Lone guinea pig again- what to do?

[Rufus&Edward]

I have two guinea pigs- Edward (7 years old) and Leo (coming up to 5). Leo was a rescue piggy who came to live with us when Edward's original buddy sadly died at a young age from various health problems.

We've always said that they would be our last piggies as a lot has changed in our lives since we first got them- we now have a toddler, another baby imminently on the way, a dog and a house that needs a lot of renovating. In short; we sadly don't have the time to give our guineas the attention they deserve as we also both work full-time on top of it all.

Edward is an old man and we've had a lot of discussions about what we'd do for Leo when he eventually passes- with not a lot of resolution. I think we sadly don't have much longer at all now with Edward and so I'm starting to worry about what we'll do. I think our only options are:
- Get a pup as a new friend for Leo (not an option for us as it just perpetuates the never-ending cycle of guineas)
- Have Leo live on his own for the rest of his days
- Give Leo up to a rescue

Maybe I'm being selfish, but I really hate the thought of him going back to a rescue as it just feels like he's being passed from pillar to post. When we rescued him he'd also been there for a while as previous attempts at bonding him with other guineas hadn't gone well (for whatever reason, Edward took a shine to him and they've been good friends since).
But I also know it's cruel for him to live out his days on his own, especially if we don't have as much time to offer him as he would need.

I guess I'm at a loss what to do. It's really upsetting me to think of him being sad whichever option we'd choose. I reached out to a local breeder to see if they could offer any suggestions but they just said most people would leave them on their own if they were that age.

What are others' thoughts?

 

[Piggies&buns]

There is another option. Some rescues will allow you to take another piggy home to see out the life of your piggy and then return that piggy to the rescue after your piggy passes.
Thus ensuring your piggy is not alone (and at not quite 5 years old Leo could have a few years which is too long to be alone), but also ending your piggy cycle. Perhaps you could reach out to some rescue centres and see if they are able to offer that.

 

[Rufus&Edward]

There is another option. Some rescues will allow you to take another piggy home to see out the life of your piggy and then return that piggy to the rescue after your piggy passes.
Thus ensuring your piggy is not alone (and at not quite 5 years old Leo could have a few years which is too long to be alone), but also ending your piggy cycle. Perhaps you could reach out to some rescue centres and see if they are able to offer that.

I remember when we rescued Leo none of the local rescues offered that (and some were actually quite offended when I asked?!), but I will ask again in case things have changed since then.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It’s always so very difficult when it comes to the end of piggy keeping and it’s something that will come to all of us at some point.
You can only do what feels right at the time.