RIP Fuzzy Buzzy Bee

Last night, our dearest, beloved, very old guinea pig made a sweet and peaceful descent from this world into the guinea pig afterworld. He was an elderly man, still sprightly despite his ancient nine years (most gp's live between 5-7). Dave and I were away for the week in KY but our lovely neighbor took care of him, enjoying him thoroughly in his final days despite the intense drool she noticed. When we came home, he had only drank half his water bottle but still greeted us with his usual excited clamber up the side of his cage. Yesterday morning, he ran around, making little noises like normal. Then later on, Dave and I came home from a show and were chilling on the futon when we noticed Basil chewing at the cage. He turned away with a tuft of guinea pig hair in his mouth and we both though, "Why did Fuzzy let him do that?" Usually he runs away when one of the others approaches. We jumped up, ran to him, poked his tiny body and realized he had passed, sprawled out against the door to his cage with his eyes half closed and his little paws curled up. Oh Fuzzy.

I will miss the weird hacking noises he made randomly in the middle of the day that sent us into giggling spurts. I will miss cuddling with him, all burrowed into my arms. I will miss his energetic requests for breakfast, and will always feel like an ass for forgetting to feed him his last meal on the morning he died. But I know he didn't care too much; he was a very laidback little creature.

We will all miss Fuzzy Buzzy. Dave and I fondly called him "our good child," as he was the only animal that handled the move with ease. Though he was just a guinea pig, he was a wonderful pet and we loved him dearly.

It may seem callous, but considering the only place nearby with enough grass to bury him is a public park, we curled him into a towel, placed him into a shoebox, and chose a nice dumpster by the local produce market. We will place him there with a sendoff prayer tonight, to lie amongst the veggies and fruits he so loved to eat during his time in our apartment.

Bon voyage, Fuzzy Buzzy Bee!