Scampi, Mickey and Scrumpy

On 18 August 2009, this was reported to the GPDD, sorry for the late update:

"It always seems to happen with people who keep large numbers of piggies, that all the piggies stay healthy for months and months and then suddenly several of them go to The Bridge, even though there is no connection between the passings. I have lost three Squeakers in the last few days. I'm glad they waited for me to get back from holiday, because my son did a grand job of looking after them whilst we were away, and I would hate it if he blamed himself in any way. In fact, the only thing to blame is old age.

The first to go was Scampi. She belonged to Peter Gurney and came to me, age unknown but definitely not young, over 3 years ago. She had huge brown eyes and golden hair and looked like a giant hamster. She was plagued with skin problems and had more baths than any other guinea pig I've ever owned, but she behaved impeccably and even enjoyed them. She was not ill and was probably still LAPS, but I found her lying in the pen with her head resting on a cabbage.

The second to go was Mickey, my only male. He came to me aged three and a half, having been a much loved, lone, indoor pet. His owners weren't allowed to put him on the plane when they emigrated to Australia, and so he was neutered and then instantly adapted to an outdoor life here amongst a harem of girls. He was a strong character and was very into feng shui. He would rearrange the food bowls and turn them upside down and taught the others in his pen to do likewise. He'd been here for nearly 4 years, so he was well over 7. He was very wobbly towards the end but enjoyed life right up to his last day.

The third to go was Scrumpy. Scrumpy was a satin piggy and was always so dainty that I called her my "size zero" piggy. She was the last of four satins that I took in 3 or 4 years ago. They were supposed to be aged 3 or 4 then, so perhaps this is some sort of record for a satin. (None of them developed OD, thankfully). Scrumpy's hair looked so beautiful glistening in the sunshine.



Meet up over the bridge little ones. Mickey will take charge, I'm sure. I also hope Scampi tells Peter Gurney all about her later life.



Stefanie and the sad remaining 18 Surrey Squeakers"