We picked up Mona’s cremains yesterday from Steve at Carolina Pet Cremation. He did a beautiful job and included a lovely packet of condolence and memorial material.

This, however…this caught me by total surprise and left me sobbing for a while. I was truly moved.

I will be woodburning and painting a design on the top of her urn like I did for Isis. I’m thinking a cornucopia, since she was named after the goddess of abundance.

Mona has gone to join Isis at the Rainbow Bridge, leaving Mimi as our sole remaining Guinea Goddess.

She turned 6 years old in November, and her health had been in slow decline for the past year. I suppose her age was catching up to her a bit. In July we took her to Banfield because it seemed that her right eye was no longer functional; she had a noticeable head tilt, the eye itself was glazed and a bit sunken, and there was no blink reflex. She was diagnosed with an ear infection that had likely caused pressure or damage to her optic nerve, and we were told that she may or may not regain sight in that eye. She was perfectly ok with that, going about her happy guinea pig life much as she had been. She really perked up and even gained a little weight.

I am so very sad to let you all know that Isis left us sometime early this morning. As you probably remember, she has been suffering with ovarian cysts (and the resulting digestive issues) for the last 3 years or so. Over the past few months, she also developed some tumors, which I believe are what finally overcame her. She would have been 6 years old this December.

She was a shining example of guinea pig-dom. She was the original Guinea Goddess. While it breaks our hearts to finally have to say goodbye to her, we know that she’s no longer in pain or distress. I always used to call her my “angel pig,” and now she finally is one.

She grew to be a stubborn, moody thing as the years went by, and I think she overcame her various health issues by sheer will alone: it was her way or the highway! I used to joke that the Rainbow Bridge didn’t want her, and Hell was afraid she’d take over. Through all her bossiness, cage-chewing, and demands for MORE FOOD!!, she always loved to cuddle with me and was as content as could be in my arms. She loved to give kisses, stretching out her nose to touch someone as soon as she was close enough.

I’m going to miss her very, very much. The sun is a little dimmer now that she’s gone.

We gave Mimi and Mona a chance to say goodbye. Mona wasn’t quite sure what to do, but Mimi laid down next to Isis and tried to wake her up. It was heartbreaking, but I’m glad that she passed at home and they were able to see her one last time.

I’m not sure when I’ll stop crying — probably not for a long while yet. It grieves me to let her go, but it’s my firm belief that she’s found herself a big carrot patch somewhere over the Rainbow Bridge and is furiously chomping away at them.