lauryn1289
Junior Guinea Pig
This is one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to write.
Between 2021 and now I’ve lost 2 family members, my hamster, 2 of my pigs Rico and Bobby, an abandoned kitten called Beanie I was caring for and got a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease and overall have been having a really tough time and out of all those, this hurts the most.
I got Kip in March 2021 to be a friend to my first ever pig Rico. They were the best friends in the entire world, but it did take me getting bitten in the knuckle and needing to go to emergency care for antibiotics by Kip to get them there. When Rico passed away in 2021 I was absolutely devastated, even more so for Kip. Kip came with me to bury him in the garden and say our goodbyes. Then Kip got his new “frenemies” as I call them Ollie and Bobby and lived the rest of his life like royalty in his own cage now with them as his neighbours.
Kip was always shy and Rico definitely dominated him, but clearly Rico taught him how to be boisterous and stand up for himself because when Ollie and Bobby came suddenly he was acting like a security guard and the first one to have a go at them. He seemed to ignore them mainly from then on until they really got to him, and then he’d smack them with his little hand from inside his own cage. But he did secretly enjoy their company, even though he would have never have admitted that. He did always have a short fuse though, he would stand and chatter his teeth at you if you refused him more nuggets until you eventually gave in. You wake him up? Teeth chattering. You don’t get the 10 different hays he randomly decides he likes? Teeth chattering. Behind the short fuse he was the sweetest boy. Patient in most ways and grateful for everything you ever gave him. Popcorning up until very recently even in his old age. The shiniest hair imaginable. He also didn’t walk like a guinea pig either, because he hopped with his back legs like a rabbit. He didn’t seem to even know what species he was half the time.
There’s a furniture salesperson famous in Ireland called Mattress Mick. Seemingly once a week new beds and blankets were coming for Kip in the mail, so he got the nickname Mattress Mick by my mother. King Kip by my partner, and Kip Kardashian by me because of his silky hair. I won’t ever forget him, and this is an event I have been dreading for so long. He meant the world to me. No tribute I can give would ever be good enough for him. He’s left such a giant hole in my heart. Eulogising every memory or beautiful thing about him would take me the rest of my life.
It’s hard not to feel like a failure when two of my boys died within 15 days of eachother, but I’m trying to take solace in the fact that July would’ve been Kip’s 7th birthday. Even though he had a huge hematoma on his neck, constantly grubby eyes and was basically a bag of bones for the past couple years, it never slowed him down once. He was tough as nails. He was a happy boy with so much life and personality, so quick and spritely and still popcorning so late in life. Greedy as sin and loved nothing more than some cosy blankets and when you’d make a cave out of his hay. I’m grateful he got to 6 1/2 years old relatively health issue free until the very last couple of days under my care and I hope it means I did right by him and he had the life he deserved. 6 1/2 years has felt like a lifetime with him, but even one day feels like a lifetime without him. No amount of time would ever have been enough for us to spend together, but even then I wish we had more. I’m going to miss him forever.
Between 2021 and now I’ve lost 2 family members, my hamster, 2 of my pigs Rico and Bobby, an abandoned kitten called Beanie I was caring for and got a diagnosis of an autoimmune disease and overall have been having a really tough time and out of all those, this hurts the most.
I got Kip in March 2021 to be a friend to my first ever pig Rico. They were the best friends in the entire world, but it did take me getting bitten in the knuckle and needing to go to emergency care for antibiotics by Kip to get them there. When Rico passed away in 2021 I was absolutely devastated, even more so for Kip. Kip came with me to bury him in the garden and say our goodbyes. Then Kip got his new “frenemies” as I call them Ollie and Bobby and lived the rest of his life like royalty in his own cage now with them as his neighbours.
Kip was always shy and Rico definitely dominated him, but clearly Rico taught him how to be boisterous and stand up for himself because when Ollie and Bobby came suddenly he was acting like a security guard and the first one to have a go at them. He seemed to ignore them mainly from then on until they really got to him, and then he’d smack them with his little hand from inside his own cage. But he did secretly enjoy their company, even though he would have never have admitted that. He did always have a short fuse though, he would stand and chatter his teeth at you if you refused him more nuggets until you eventually gave in. You wake him up? Teeth chattering. You don’t get the 10 different hays he randomly decides he likes? Teeth chattering. Behind the short fuse he was the sweetest boy. Patient in most ways and grateful for everything you ever gave him. Popcorning up until very recently even in his old age. The shiniest hair imaginable. He also didn’t walk like a guinea pig either, because he hopped with his back legs like a rabbit. He didn’t seem to even know what species he was half the time.
There’s a furniture salesperson famous in Ireland called Mattress Mick. Seemingly once a week new beds and blankets were coming for Kip in the mail, so he got the nickname Mattress Mick by my mother. King Kip by my partner, and Kip Kardashian by me because of his silky hair. I won’t ever forget him, and this is an event I have been dreading for so long. He meant the world to me. No tribute I can give would ever be good enough for him. He’s left such a giant hole in my heart. Eulogising every memory or beautiful thing about him would take me the rest of my life.
It’s hard not to feel like a failure when two of my boys died within 15 days of eachother, but I’m trying to take solace in the fact that July would’ve been Kip’s 7th birthday. Even though he had a huge hematoma on his neck, constantly grubby eyes and was basically a bag of bones for the past couple years, it never slowed him down once. He was tough as nails. He was a happy boy with so much life and personality, so quick and spritely and still popcorning so late in life. Greedy as sin and loved nothing more than some cosy blankets and when you’d make a cave out of his hay. I’m grateful he got to 6 1/2 years old relatively health issue free until the very last couple of days under my care and I hope it means I did right by him and he had the life he deserved. 6 1/2 years has felt like a lifetime with him, but even one day feels like a lifetime without him. No amount of time would ever have been enough for us to spend together, but even then I wish we had more. I’m going to miss him forever.
Losing them is hard enough to begin with but even worse in such a short timeframe. I hope you’re doing well x
.. Yes I’m okay I guess, to be honest I can’t deal with more sadness .. I’ve struggled the last weeks that I had to take care of taco ,after Ratis loss, it’s been awful
The quote is great ,I will think of that too ,I hope it will help me during my grief journey
