RIP FLUFF (2014-2020)

A week ago today my beautiful and wonderful Fluffy passed away after a few weeks’ sickness. This guinea pig was not just a silly old guinea pig; she was my first true pet, and she was a good one. Over the years I watched as people screamed at her (thinking she was a rat), held her like a baby (thinking she was the cutest thing alive), and overall saying, time and time again: “How fat is this thing?” The answer to that question… Huge!

We got this sweet pig in the summer of 2014 before my junior year of high school. During my last two years of high school, Fluff was an incredible therapeutic almost-stuffed animal who would squeak as I held her and did my homework. She was incredibly docile in those years, even when my sister and I fought over who would hold her and “exercise” her.

When I went off to college, I missed Fluff a lot (though never as much as friends and family. I’m a proud pet owner, but not a ridiculous pet owner hehe). But she was always there when I came home, squeaking when I entered the room to ask for a veggie snack. While some things feel like they will never change, they do, because now whenever I walk into the house, I’m greeted with silence, although sometimes I swear I can still hear her squeaking for food.

Fluff was a great pet. She taught me responsibility (cleaning a pet’s cage every week is not the best part of being a pig owner) and care. There’s something about holding a pig to your heart every day that turns you into mush, even if you think: “Who would ever have a guinea pig?” Trust me. I was one of those people. (Fluff was supposed to be my sister’s pet. Plot twist…)

But she also taught me a lesson. That just because you think someone will be there forever… Doesn’t mean it will work out that way. Yes, Fluff was only a guinea pig. But after her death, my sister broke by heart when she said: “Katie, if this is what’s it like when we lose Fluff, what’s it going to be like when we lose Mom and Dad?”

We don’t have to worry about that for a long time. But I do want to make it clear that we don’t have forever on this planet. So make sure you hold your loved ones a little longer tonight. If you have a pet, hold him or her a little tighter. ❤

Rest in peace, my little piggy, mi cariña, the pig who was the size of a mountain, my dear Fluffy. You will be missed. ❤