[Gpdd] Rainbow Bridge: Celebrating our beloved Snickers: July, 2002 - August 5, 2005

[Carla Martinez]

Please forgive me if this is too long. I can't believe I have to write
this, but with heavy hearts, Snowball and I want to let you know that
our dear friend and family member Snickers left to go to the other side
of the bridge yesterday (Friday) morning. We feel lost without him right
now. It happened probably around 2:30 on Friday morning. When I got up
to give him his liver and motility medicine at 5:30 he had already been
gone awhile.  His constant companion Snowball was with him when he
departed and kept watch.

Snickers is buried under a dwarf oleander bush near the swing in our
backyard. I want to get river pebbles to mark his spot with a heart or a
star or something suitable. I can't help feeling that he didn't have to
die at this time and it hurts me. He was perfectly healthy only two
weeks ago, except for the silent and invisible elevated liver levels.
Damn it.

Snickers helped elevate the status of guinea pigs by being an ambassador
to the uninitiated. All the people that think guinea pigs are like rats,
when they saw Snickers they would say something like "Oh my gosh, look
at him I never knew guinea pigs could have such long hair." His photos
don't do him justice. Like his brother Snowball, Snickers was a rather
large pig. He weighed 3 lb. 3 oz. or 1550 grams consistently until his
illness. He had a truly beautiful shiny silky-soft coat of chocolate,
caramel and white, with a beautiful long sweep that extended several
inches past his hindquarters when I didn't trim it. He had a perfect
white blaze from his mouth to the top of his head. I used to tell him,
"Let me straighten your stripe," when his hair got messed up.

Snickers was an opinionated pig, he would tell you what he thought. It
was either a yes or a no. He was a smart pig. He learned to climb over
his playpen bars, to stand on his hind legs for a treat, how to cheat to
look like he was standing up, when he really rested his front paws on
his fence. He was the pig who decided where their 'treat spot' would be.
He started the trend of that location and Snowball and Fluff the dog
followed him to wait for their treats in the same area as well. So you
might say he was a leader, or an organizer. Snickers was a feisty pig.
He used to click his teeth at me during lap time until I learned to give
him treats when he was out of the enclosure. He was an agile pig too,
able to reverse course in the blink of an eye. Perhaps his favorite
thing to do was burrowing. He became quite the burrower. He didn't like
to be held that much, maybe because all the pre-k kids clamored to hold
him in his early days. "Don't squeeze me because I'm beautiful."

He was a good friend or brother to his companion Snowball. Snowball had
dental problems this summer and had to go twice for anesthesia. After a
long day away from home Snickers would come up to Snowball and stick his
nose in Snowball's ear. Later when it was Snickers' turn to have long
days out of the house, Snowball did the same thing to Snickers. Was it
unique to them, or do all piggies do that? Snickers and Snowball loved
sharing ears of corn with the husks on as a special treat. They
organized themselves so that Snowball always began at the top of the cob
and Snickers always began at the end. They occasionally did that cute
piggie thing many gps do where they play tug of war with a veggie or
stalk of hay. At breakfast and dinner they had their self-assigned spots
around their salad plate: Snickers always on my left and Snowball
straight ahead. They slept in the same section of their extra-long C&C
cage with their beds side by side.

As well as living his real life, by being a member of the GPDD, Snickers
had a virtual life as well. He was team member #2407 on the Great Guinea
Pig Poo Trail. He traveled to Cape Alava and served as a flight
attendant on Pig Air. Snickers and Snowball formed their own garage band
just to jam. Snickers played guitar and Snowball played drums. Later
they joined forces with Jenni's Beethoven and Alge's Ebezneezer Woolly
Bear to record Beethoven's hit single "Rumblestrut Blues." What was to
be Snicker's last virtual trip took place this past Memorial Day when he
joined the digest crew on the great Memorial Day Travelling Pignic.

Snickers made quite a few friends in his lifetime, both real and
virtual. His secret santa was Guiness of Priscilla and Guiness. He was
Secret Santa to sweet little Brunhilda of Boulder and the year before,
joined Snowball in being Secret Santas to Susi's Snowy of the Okie
Piggies. He and Snowball shared everything and so Snowball shared with
him his Secret Santa girlfriend Cookie and her Brownie. Of course
Snickers loved his fellow musicians Beethoven, Ebeneezer, Charley and
Wolfi, and was a great admirer of singer/dancer/celebrity Bing. He
followed the adventures of Brownie Bear and Butterscotch with interest,
and was proud to attain membership in BrownieBear's "Three Club" (three
years old.). He visited my Pre-K classes and charmed all the kids,
especially two little boys named Jacob and Dennior. His babysitters
Rachel and Abby used to do his hair in little clippies. His grandmother
Anita called him "Que Curioso" . His vet Dr. Tippitt called him "Little
Man" and his nurse Patty treated him like a son. He brought out their
goodness and kindness and intelligence to come to his need. I often
called him "Snickerdoodle", "Doodle", or "Doodlebug." To Tony he was
"Little Buddy." I'm sure his best nicknames are the ones Snowball must
have given him in guinea pig language. 

We got our dog Fluff a year after the piglets and we derived Fluff's
name from the fluffy feelings I had at getting to know such sweet
beautiful animals as the guinea pigs. Fluff the dog would sometimes put
his paws up on the guinea pig table with excitement and Snickers would
be standing there in his treat spot with his paws on the bars looking
right back at Fluff nose to nose.

It has often been expressed on the gpdd that the guinea pig size is such
a contrast to the place they hold in your heart. I treasure the memory
of Snickers in a shining way like the shining golden rays of his fur. I
treasure his silent steady eyes and his cute snub nose with the perfect
little nostrils, and his white whiskers and trundling walk.

Whatever need of mine Snickers fulfilled, I was invariably graced with
quiet contentment, pride and awe of his small but imposing presence.
With Snowball, Snickers added a shimmer to our family's every day life
and I don't know when we will get it back, now that he is gone. I
received a great gift when Dr. B. brought those fluffy boys to my
classroom and I'm so thankful I can share Snickers' memory with our
guinea pig friends on the gpdd. God bless Snickers and let him play
happily with all the other dearly loved guinea pigs on the beautiful
side of the bridge. And God bless Snowball that we can give him enough
love and attention that his loss of Snickers will not stop his reason
for living.

Carla and Snowball, with Snickers in our hearts
www.fluffy1s.blinkz.com