Beric

Well, you may remember my pet guinea pig, Beric, from an earlier post, where I took pictures of him and his buddy Beethoven outside. Sadly, yesterday, at 2:45 A.M. in the morning, Beric passed away.

His death was rather a shock, because he had only been with us for about 6 months. My previous guinea pigs lived with us for over two years, and so I was expecting Beric, who seemed to be very energetic and healthy pet, would live on much longer. I guess that just shows you that man can make his plans, but God ultimately decides how things will go.

I don't know the reasons for Beric's death. He was young, and always was an energetic animal. He was well fed and cared for. He even had a companion guinea pig (Beethoven) to keep him company, and they got on well together. The only thing I can guess is that he had internal health probems which we did not know about when I got him. But whatever it was, I can be glad I got to enjoy him for the time I did.

One thing about Beric was that he had the most energetic spirit of any of the guinea pigs I've owned as pets. I remember the day we got him. We had a small box to keep him in for the ride home from the pet store. But was Beric content to stay in that box? No sir. As soon as we came to a stop in a parking lot, and several of my family members went into a store briefly, he began jumping (believe it or not, guinea pigs are rather good at giving short, springy bounces) up against the sides of the box. With his little claws scratching at the cardboard, he finally managed to haul himself over the edge... onto the seat... and into my lap! Of course, once up, he decided he was afraid of heights, and after sniffing at my jeans, clambered back into his box. But once down again, he decided he had an avid fear of low places, especially those that resembled cages. Once more he mounted the sides of the box... (sigh)...

Another time, I had taken Beric and Beethoven outside onto our driveway to exercise. I should have known better...Beethoven, being what you might call a 'refined', laid back guinea pig, disdained to travel farther than a few feet from the box I carried them in. Not Beric. No sooner had I turned round, than that ornery pig shot off like a bottle rocket, sniffing - turning round to see if I had noticed his absence - sniffing - pawing - looking round...

Now, those of you who have dealt with guinea pigs probably know that the worst thing you can do is to allow your guinea pig to sneak off underneath some bit of furniture, where they'll stay till Judgment Day if the furniture isn't moved away from them, or you coax them out with food. Anyhow, I, who had dealt with guinea pigs as pets for the last two and a half years, let Beric slip away... under the family car.

I crawled around under the car trying to nab him, but the slippery animal would scurry away from me ere I could get to him in those rather cramped quarters. I coaxed, and I begged, and I pleaded, and I threatened (not that he understood me), but that lovable pig refused to listen.

So, being forced to take drastic measures, I called in the local S.W.A.T team - a.k.a. Little Big Man and Reaches Up with their Super-Soakers! Yikes!

Pump, pump, pump... "Hurry! Squirt him! He's over there, on you side!"... "No, no, he's on your side, now!"... SSSSSSSSSSSPPPUURRT.... "Got 'im! Ha, ha!"... Well, that was pretty much the routine for the next five minutes. In the end, Beric looked like a moving wash rag, dripping water everywhere, running in the mud made by the squirt guns... (sigh)...

Still, that stubborn pig refused to budge from his hideout, and at last I fired the S.W.A.T team, and, after bit of trickery, managed to secure Beric once more... then we got out the hair-dryer...:)

Well, I enjoyed keeping Beric for the time I did, and I can be thankful that I was able to spend the last hours with him before he finally died. The next morning, I put him in a small box, and then buried him next to the graves of Lewis and Clark, out in the back yard.

It's going to be strange and sad without him, now. But even if I can't understand it now, I can know that God works all things together for good. (Rom. 8:28) We'll miss you, though, Beric! :)

Persevero,

Scribe