Hi everyone,
Yesterday I lost my first piggy ever. She died of a heart attack after being rushed to the vet but they could not save her. I have been mourning her death and can't help but blame myself for what happened, what I could've done differently, if there is any possibiltiy she could've survived and still be with me now.
Now I am left with one piggy, her daughter. I have lost all motivation and faith in myself that I can continue raising piggies. Her daughter now seems completely frightened of me and has been hiding away since yesterday when I let her say goodbye to her mother. Luckily she is still eating.
It's hard not to feel like nobody is taking my grief seriously, but I have never felt this awful in my entire life. I just needed to get this off my chest and if you have read this all thank you and I hope you all have better days than I have had.
BIG HUGS
I am ever so sorry for your loss. Try to take comfort that death has come quickly without much suffering.
Strong feelings of guilt or failure are characteristic for the onset of the grieving process. As humans we are wired to reflect everything back onto ourselves (or more rarely as an intense anger onto a perceived 'killer'). What our feelings express is in fact not our personal factual failure but how deeply we care and love. We simply wouldn't have them if we didn't love - and since we all love our piggies we all suffer from the guilt loop to some degree or other. This and how much we grieve is the other side of the same coin that spells 'love'.
There is nothing you can do to foresee and prevent a heart attack (they always happen out of the blue) but the sheer shock of a sudden death intensifies your feelings, as does any traumatic experience connected to a loss.
Try to be kind with yourself in the coming days as you go through your greiving process. The death of a pet is very often our first direct experience of a loss; and it is very different and much more physical to our highly sanitised and air brushed vague concept of gently drifting away. Our current culture does not prepare us in any way.
Please take the time to read the grieving guide in the link below, so you get an idea what you are experiencing now and what to brace for in the coming days and weeks. The guide also contains tips on what you can do to constructively express your loss in different way to help you work out what is best for you.
If you feel lost, alone, overwhelmed, stuck or unable to function. please see whether there is a pet bereavement charity in your country who you could turned to.
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
Please give your companion a bit of time to grieve themselves. As long as they are eating and drinking, they will hold for ideally 1-4 weeks; some piggies will deal with it better than others. Acute grieving with loss of appetite and the will to live is thankfully very rare. This gives you time to get over the very worst of your own emotions but also the space to look for a suitable companion. Rescues are sadly very far and few in between in Australia although there are some good ones but it always depends on what is within your reach, wherever you live in the world and you have to take a practical approach.
This guide contains practical tips for what you can do immediately and in the medium term for a bereaved piggy.
Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
More helpful information:
Rescues (Adoption and Dating), Shops, Breeders or Online? - What to consider when getting guinea pigs
Guinea Lynx :: World Rescue Organizations (there are more rescues when you google but they can be of very varying standard)
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
A Closer Look At Pairs (Boars - Sows - Mixed)
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Be kind with yourself. It is OK not to be OK for a little while but seek help from a mental health charity you can't cp well pet bereavement is a traumatic experience and it is a recognised mental health problem that can afftect anybody (it belongs into the group of PTSD experiences). It can be impacted by existing mental health issues.
