This afternoon, I found Temporary, the white and brown guinea pig in my siggy pic, lying silently in her pigloo in her famous sleeping position...one back leg kicked out, the other one tucked in. She was alive when I came him the room early this afternoon, so she obviously passed some time between then and the time I brought in their vegetables a few minutes ago.
Temporary was four years old. She and her cagemate, Permanent, visited many local schools and libraries with me doing pet education programs. I knew the girls were getting older, but I hadn't prepared myself for her death first. Temp and Perm had just gone to the vet a month ago for a checkup, and she got a clean bill of health, but Perm has cancer, which we already knew because we had been dealing with her ovarian cysts for over a year. She couldn't be spayed because of other medical conditions (i.e. she was born blind and her weight fluctuates), but despite all of her problems, she's still ridiculously active and loves to eat. Temp was the same way...really and truly the embodiment of a "pig." So I knew something was wrong when she didn't come flying out from her house for her vegetables.
Run free, Temporary.