Pinki
Junior Guinea Pig
We just lost our 6 year old head of the family Tamari Bean after living a full life this last two and a half years on daily Cardisure, which had no side effects and she led a full and happy life before her heart finally failing.
But then sadly and shockingly we lost her cage mate 12 hours later who was only 2 years old but started developing breathing problems last week when Tamari started to decline. Then, when Tamari was in the last 9 hours of her life and lying very still the little one just snuggled up to her and stayed with her until she passed. But then she got much worse and then we gave her some frusol to ease her fluid build up and she had an allergic reaction to it and died immediately. We are in shock.
But the reason for posting is this..we read this from another post by @Wiebke and it has eased our grief and made sense for us and it's so wonderful I want to put it here and I hope you don't mind @Wiebke (please edit if you wish):
"You have your pets only ever on a loan from above that can be cancelled at any time. Thankfully, what guinea pigs measure their lives by is happy todays in good care. They do not have a (human only) concept for an average lifetime or life expectancy. As long as you given them those happy todays, it doesn't matter to them how long or short they live - it is the quality and not the quantity that counts. And as long as you give them those you come out of it ahead.
I've once adopted a 5 years old bereaved and sad neutered boar, Bryn Oscar the name-deaf, who clearly packed the year with the Tribe with so much fun, joy of life and naughtiness that when old age and arthritis caught up with him, he seemed to have been with us for much longer than he actually was. This experience has taught me a lot about the importance of quality over quantity.
If you can make your and your pets normal everyday count each day, then you fill it with meaning that carries much more weight than having a long life spent indifferently, waiting for the evening or the weekend to come.
It's a very elementary but universal lesson that I am applying now to myself as live with incurable stage 4 cancer - I can live a few months more or I can live another decade; nobody knows. But as long as I make as many days count, I have more of a life and more quality of life than many people who just ghost through their days, and it doesn't really matter how many more days I live; only that in effect I am helping myself to have a better chance at living longer as result. The same attitude can also help you make peace with the early and sudden deaths that you cannot prevent - you have given your piggies the best of lives you could and you haven't failed them in any respect. The rest is not in your control.
Feel sad for the loss of a unique bond but please don't feel bad about yourself or question yourself too much (as we all do at the start of the grieving process) because you are left with lots of special memories that you can access in your darkest times and warm the cold fingers of your soul on. By filling your piggies' lives with content, you are also adding quality to your daily life and are making your own life count and become a source of strength to sustain you when you need it. It is good to do this more consciously and be aware of how you can access the love and joy you have given and have received in times of need."
We have one guinea left today, from 3 to 1 in 24 hours. Gosh. We are so sad but these words of wisdom and love have made it bearable. Thank you.
But then sadly and shockingly we lost her cage mate 12 hours later who was only 2 years old but started developing breathing problems last week when Tamari started to decline. Then, when Tamari was in the last 9 hours of her life and lying very still the little one just snuggled up to her and stayed with her until she passed. But then she got much worse and then we gave her some frusol to ease her fluid build up and she had an allergic reaction to it and died immediately. We are in shock.
But the reason for posting is this..we read this from another post by @Wiebke and it has eased our grief and made sense for us and it's so wonderful I want to put it here and I hope you don't mind @Wiebke (please edit if you wish):
"You have your pets only ever on a loan from above that can be cancelled at any time. Thankfully, what guinea pigs measure their lives by is happy todays in good care. They do not have a (human only) concept for an average lifetime or life expectancy. As long as you given them those happy todays, it doesn't matter to them how long or short they live - it is the quality and not the quantity that counts. And as long as you give them those you come out of it ahead.
I've once adopted a 5 years old bereaved and sad neutered boar, Bryn Oscar the name-deaf, who clearly packed the year with the Tribe with so much fun, joy of life and naughtiness that when old age and arthritis caught up with him, he seemed to have been with us for much longer than he actually was. This experience has taught me a lot about the importance of quality over quantity.
If you can make your and your pets normal everyday count each day, then you fill it with meaning that carries much more weight than having a long life spent indifferently, waiting for the evening or the weekend to come.
It's a very elementary but universal lesson that I am applying now to myself as live with incurable stage 4 cancer - I can live a few months more or I can live another decade; nobody knows. But as long as I make as many days count, I have more of a life and more quality of life than many people who just ghost through their days, and it doesn't really matter how many more days I live; only that in effect I am helping myself to have a better chance at living longer as result. The same attitude can also help you make peace with the early and sudden deaths that you cannot prevent - you have given your piggies the best of lives you could and you haven't failed them in any respect. The rest is not in your control.
Feel sad for the loss of a unique bond but please don't feel bad about yourself or question yourself too much (as we all do at the start of the grieving process) because you are left with lots of special memories that you can access in your darkest times and warm the cold fingers of your soul on. By filling your piggies' lives with content, you are also adding quality to your daily life and are making your own life count and become a source of strength to sustain you when you need it. It is good to do this more consciously and be aware of how you can access the love and joy you have given and have received in times of need."
We have one guinea left today, from 3 to 1 in 24 hours. Gosh. We are so sad but these words of wisdom and love have made it bearable. Thank you.
it’s clear how heartbroken you are and how much you loved them (((hugs))) but I hope you can take comfort that they are together forever at the rainbow bridge 
