Sad News...

Well, if you read yesterday's post, you can probably guess my sad news. Our sweet little Ginger guinea-pig died overnight.  The vet rang at 8:30am to let me know.  They offered to let me fetch her and bring her home, but I thought we'd rather just remember her as she used to be. 

These were taken in September 2005, when we first got Ginger.  She was about 6 weeks old and soo little - about the size of a large hamster!  The furry piggie next to her (with her head in the food bowl!), was a normal-sized guinea pig!  As you can see, J. was also a lot younger (age 7)!

Here she is full-grown, with Coffee (a current piggie) and Apples, who died shortly after this (sniff...). They are in our "new" kitchen in October 2006, the year we moved here.

and this is Ginger four months ago, pretending she's scared of people... that was her favourite joke. Show her the food, however, and she suddenly forgot to be scared!

So, you can see that we have some good memories of our little piggie.  We'll all miss her - especially her loud squeaking when it was meal time (and the way her ears used to jump up and down as she shouted for breakfast!).  It's amazing that such small creatures can have such an impact on our lives; and that even though they are so little, each one has a very distinct personality and character. 

Ginger was gentle, a bit shy, but pushy if it involved food.  She was a "nibbler" and we used to hear Coffee complaining, because she'd nibble Coffee's fur and annoy her. We put lots of wooden things in their house, so she could gnaw those instead!

If you sat her in your lap, she'd sit absolutely still and not move a muscle.  Once she'd got used to being stroked, she'd relax and - true to form - start looking round for the snacks!  A guinea pig with a big heart (for her size!) and an equally big stomach!

When I go to Heaven, I expect to see all my guinea pigs, trotting around happily.  I will be pleased to see them again - each one has been very special and I love them!