Farewell to Our GP (Guinea Pig)

Let's begin this story February 10, 2003 (yes I am a freak about remembering dates!) I was pregnant with Mindy Grace and we were in Indianapolis for 2 different doctor appointments and a scheduled visit to the hospital as well. Well in between all the doctor appointments that day, we had a 3 hour span to kill in the afternoon. At that moment in time, I had been wanting a tri-colored guinea pig. And for those of you that don't know me well, I normally get what I want when I put my mind to something! Well, we so happened to stop by the pet store and guess what the pet store had that day? None other than a tri-colored female guinea pig!!! Well after some begging and pleading with my now ex-husband, he agreed to let me take her home. So $80+ and a cart full of supplies later, I was on my merry way with a 7 week old guinea pig, a new cage, bedding, food, a bottle, some treats, and whatever else the little GP needed to be spoiled at her new home. The only problem that day was that she had to ride around in the tiny with no room to breath temporary home the pet store sends their pets away in lovely cardboard box the remainder of the day until we were back home that evening. So we took her out a few times while in transit and I can remember how adorable she was. At least she was cute until she pooped on my ex's shirt and then that was the end of that. He made her ride home in the cardboard box the rest of the trip!

So then after a long and exhausting day, we finally arrived home with our new bundle of joy. Ok, so MAYBE that's exaggerating a tad, but it was a new addition to the family and the center of attention for awhile. So after being wollered to death handled by my daughter who was 3 at the time, she became pretty tame. She would run around the living room while we "guinea-pig sat" her. We would put up a "guinea pig gate" of pillows and block her entrance to the kitchen so she had access to the living room area only. Well that was a great idea until one day she ran behind the couch and the cat was in hot pursuit of her. It took 3 people to detain the feline and rescue the poor little GP but we saved her!

Have you ever seen those plastic balls that hamsters like to roll around in? Well I had a GREAT idea one day when I found a guinea pig ball in the store! It was just like the hamster ball but of much larger capacity built just for guinea pigs. That was the best invention of the day when I found that GP toy! So of course I had to purchase our GP a new toy. So I took it home all excited with visions of her running rapidly through the house in her new toy. That way she could be loose and not worry about the ole mean fat cat trying to eat her! Well to my disappointment, the GP just sat in the ball and would not move. I even tried to demonstrate to her how to use it (ok so I didn't crawl in the ball and try it out myself) but I did give her a little push thinking she'd pick up on it. Nope, not a chance. She wouldn't have anything to do with walking around our house in the GP designed travel ball. So my great idea plummeted when I gave her ball away a few months later!

Now I don't know what the average time that a GP is supposed to live. I think I had one for 7 years as a child, but on the average I believe their life span is anywhere from 2-4 years. So as time has passed over the years, our GP began to show her age and I always wondered when the day would come... She had a little plastic house she hid under most of the time so I would always wiggle the cage and say her name to make sure she was still moving!

Well.. the day came. Yesterday. I came home and my normal routine is to feed the cats and the GP right when I get home. So I looked down in the cage and did a double take. Yes, her time had come and she was called home on March 3, 2009. 6 years and 3 weeks to the day after we got her to be exact. She had a long and good life but she was old in GP years.

Another weakness of mine ~ I have a fear or anything dead. I don't know why that is, but there is something about a person or animal laying lifeless that scares the jeebies out of me. It's some phobia I've had since I was a child and I will probably never outgrow it. Well maybe I will outgrow it one day when I am there too but hopefully that's far far away! So in order not to scare my kids with our passed on GP still in the house, I grabbed my phone and dialed up none other than the person than can handle dead pets... my mother. Or allow me to introduce her new given name... "the guinea pig mortician" otherwise known as the "GPM."

So after feeding the rest of her clan of alive animals, the GPM came over to retrieve what GPM's take with them... the lifeless body of our tri-colored 6 year old GP. The GPM did a marvelous job of removing the GP, cage and all from our house. I also told the GPM she was in charge of taking care of all the burial arrangements as well. She was up for the challenge and told me she would take care of it. No worries for me since the GPM can handle matters such as this that I cannot bear to handle.

I guess I should also mention that the GPM not only handled her job well, but she brought a friend with her. Now this is no ordinary friend. This friend was black and white and fat and furry. Or should I say FAT is an understatement. This cute little critter was prego and ready to pop out baby GP's at any moment! The GPM thought that since we lost our precious GP, we needed an immediate replacement that was going to have babies to boot. I told the GPM thanks, but no thanks. No more pet GP(s) for awhile. Maybe someday, but not today. So away she went with our beloved GP, and the alive GP with alive baby GP's in her belly...

Thanks GPM! You did a fabulous job and I couldn't handle dead pets without you GPM. Now this makes me wonder what initials GPM will change to the next go around... GM (goat mortician), SM (sheep mortician), DM (dog mortician), CM (cat mortician) or HM (horse mortician) Hope not!