[Gpdd] Announcement: Goodbye Beethoven

[DFHAKES at aol.com]

It is with great sadness that I share the passing of our guinea pig 
Beethoven.  He was with us for almost five wonderful years.  He leaves behind his best 
friend Buddy, who is doing quite well considering they were tightly bonded.  
We would like to get a companion for Buddy and I have a couple of questions.

Buddy is five years old.  He is blind in one eye and nearly blind in the 
other but otherwise is good health.  He was the alpha pig and he is quite large - 
nearly three lbs.  Would Buddy be better off with a neutered male of the same 
age, a neutered young male (to avoid Buddy having to lose another friend), or 
one or two young females?  Or, a combination that I haven't thought about?  A 
second question is that we will most likely adopt from a shelter.  There is no 
chance we would buy from a pet store.  Would we have to keep the new piggy 
quarantined before trying to make introductions?

I hope people understand that we're not rushing out to replace Beet.  We ache 
with missing him and I can't think about what we went through last night at 
the vet's office.  We just believe that pigs are better off with one or more 
friends and we want to find Buddy a companion.  In the meantime, he is getting 
an abundance of attention from his mom and dad.

Dana F. Hakes