Farewell Guido

Our little guinea pig, Guido M. Sarducci, passed away a few minutes ago. I came upstairs to check on him (for some reason) and discovered his food uneaten and his water bottle level hadn't lowered at all. He was lying very still. When I reached in to pet him he "chattered" to me but I could tell he was in distress. I was looking online at possible problems and decided to hold him to warm him up. Brie held a towel while I lifted him out of his cage. I wrapped him up and gave him a few loving strokes while continuing to read online info. He made a few more sounds, moved around a few times, then seemed to settle down and get quiet. After a few minutes I pulled the towel away a little to check him. He had died. Just like that, he was gone. I called Brie back upstairs and we cried together. Brie even called Emile to let her know. What a bummer.

I had never had a guinea pig until Guido. What a pleasant surprise he turned out to be. He was very personable. He loved attention and would pull on his hanging bells to get you to acknowledge him. He "talked" a lot... especially if you were feeding the cat and hadn't gotten to him yet. He knew the sound of the food containers opening. I'm always amazed how much you have the capacity to love such tiny creatures.... and how much you mourn their passing. Guido was a blast to have. He will be missed.

For now I think we'll stick to one dog, one cat, and the 5 fish we have. Guido's moved on and I'm sure he's right where he's supposed to be.