[Gpdd] RAINBOW BRIDGE - Ash Piggyfriend

[Penny Charlesworth]

We are all very sad today here at Piggyfriends as our matriarch, Ash, passed away in the night. She was seven and a half years plus two weeks old and had never had a day's illness in all of her long life. She is the last of my 20th. century piggies, having been born on July 9th. 1999. She leaves behind her daughter, Sylvie, whose seventh birthday will be on March 9th.

Unlike most of the little ones who find their way here, Ash had been loved for every second of her life. She originally belonged to my friend Tricia and when she and her husband took one of their frequent trips to Europe, her piggies would come and stay with me. There was Leo, a gorgeous golden Alpaca, his lookalike daughter Snickers and Ash and her daughter, Sylvie both long-haired silver grey and white. I used to call them the "Little Visitors". When Tricia's husband retired they decided to sell their property and look for a house abroad and she asked me if I could take her piggies full-time. By this time, Leo, aged six, had passed on so there was just the three little girls.

They settled in with three of my piggies, Orlando, Pola and Sweet Pea. I lost Snickers on the day that I joined this lovely group, having stumbled upon you all accidentally, whilst searching for the Rainbow Bridge story.

When Ash had her seventh birthday, I could not have expected to have her with me for so much longer. Everypig celebrated with piles of cucumbers from the greenhouse and I took lots of photos.

Ash started to slow down at Christmas time and spent most of the time asleep, as befits a lady who would have been in her nineties had she been human. The last few days I have had to wake her for food and supplemented her meals with syringed food, which she loved, but I knew that her time was running out. Yesterday she only managed some liquids before falling asleep and she left us early this morning. No pain or suffering - just a deeper and deeper sleep until she had gone. I would wish a life this that for all piggies.

Tricia came to visit before Christmas and I am so glad that she got to see "her" girls again and give them both a cuddle.

I don't know how Sylvie will cope with being alone. She has cataracts in both eyes and can only tell light from dark so I have rolled up a square of grey vetbed - a fluffy fabric used for pet bedding - to make a piggy shape and rubbed in into Ash's coat so that it has her scent. I have put it in the pen next to Sylvie and, after having her breakfast, she snuggled up next to it for her nap. I don't suppose that she thinks that it is Ash but so far, so good. Sylvie is too old to cope with a group of piggies and I would not want to move her from the pen that she is used to as she knows where to find her bowl and waterbottle even though she probably cannot see them. My senior piggy after Sylvie is a boar and I cannot put them together. The next oldest has young piggies with her, put there to comfort her when she lost her lifelong companion.

She has Cadbury and Bramley, the two rescue boys that I posted about before, in the pen next door and they will wheek at her so she will not think that she is alone.

I have buried Ash in the herb garden next to Snickers, where they are surrounded by the parsley that they both loved.

I will miss Ash, as I do all the past Piggyfriends, but it is a comfort to know that she had the best life that a piggy could wish for. There are many Piggyfriends waiting to greet her again as well as a lot of Caneheath Cavies ( Tricia's name for her piggies ).I am glad that I do not have to work today. Although work would take my mind off our sad loss it is probably not a good idea for me to be wielding power tools on a day like today, especially the chain saw that I will be using tomorrow.

Best wishes to all poorly piggies and their slaves.

Birdie, please alter the Roll Call for me. Thankyou.

Love to you all from Penny and the sad 25 Piggyfriends.