This a little memorial for Keifer, Eicha's first little brother. I got Keifer in April. He was Eicha's Easter present. I got him from the same store as Eicha. When I went in, the changed the guinea pig pen so it was open. It was pretty cool. I got to play with the pigs and get to know them a little. There was a little black pig who was older that had conjunctivitis I was considering taking in to give vet treatment. There was no way anyone was going to adopt him with his eye like that. Then, this little grey blur ran right up to my hand. So I picked him up, and he immediately snuggled into my shirt and started purring. My roommate said he looked like he decided he was coming home with me. So, I walked up front, put him on the counter, said I was buying him, and he sat in my jacket pocket the whole way home. Keifer and Eicha were best buds immediately. In fact, Eicha lived him a little too much... They were inseparable and did absolutely everything together, shared everything. Keifer was super smart too. He figured out puzzles and knew they layout of the house. He slept at my feet at night until the week before he died. It was really stupid and tragic. I feel like such an idiot. My best friend at the time's cousin was kicked out of her house. I had known my friend since high school and I trusted her word that this person was safe. So having the bleeding heart that I have, I offered her my couch for a few days. She was okay at first. Then she started playing my roommates against me because I have issues with my roommate's girlfriend and she decided she liked her. It was very elementary. The last day she was here she attacked me about how I was starving her and I was treating her like crap and stuff. She said such awful things that my fiance lost his cool. Jon never loses his cool. Ever. He's always calm, cool and collected. I used to call him Mr. Zen when we first met because of it. So when I say he lost it, you can imagine what she said to set him off. It finally came down to she needed to shut her mouth and learn some respect for the person who took her off the street and fed her despite not having much to offer or she needed to leave. I very nearly called the police, but my other roommate smokes pot and I didn't want her to flip that around and have anything bad come from it. When my roommate got home, I left to go pick up some cigarettes. I quit smoking a year ago, but I do need a smoke when I'm stressed. It's calming and reminds me of home. I was gone for like five minutes and I called her cousin, my best friend about it. She was really surprised too. When I got home, my room was trashed. My personal medical documents were scattered on the floor and the guinea pig cage was left open. Keifer was really wigging out and coughing a whole lot. When I checked him out his throat was sore, but he also had an abscess at the time that I thought had cleared up mostly, so I didn't think anything of it. She was with my roommate, and she had no reason to be in my room. When I left, I honestly thought it was safe. I know she strangled him in hindsight. I woke up to her coming into my room that morning. I pretended to be asleep so she'd just leave. She grabbed my cat by the throat, choked her, and smashed her head with her fist. I didn't do anything because I was afraid and Revan scratched the fucking shit out of her. I had already decided that she was leaving that day because of that. I just didn't want any drama so I left it alone. Then she attacked me and Keifer. That night, I demanded that she leave. The guy who owns the house said she could stay as long as my other roommates wanted her to. So I threatened to call the police if she didn't leave that night. They caved and she ended up leaving. For a week, Keifer was coughing and choking a lot. He was really skittish and traumatized. I didn't think it was anything too bad then because he was acting completely normal otherwise. So I just gave him twice as much love. The night before he died, he was acting really weird. I decided to take him to a vet in the morning. His throat was suddenly incredibly swollen and he choked on everything and coughed a lot like when it first happened. He was really uncomfortable and I just knew something wasn't right. When I woke up the next morning to check on him and snuggle, he was gone and Eicha was cuddled on top of him heartbroken. I didn't post this story to get any hate about how I'm irresponsible or anything. Please, don't bother me with that. I feel bad enough as it is. It was a tragic event that I had no control over. I tried to do a good thing and it backfired. I knew her too, and I never expected anything like this from her. I even checked with a friend I trusted before letting her stay with me as long as I did. I posted this as a warning for pet owners. Don't trust anyone you don't know well with your pets. I knew her, we talked pretty frequently as she also suffered from a disease I suffer from. But I didn't know her well enough I guess. Now I don't trust anyone with my pets who 1. Does not have pets 2. I haven't known them for years and years. I also shared this story to show you how fast a guinea pigs health can decline without warning. Guinea pigs are naturally prey animals. I mean, they are even live stock in some countries. They have adapted to a certain lifestyle where they hide their illnesses for the better of their herd. Sick animals are more suseptable to predator attacks as well as cullment from the herd in some species. Our beloved pets still have these traits. I didn't know Keifer was hurt as bad as he as until the day before he died. Please, monitor your pets behavior very closely and pay close attention to any change in diet or behavior. I spend about 5 minutes every day with Beck and Eicha just checking them for any new sores, any teeth issues, checking their eyes, their feet, and noticing any subtle change. If I did this with Keifer, it may have saved his life, but as he was my second guinea pig ever, I didn't notice and the results were fatal. I still miss Keifer every day. I love my BeckyBoo and wouldn't trade him for the world, but I would give anything to hear Keifer wheek happily again. I did try to press charges against this girl. I told the local authorities that I saw her assault my cat, there was evidence she assaulted Keifer and I was concerned about her own animals as well as her daughter. I contacted her mother about this and made it known to her cousin, a fellow animal lover, that she is an animal abuser. My friend tried to compensate me for the hassle and loss, but no amount of cash can really make up for the loss of a great friend. Nothing will make it better, but it will get easier with time. We had a memorial service for Keifer and buried him in our garden so he can give back to the earth. Eicha was heart broken for a long time. Even after we got him new friends, you could see in his eyes he missed his friend. I take in a lot of rescues and we've lost quite a few friends this year to both old age and illness. Eicha has seen a lot of death for a little guinea pig, and it's never easy. He's a little trooper. Please, learn from this story.