me a message 💕
 
Hi all. I lost my Angus yesterday and I am so grief stricken, it’s unbelievable! Every time I look at his empty cage I burst into tears but yet I can’t bear to clean it out or wash the blanket he was wrapped in when I took him to the vet. I feel like I’m being ridiculous. I still have William (they both lived alone, side by side and I can’t face getting him a new friend yet) and that helps but I feel like I had a special bond with Angus due to him being quite a sickly boy. Does anyone else have any experience with this? How long does it take to ‘get over it’ if you know what I mean?
I lost my guinea pig ‘Jackson’ 3 weeks ago and I had initial grief then but I’m just about to cop the full brunt now that I’ve had my reality check (I had a teenage attitude and I’ve just had a breakthrough). I think that this will last a couple of months for me though. I’m sorry for your loss of Angus.
 
Aww so sorry! It just takes a long time, and there will be moments that you'll just miss him. I have personally found the guides on this website very helpful. We decided to bury our Ed (and soon unfortunately also our other guinea pig) in a large pot, that we can take with us. Sometimes when I see the pot I still feel sad, though it's already months ago. My neighbours probably also think I'm mad, because I sometimes catch myself talking to the pot. Just give yourself the time that you need. You will not always feel this sad, and you will find the strength to clean up the cage at one point. But the sadness will also come back at times and that is Ok. Wishing you a lot of strenght.
 
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