Ketoprofene17
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi all, after nearly 5 years of squeaking, my beautiful furry baby, Guanciale (named because his colors reminded me of the cut of meat Italians use for carbonara ) passed away during one of the many operations to his teeth. He just didn't make it through the sedation this time. Guanciale lived in the UK with me and my partner for 2 years. We then decided to move back to Rome, so I went first alone, rented a flat, sorted out the organisational details and then drove from Rome to Birmingham and back to Rome in 4 days in a rental car. That's more than 2600 miles! You see, no airlines allowed guinea pigs to travel from the UK to mainland Europe, so the only way was driving. And I had no intention to leave my guinea pig behind as I didn't have the time to find a REALLY caring home for him. We had big plans for him, so after 2 years of only having play dates (we lived in a 40 sqm flat), as soon as we got to Rome, we got him a female companion, Koupa (named after a Cypriot food. You see my partner is cypriot so it was only fair, one food each!). Koupa has been with us and Guanciale for a bit less than 3 years now. She's the most polite and lovely guinea pig I've ever seen.
We were and still are both completely devastated about Guanciale's loss and Koupa is not liking being alone. Having seen Guanciale's behavior change before and after he got company, I 100% can see why guinea pigs need company, it kills me to see her like this. But this period she's been alone, made me realise I can't get her a new friend. And I hate myself for this. But I have understood my mental condition doesn't allow me to carry on the circle. I don't want to keep her alone, so there's only one option left which is adoption. I don't want a rescue because they're not treated well here and finding a good, caring home for her in Italy is hard.
There is an educational farm nearby (Il Giardino dei Nonni) that has guinea pigs roaming free with other animals. They said they would adopt her if we decide to go for it. The idea of her living a life closer to "what nature intended her to" sounds enticing, but I don't know if there are other things to consider before taking such a step. I want to improve the quality of her life, that's the only case in which I'd feel "less guilty" about giving her up for adoption. And I am wondering if I'm right when I think that living in a group, roaming freeer than in a pen in an apartment would improve her lifestyle. Maybe she could have babies too!
I appreciate you may not necessarily agree with what we intend to do, but I'm just after some advice during some very tough times.
Thanks in advance.
We were and still are both completely devastated about Guanciale's loss and Koupa is not liking being alone. Having seen Guanciale's behavior change before and after he got company, I 100% can see why guinea pigs need company, it kills me to see her like this. But this period she's been alone, made me realise I can't get her a new friend. And I hate myself for this. But I have understood my mental condition doesn't allow me to carry on the circle. I don't want to keep her alone, so there's only one option left which is adoption. I don't want a rescue because they're not treated well here and finding a good, caring home for her in Italy is hard.
There is an educational farm nearby (Il Giardino dei Nonni) that has guinea pigs roaming free with other animals. They said they would adopt her if we decide to go for it. The idea of her living a life closer to "what nature intended her to" sounds enticing, but I don't know if there are other things to consider before taking such a step. I want to improve the quality of her life, that's the only case in which I'd feel "less guilty" about giving her up for adoption. And I am wondering if I'm right when I think that living in a group, roaming freeer than in a pen in an apartment would improve her lifestyle. Maybe she could have babies too!
I appreciate you may not necessarily agree with what we intend to do, but I'm just after some advice during some very tough times.
Thanks in advance.