Yesterday I lost my best friend Silvio.
I first found him almost five years ago when I was going into my second year of university. I had just met a new boyfriend and was moving house, and was used to living in a practical zoo at home, so missed having animals around. I saw his advert free to a good home on Gumtree, with a close up of his face and someone holding his paw up like he was waving. I knew I shouldn't but I emailed and his owner said his name was Silvio Dante, my favourite character from the Sopranos. I went and fetched him the next day.
Silvio had been living with another pig who had started attacking him, he had some nicks out of his ears and a hole right through one. He was meant to be 6 months old but from the photos I think he may have been older, more like a year. That would make him around 6 now. From the minute I drove him home he was just the friendliest, cuddliest little creature I have ever known. I spent every minute with him, curled up watching tv, balancing him on my hip whilst I cooked one-handed, fetching him up into bed in the morning for snooze time. He became incredibly attached to me - running to me whenever he was let go, sidling between me and my boyfriend, crawling onto my knee and going to sleep whilst singing and licking my hands. He preferred to sit on my shoulder and would spring from knee to shoulder and burrow into my neck with his teeth pressed against my chin.
As time went on I decided it was unfair to keep him alone and we rehomed a little baby boar from Sokel rescue, named Furio (after another Sopranos character). Furio and Silvio bonded well and became firm friends but Furio quickly became ill with bladder stones. A successful operation to remove them was rendered useless when they returned within only a couple of weeks, and we let Furio go at only 1yr old.
After a short period of being alone we bonded Silvio again, this time with another Sokel rescue pig who we called Pickle (he just didn't suit any Sopranos names). At first this was fine, though Silvio never got on as well with Pickle as Furio, but when he matured Pickle started bullying Silvio, culminating in a very nasty scrap where Silvio was badly bitten. They were separated and allowed to be together only when supervised, which we tried to do frequently. Around a year later Pickle got suddenly ill and quickly died despite intensive nursing at the vets.
For the last two years Silvio lived alone, showing no interest in other guinea pigs although I did let him talk to my others - he just wasn't interested at all. He was always the first thing I wanted when I felt unwell, always the first thing my boyfriend handed over on my birthday to help me open my presents. He would snuggle up and sleep with me for hours, singing and purring. Silvio had the ability to get comfy anywhere, rolling onto his side, sometimes with his legs stuck out, and falling straight to sleep - as long as he was touching me. He would get very distressed if I tried to make him sit not in direct contact and would struggle until he could get in close, often causing me to spill cups of tea or be unable to get to my dinner!
Silvio and I always went home for Christmas and one day we took the train - on the way back they were all delayed and cancelled resulting in an 11 hour trip for us where we spent two hours sitting on the floor by a toilet with a drunken stag party who wanted to play with him :o. He came out at every party, I think every one of my friends must have a photo of them all dressed up to go out with Silvio snoozing on their lap. He went to a party with my boyfriend's family and met everyone, he was always the focus of all attention. He was always singing and everyone loved to listen to him, cuddle him and play with him. My boyfriend knew never to ask which one of them I loved more!
He loved his piggy pouch and being cosy, he was just full of love and I have lost count of the times he has cheered me up, licked tears from my face and made me feel better.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jojobapics/media/IMG_4747.mp4.html
After slowly losing weight but otherwise being his chirrupy and cuddly self Silvio took a sudden downwards turn and went critical this weekend. No amount of syringe feeding, medication or fluids could save him and last night I drove him to the emergency vet for the last time after his breathing became laboured and his body shut down. He left us at about 8pm last night.
My boyfriend, the same one who I had just met when I got Silvio, and who asked 'why on earth would you want a guinea pig?' and I are both devastated. I - or rather Silvio - turned him into a crazy guinea pig person too. The one thing I need to cheer me up right now is Silvio and he's gone. As he was lying weak in his bed next to me on the sofa he kept edging forward, I kept telling him to be still but he eventually crawled forward far enough to put his head onto my leg, and then went to sleep. Even in his last few hours he just wanted to be with me and be cuddled.
I still have other pets to give my love to, but none of them are him and none love me back as much as he did. I just miss him terribly and just hope that he had the best life he could. I have been saving all the hundreds of photos of him into an album which I hope to have printed off. His ashes will be coming back to me and I intend to bury them in the garden when boyfriend and I buy our first house this year. I took this video of him last week cuddled up, having a typical piggy grump half way through, this is how I spent my mornings whenever I was off work. He was the best little guy and I can't imagine my day without him.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jojobapics/media/IMG_6523.mp4.html
Goodbye Mr Dante <3
x
I first found him almost five years ago when I was going into my second year of university. I had just met a new boyfriend and was moving house, and was used to living in a practical zoo at home, so missed having animals around. I saw his advert free to a good home on Gumtree, with a close up of his face and someone holding his paw up like he was waving. I knew I shouldn't but I emailed and his owner said his name was Silvio Dante, my favourite character from the Sopranos. I went and fetched him the next day.
Silvio had been living with another pig who had started attacking him, he had some nicks out of his ears and a hole right through one. He was meant to be 6 months old but from the photos I think he may have been older, more like a year. That would make him around 6 now. From the minute I drove him home he was just the friendliest, cuddliest little creature I have ever known. I spent every minute with him, curled up watching tv, balancing him on my hip whilst I cooked one-handed, fetching him up into bed in the morning for snooze time. He became incredibly attached to me - running to me whenever he was let go, sidling between me and my boyfriend, crawling onto my knee and going to sleep whilst singing and licking my hands. He preferred to sit on my shoulder and would spring from knee to shoulder and burrow into my neck with his teeth pressed against my chin.
As time went on I decided it was unfair to keep him alone and we rehomed a little baby boar from Sokel rescue, named Furio (after another Sopranos character). Furio and Silvio bonded well and became firm friends but Furio quickly became ill with bladder stones. A successful operation to remove them was rendered useless when they returned within only a couple of weeks, and we let Furio go at only 1yr old.
After a short period of being alone we bonded Silvio again, this time with another Sokel rescue pig who we called Pickle (he just didn't suit any Sopranos names). At first this was fine, though Silvio never got on as well with Pickle as Furio, but when he matured Pickle started bullying Silvio, culminating in a very nasty scrap where Silvio was badly bitten. They were separated and allowed to be together only when supervised, which we tried to do frequently. Around a year later Pickle got suddenly ill and quickly died despite intensive nursing at the vets.
For the last two years Silvio lived alone, showing no interest in other guinea pigs although I did let him talk to my others - he just wasn't interested at all. He was always the first thing I wanted when I felt unwell, always the first thing my boyfriend handed over on my birthday to help me open my presents. He would snuggle up and sleep with me for hours, singing and purring. Silvio had the ability to get comfy anywhere, rolling onto his side, sometimes with his legs stuck out, and falling straight to sleep - as long as he was touching me. He would get very distressed if I tried to make him sit not in direct contact and would struggle until he could get in close, often causing me to spill cups of tea or be unable to get to my dinner!
Silvio and I always went home for Christmas and one day we took the train - on the way back they were all delayed and cancelled resulting in an 11 hour trip for us where we spent two hours sitting on the floor by a toilet with a drunken stag party who wanted to play with him :o. He came out at every party, I think every one of my friends must have a photo of them all dressed up to go out with Silvio snoozing on their lap. He went to a party with my boyfriend's family and met everyone, he was always the focus of all attention. He was always singing and everyone loved to listen to him, cuddle him and play with him. My boyfriend knew never to ask which one of them I loved more!
He loved his piggy pouch and being cosy, he was just full of love and I have lost count of the times he has cheered me up, licked tears from my face and made me feel better.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jojobapics/media/IMG_4747.mp4.html
After slowly losing weight but otherwise being his chirrupy and cuddly self Silvio took a sudden downwards turn and went critical this weekend. No amount of syringe feeding, medication or fluids could save him and last night I drove him to the emergency vet for the last time after his breathing became laboured and his body shut down. He left us at about 8pm last night.
My boyfriend, the same one who I had just met when I got Silvio, and who asked 'why on earth would you want a guinea pig?' and I are both devastated. I - or rather Silvio - turned him into a crazy guinea pig person too. The one thing I need to cheer me up right now is Silvio and he's gone. As he was lying weak in his bed next to me on the sofa he kept edging forward, I kept telling him to be still but he eventually crawled forward far enough to put his head onto my leg, and then went to sleep. Even in his last few hours he just wanted to be with me and be cuddled.
I still have other pets to give my love to, but none of them are him and none love me back as much as he did. I just miss him terribly and just hope that he had the best life he could. I have been saving all the hundreds of photos of him into an album which I hope to have printed off. His ashes will be coming back to me and I intend to bury them in the garden when boyfriend and I buy our first house this year. I took this video of him last week cuddled up, having a typical piggy grump half way through, this is how I spent my mornings whenever I was off work. He was the best little guy and I can't imagine my day without him.
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jojobapics/media/IMG_6523.mp4.html
Goodbye Mr Dante <3
x
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