World Peace Through Pets
The evolution of the human race runs parallel with our understanding of and relationship to animals. For people, the peaceful and respectful coexistence with other life forms on earth has been a dynamic and oftentimes challenging prospect.
Our humanity is strongest when we protect, appreciate, and love the living things around us; some may argue that caring for pets is a stepping stone for being able to care better for other living things, perhaps even ourselves. Having pets may not lead us to world peace, but it has made the human race better as a species and a unique form of life in our known universe. Pets are good for us. Including guinea pigs.
Guinea Pigs Cross the Atlantic
Guinea Pigs were brought to Europe by Conquistadors who arrived in South America in the late 1500s and early 1600s. As with many novelties – especially ones that result as treasures from war and violence – ownership of guinea pigs, for food or companionship, was thought to be strictly relegated to the aristocratic realms of society. However, a 2007 discovery in Mons, Belgium – once part of the Spanish Empire – revealed that guinea pigs were also accessible and important to middle-class families during the Elizabethan time period.
[More pet loss advice, insights, and resources: How to Write a Pet Eulogy, Pet Loss Condolences: What to Say and How to Say It, and Life After Loss: 5 Signs It’s Time for a New Pet.]
In fact, the guinea pig bones discovered in Belgium show that pet funerals and pet burials for guinea pigs also occurred at that time. Elizabeth Reitz, a prominent zooarchaeologist at the University of Georgia, explains in a National Geographic article that the find indicates the bones represent a “little burial” for this long-forgotten but once much-loved guinea pig.
We will never know the circumstances or details that led to the small but profound burial of the Belgium guinea pig, but we can speculate it was loved and appreciated by a person or family in perhaps much the same ways that people love and eulogize their pets today.
Pets evolve and travel alongside the people who love them and cherish their friendship and presence in our lives. We can only surmise that our pets will continue to cross continents and oceans accompany the human race as we continue to move around the globe, chasing or noble and nefarious objectives.
Guinea Pig Loss and Appreciation
Guinea pigs are the first pet for many families and individuals. Guinea pigs offer big personalities in small, furry, and cuddly bodies. Guinea pigs also provide pet owners with true companionship and a reliable source of entertainment and comfort regardless of a person’s age or status in life. Like all pets, guinea pigs inspire us to be kinder, gentler, and more loving simply by never judging us or holding us to our past mistakes or stumbles. Guinea pigs are pure and true to themselves and others.
Losing a beloved guinea pig, or dealing with a sick one, can be devastating. The emotional toll of coming to terms with an ailing or dying pet is traumatizing, but also an inescapable experience when dealing with a pet that has a life expectancy of 5 to 7 years. This video offers an empathetic look at the experience of navigating the emotional and practical demands with a sick or dying guinea pig. Remember: You’re never alone in loss.