Sunday, December 1, 2013

Asparagus Meta Fulton-RIP

We learned via phone yesterday that our beloved guinea pig, Gus, died while we were in Iowa for Thanksgiving.  We don't know what happened.  He was fine the day before.  We pray that he passed without pain.

Falling in love with a guinea pig was not something I ever expected.   EVER.  See, I was raised with a family dogs who really were members of our family.  Brian wasn't raised with animals but had a dog later in life he loved.  We always assumed we'd have a dog before kids but kids came fast and our jobs never allowed us to have schedules fair to an animal.  Then our kids were diagnosed with dog and cat allergies.  

When the guinea pig at Amara's preschool needed a place to stay for summer, I jumped at the opportunity to take care of him.  This meant we could practice with an animal and if all went well, we could buy our own!  if things didn't go well, I just needed to find another place for Gus to live.

Well, they went so well.  SO WELL!  Gus played in his cage outside often and we let him even wander around the back part of the house.  While he did poop and pee, he always seemed to do it in the same places and we could prepare.  he became our pet.  We loved him.  When the owner of the school said we could adopt him as our own, I cried.  We could have gotten another guinea pig but Gus was who we fell in love with.  We were over joyed.

Brian and I decided to head home from Iowa City early so we could take care of buring Gus together.  When we told the kids, they were devasted.  We all cried.  Bubba probably the hardest.  he's the most sensative of us all but he and Gus ( even though we found out later Bubba was allergic) had a special bond.

Gus meant so much to us and taught us so much about caring for another living thing.  We miss him dearly and each kid has a picture of Gussy by their beds now to remember him.  We will get another guinea pig after the holidays- not to replace Gus but instead to get to add another animal to our family and to fall in love all over again.  



No comments: