Too many sleepless nights, running through various scenarios in my head, reliving that fateful weekend, asking myself if I could have done anything differently.  What if we never left for our camping trip that weekend?  What if we had taken her to the vet sooner?  What if we have started manual feeding right away?  What if...?

It's been about 2 weeks since we laid Frodo to rest.  I went to visit yesterday and the barley grass is growing in nicely.  We still miss her a lot and think of her often.  We try our best to move on and tell ourselves that she's "just a pet."  Whenever I cut up treats for them (instinctively splitting them into 4 equal portions), I am reminded again that she is gone when I have a piece left over, and immediately feel the void again.  It's amazing how much of our lives now revolve around those little furballs.  Perhaps Pooh was onto something when he said that "Sometimes, 'the smallest things take up the most room in your heart." — A.A. Milne

It's been said that we shouldn't anthropomorphize other animals, even if they are beloved pet companions.  Animals don't share the same emotions, cognition, and values as people, so why should we attribute these divinely human qualities and privileges to them in return?  Of course, humans are animals too and the differences between us are merely a matter of degree, not kind.  Moreover, recent research is suggesting that far from being a perceived weakness, our compassion for other creatures is an integral component of our evolutionary history and is one of the driving forces behind our "humanity"

"Scientists see in our love for other animals, and our unslakable curiosity about animal lives, sensations, feelings and drives, keys to the most essential aspects of our humanity.... Researchers trace the roots of our animal love to our distinctly human capacity to infer the mental states of others, a talent that archaeological evidence suggests emerged anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 years ago." -Natalie Angier

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/science/15why.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=natalieangier

http://i.imgur.com/963AO.jpg

Many thanks to the wonderful folks at Guinea Lynx for their support, compassion, and sympathy throughout this entire process.  This is the first piggy that we have lost, so it is especially upsetting for us. As all pet guardians, we always knew this moment would eventually come of course, but never expected it to happen so soon in our lives and so suddenly.

After talking to several local cemeteries (including the one where two of my grandparents are resting), the only pet memorial services available in Toronto were asking for over $250 for a basic cremation and over $500 for a burial plot outside of the city. This is ridiculous of course, but we live in a condo with no access to a backyard (we asked all our friends and family with houses, but they all said no). So in the middle of the night, we found a public grassy area close to where we live and dug out a final resting place for her there. We planted barley grass and dandelion seeds on top of it, which were both her favourites.

I thought I heard sirens towards the end of the burial, so I am half expecting the cops to show up at my door today and interrogate me about our suspicious midnight activities!


@ milosmumma: I am not sure what happened to Frodo, perhaps a heart problem like you said. I read online somwhere that certain breeds like abysinnians and teddys are especially prone to certain genetic diseases and tend to have more health problems and shorter life spans. Not sure if this is true. What kinds of piggy was milo?

@ daisymay: thanks for commenting on her hat! We made it out of paper, tape, and some cotton balls. It was originally for a Christmas card that we sent to my girlfriend's nephew, who loves animals.

@ Lynx: I had considered doing a necropsy, but I don't think we can really afford it. We called our vet about, but she never called us back and we just let it go. Our average vet visit is about $150 with taxes for the 5 mins check up plus small bottle of antibiotics, so I can imagine any surgery costing at least $500 or so. There was no mucous or anything (e.g. not a respiratory infection), so my guess is that maybe she got something lodged in her throat that prevented her from eating and drinking properly? In hindsight, I realize now that we should have started hand feeding right away instead of waiting to see the vet, but she already seemed to have problems breathing (the non-stop hiccups) so we were afraid to make her choke :(


Thank you all again for your support and kindness this week, it really has made a huge difference for my girlfriend and I.  My girlfriend was so sad that had to take a day off work, and her boss called and was very unsympathetic, so it is nice to have a community that understands and cares.

She was such a good piggy...

At approximately 7 am this morning our beloved Frodo (pictured below), passed away from this world and into the great green hay field in the sky.  This sad news came suddenly and unexpectedly since she was only 2 and a half years old, and had otherwise been in good health.  A night ago, we noticed that she stopped eating and drinking, and seemed to have a mild case of the hiccups that didn't go away.  As recommended from our online research, we separated her from her other cage mates, weighed her (her weight seemed fine) and made arrangements to take her to the vet. 

Unfortunately, she slipped away from us early this morning after one last goodbye--serendipitously, both my girlfriend and I got up to use the bathroom just after 5 am this morning (which is unusual for her), and there was Frodo, sitting in her hiding spot staring at us with her sad eyes, as if saying farewell for the final time.  She didn't even try to fight when we picked her up and cuddled with her on the couch and tried unsuccessfully to feed her.  Who would have known then that it would have been our last cuddle with our dear sweet Frodo?  We were worried for her, but had no idea that her life would fade from us so fast.

We found her "sleeping" motionless with her eyes open this morning, a heart-breaking image that no amount of rationalization can ever prepare you for.  When the reality of the situation sunk in we knew that we had to give her sisters a chance to say good-by before we took her out.  We lifted the divider that we erected just the night before and Gizmo, Gremlin and Butters eager ran over to explore their new-found space.  Butters was the first to notice her fallen sister and approached from behind to sniff her bum (as animals often do in greeting).  Gizmo was the second to notice and approached from the front to touch noses with her (as piggies often do as a form of greeting).  Meanwhile, Gremlin was more interested in Frodo's stash of uneaten food.  I am not sure that piggies have the capacity to comprehend what death is, and perhaps sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

In her lifetime, Frodo was always the brave explorer piggy who would welcome any opportunity to explore our apartment and my dad's backyard under our watchful eyes.  My mom let her run around her condo once and only once, after she discovered all the little brown presents that Frodo and her sisters hid for her all over the place!  In another fond memory, I remember how Frodo would back up off our laps when sitting with us on the couch (to the point where she would almost fall off), just so that she could pee without getting it on us!  No other piggy was this considerate.  Frodo was the most intelligent and the friendliest of her three pen mates, and loved to jump on top of her hide-box to beg for treats where she knew that she would be fed first.  Being the smallest piggy in the pen, she would sometimes get picked on and chased from the best hiding spots, but she had a brave little heart and always used her wits to charm the juiciest treats from us. 

Thank you for sharing your life with us, for choosing us to be your lucky owners and blessing us with your cuteness and piggy songs (she was also the only one who occasional chirped like a bird at night--for reasons that google can't even explain!)  You have brought so much happiness in our lives and we can only hope that you've enjoyed your brief stay with us as well.  We'll never forget you Frodo, please rest peacefully now.  We love you very much and will miss you everyday. 

You are such a good piggy! 

Frodo in her Christmas attire -- she hated that hat!  (not shown: my hand was holding onto the hat to make take the shot, we cropped this out later)

Frodo and her three sisters, Gizmo (top), Butters (middle) and Gremlin (bottom right) feasting on our balcony planter.  Mmm... fresh grass!

Frodo the brave didn't even flinch when confronted face to face by our friend's dog.  What a courageous little piggy!

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
-Robert A Heinlein

Harry Potter vs. Star Wars

I'm not a Harry Potter fan  by any stretch of the imagination, but this link here still cracked me up:
http://i.imgur.com/CjUhC.jpg?7049

From a Social Science point of view, it's interesting to note how little some things have changed across generations (a full 20 years between the release of episode IV and the first Harry Potter book).

Are these recurring themes literary/human archetypes?  Or mere Hollywood stereotypes?

Or perhaps (and most likely), just the coincidental musings of some unemployed person?  *sheepishly points at self*