It hurts a lot being 150 miles away from my family and friends for college. It's my first year here, I've finished a semester already and just started my second one a few weeks ago. Before I left, my guinea pig was losing some weight so I took him to the vet, where they said he was getting old. My mom gave him extra attention to check for any signs and he was fine this morning. But when she came home a few hours ago, he was lying on his back. He could only move his legs. And I can't be there in person to say goodbye. I was hoping that I could make a video like a storytime animator and just tell stories of my guinea pigs because I can talk about them for hours. I feel like if I were to start that project now I would have a hard time being able to record me talking without bursting into tears.
I got 2 guinea pigs in April of 2021 for getting 3 years of good grades in middle school. They were 4 months old when I got them from a PetSmart that just opened and they were both male.
I took this right before I left for college for the first time. After I went in the car to start the drive I was crying quietly in the back. The one that died is Star, the tan color one. Reese's is the brown one. Now that Star's gone, Reese's is going to be all alone.
I always called them brothers and based on their personality I always called Reese's the older brother because he would pick on Star and Star would be squeaking for attention like a baby crying for his mom.
Reese's was there when my mom video called me about Star. He was just sitting there watching like he knows what's going on. I like to think that they love each other. My cage has 2 floors, a bigger one at the bottom for sleeping and a smaller one on the top for eating. Whenever they were up eating together and Reese's went downstairs first, Star would always follow him around.
I called him baby Star a lot of the time. My sister called him Tiny for a while because Reese's was always the bigger one. That's why Reese's gets nicknames like Obesey Reesey, Chonker, and other fat names.
I'm going to miss the way he drinks his water. For some reason he likes to make a clinking noise when he drinks water. Reese's is quiet when he drinks water. It would get annoying when in the early years of having him he would be drinking water in the middle of the night or when I'm recording myself speaking Chinese for homework. He would get so aggressive that he's broken many water bottles, like 3. I made a joke and called the water bottles his wives because of how his drinking noises remind me of kissing. But I'll do anything to hear him drink water like that again.
Star's given me a few scares before. In the first year of having him, my first cage was small for 2 guinea pigs. I got a job that allowed me to pay for the current cage. Because the cage was small, whenever the pigs would fight Star (the weaker one, that's why he's the baby) would get hurt. One time his ear got a rip in it and another time there was a hole in his leg. The hole in his leg recovered all on his own, the ear wound closed up but you can still see the cut. Once I got the new cage there haven't been anymore injuries from guinea pig fights.
Star was the only one that can go on his back feet, we called it his special talent because Reese's was too fat to (He's normal weight for a guinea pig but still too fat to go on his back feet). It broke my heart when before I left I couldn't see him go on his back feet as strong as he used to. We bought a lot of supplements after the vet in hope it can buy him some more time. It was only 2 and a half weeks he made it.
I never experienced a death before. And now I have and I'm still debating on if I should bury or cremate him. I was hoping he could make it to his birthday. I only knew he was 4 months when I got him so technically he is already 5 years old. But I use the day I got him as his birthday. I was hoping he would make it to April 17th. But he couldn't and I wish he could. I don't know how long Reese's will live without a cage mate. I don't know if he has to celebrate his birthday alone, or if he will die before his birthday as well. I always recorded me singing happy birthday to them. I have all their birthdays on TikTok and their 4th birthday on Instagram. You can use the linktree if you are interested in seeing them :)
I hope Star had a good life with me, he was my first pet and I did the best I could taking care of him. He and Reese's were there when I needed to cry. Whenever I was bored I would pick them up and play with them until they needed to pee. They peed on me a few times in the first 2 years I got them but after a while they started to give me noise signals when it was time. So they learned it all on their own like good boys.
Before I went back for the second semester I took a picture with him just in case it was the last time. I'm glad I did that. Another thing is I wanted an ornament of their feet. I tried making salt dough but I failed a few times. I'm gonna ask my mom to help make it for me with air dry clay.
He would always run up on my shoulder like in the picture. Whenever I put him on my lap to do homework on my laptop, he will run up very fast on top of me. Reese's would do that too but he likes to sit on my chest.
I like this picture of Reese's, he would always have a tuff of fur on his chins
That's Reese's. I liked taking these up close shots of their faces. One of my friends said they look like a yeti.
There's not really much else to say. It was just a spur of the moment idea to write everything I was feeling on Tumblr. I hope to anyone who has a pet, please please please don't take the time you have with them for granted. I hope that Star has a good time eating carrots and other veggies and fruit with the other guinea pigs that have left. I'll post occasional pictures of Star whenever I feel sad or I remember another memory of him and I want it here in case I do decide to come around and make the video to keep Star's memory alive
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