HeatherW
Adult Guinea Pig
Pickle sadly passed away peacefully in her carrier on a warm pad yesterday afternoon. She'd undergone spaying surgery the previous day to remove ovarian cysts and, despite the operation having gone well and the vet being pleased with her progress, the stress of surgery was too much for her and she never recovered. Leaving the cysts wasn't an option as they were causing her great discomfort and they were too small to be drained; she'd shed nearly all her hair around her midriff from scratching. While we always knew it'd be a risk, we didn't expect to lose her to the cause we did.
Rather than focus on her loss, I'd like to share some of her most well-remembered quirks and habits which made us giggle and love her ever so dearly. She grew from a very skittish baby who'd constantly hide in my hair into a mature lady lap-pig. Nail trims were never a problem, and she patiently sat while I gave her hair cuts and weighed her.
Pickle - so named after an in-joke (in a fond and humorous way!) on a family trip to the German Christmas markets - she defined the very notion of what it means to be a FLOOF. Here she is in all her fabulous floofy glory!
Six months after her Gotcha Day, she finally plucked up the courage to take food from my hand through the bars - but only after Jasmine causally took the piece of lettuce from my hand instead! The look on her face was "Oi, what?!"
And from then on, she lost all her fear and her love of food took over! Her snatch-grab-and-retreat technique slowly became increasingly relaxed and more closely mirrored Jasmine's polite "thank you kindly, I'll take that" approach. However, she never lost her ability to INHALE food. Blueberries were one of her favourites.
I'll always remember Jasmine putting down a piece of pepper, then turning away briefly to have a little scratch. In an instant, Pickle emerged from the hidey, picked it up from right under Jasmine's nose and retreated backwards. Jasmine looked back and was very confused where her snack had gone, then kind of accepted she might have imagined it was there!
Pickle always took an immense interest in sniffing my hand whenever I greeted her so I couldn't stroke her head before she was done smelling. On occasion, when she found a reeeeeeeeeeeeally good smell, she would smush her nose right into my fingers so that I wondered if I'd ever let her have it back.
How I thought she was once too fat to get up the ramp! Her hefty ~1450g meant that she struggled with getting a grip on it long before Jasmine did and I finally realised the gritty tape needed to be replaced. (Sorry, Pickle! I knew it was fat hair all along really!)
How she would come up to the bars for grass and other tasty treats, and let me lean over and kiss her head.
How she could use her squeaker when she really wanted to. I had to be careful when saying "grass" in her and Jasmine's presence as they learned what it means and it set two usually quiet piggies off wheeking.
Her complete 180 on Leo! Having only known Jasmine, her mum, since 8 weeks of age, her first impression of Leo was to pull back, chatter her teeth and run away to the opposite end of the cage! A week or so later, she'd tolerate his noisy presence near her favourite napping place, although remained unimpressed despite Leo's best signature moves (The Torpigdo). Three weeks later, she was flirting back - rumblestrutting herself, lying down next to Leo, playing nosey-nosey through the bars and chewing them when he bounced off!
How nearly every day she would lick Jasmine's eye to show her love. They had such a sweet bond, and rarely had any disagreements.
And, of course, how we knew it was always Pickle drinking from the water bottle as she did it as loudly and efficiently as possible!
❤ In loving memory, for all you gave us ❤
Rather than focus on her loss, I'd like to share some of her most well-remembered quirks and habits which made us giggle and love her ever so dearly. She grew from a very skittish baby who'd constantly hide in my hair into a mature lady lap-pig. Nail trims were never a problem, and she patiently sat while I gave her hair cuts and weighed her.
Pickle - so named after an in-joke (in a fond and humorous way!) on a family trip to the German Christmas markets - she defined the very notion of what it means to be a FLOOF. Here she is in all her fabulous floofy glory!
Six months after her Gotcha Day, she finally plucked up the courage to take food from my hand through the bars - but only after Jasmine causally took the piece of lettuce from my hand instead! The look on her face was "Oi, what?!"
And from then on, she lost all her fear and her love of food took over! Her snatch-grab-and-retreat technique slowly became increasingly relaxed and more closely mirrored Jasmine's polite "thank you kindly, I'll take that" approach. However, she never lost her ability to INHALE food. Blueberries were one of her favourites.I'll always remember Jasmine putting down a piece of pepper, then turning away briefly to have a little scratch. In an instant, Pickle emerged from the hidey, picked it up from right under Jasmine's nose and retreated backwards. Jasmine looked back and was very confused where her snack had gone, then kind of accepted she might have imagined it was there!
Pickle always took an immense interest in sniffing my hand whenever I greeted her so I couldn't stroke her head before she was done smelling. On occasion, when she found a reeeeeeeeeeeeally good smell, she would smush her nose right into my fingers so that I wondered if I'd ever let her have it back.
How I thought she was once too fat to get up the ramp! Her hefty ~1450g meant that she struggled with getting a grip on it long before Jasmine did and I finally realised the gritty tape needed to be replaced. (Sorry, Pickle! I knew it was fat hair all along really!)
How she would come up to the bars for grass and other tasty treats, and let me lean over and kiss her head.
How she could use her squeaker when she really wanted to. I had to be careful when saying "grass" in her and Jasmine's presence as they learned what it means and it set two usually quiet piggies off wheeking.
Her complete 180 on Leo! Having only known Jasmine, her mum, since 8 weeks of age, her first impression of Leo was to pull back, chatter her teeth and run away to the opposite end of the cage! A week or so later, she'd tolerate his noisy presence near her favourite napping place, although remained unimpressed despite Leo's best signature moves (The Torpigdo). Three weeks later, she was flirting back - rumblestrutting herself, lying down next to Leo, playing nosey-nosey through the bars and chewing them when he bounced off!
How nearly every day she would lick Jasmine's eye to show her love. They had such a sweet bond, and rarely had any disagreements.
And, of course, how we knew it was always Pickle drinking from the water bottle as she did it as loudly and efficiently as possible!
❤ In loving memory, for all you gave us ❤
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. Take care 
And full of character! Hope you and the piggies are ok. Sleep tight gorgeous girl xx
Sweet dreams to the beautiful Pickle, she is absolutely stunning. Popcorn free, princess. You were and will forever be so loved.