Dead Guinea Pig - What to do?

[krhall]

One of my little girls guinea pigs (Tom) has just died, we were expecting it as it hasn't been well for a few weeks and the vet told us he was not in any pain but there was nothing she could do.

She was upset but we made sure she understands that it is probably better off now, tricky to explain to an eight year old, but I think she gets it and we told her to make a fuss of Jerry, the other one as he has just lost his brother.

Now the tricky bit is my wife discussed burying it with her, while I was at work due to the issues.

I'm not really into burying humans let alone pets, but that is just my beliefs.

She wants to bury him in the garden and I really don't want that as we have a small garden which we use every inch of in the summer and I would hate it to be found dug up either.

Next suggestion was the woods - well IMO this is just wrong and possibly illegal.

Final suggestion, in a little part of the allotment - again just wrong as everyone up there is attempting to grow things.

I would've preferred to have it incinerated, it sounds harsh, but as it has already been discussed this isn't an option.

So I have 3 questions:

1. What is the proper way of getting rid of the body?
2. Would it be wrong to do what is suggested in number 1 and tell her we are burying it, then just bury the box it is in?
3. Is there another way of getting her to agree to having him 'cremated'?

[hob]

Wooden box + Deep hole = sorted.

Place a bit of wood over the "Coffin" so you know where it is should you be digging.


A deep hole will not get unearthed.

[fizzwheel]

Why dont you ask your vet what you can and can't do.

I'd be inclined to bury it or bury the box as your daughter wil be expecting that now and if you have a little service it'll help her deal with being upset.

[Lissa]

Why not bury it?

And why would it be illegal to bury it in the woods? Creatures die in the woods all the time, decompose, and fertilise the soil. It's natures way of recycling.

[NickWilde123]

you can pay for them to be cremated at a vets or just hand it over to a vets and they will 'dispose' of it,

+1 for the pie aswell,

[Ed]

Deep hole and put bricks over it to stop foxes digging it up.

[hovis]

wheelie bin?

[Ed]

wheelie bin?

stop being so mean:smt019

[krhall]

Hovis - that was my first thought mate - or drop kicking it over the fence when nobody wss looking.

[NickWilde123]

thats not mean, originally i was going to suggest sellotape and fireworks

[missyburd]

I'm not really into burying humans let alone pets, but that is just my beliefs.

That's fair enough but don't forget this is your daughter's feelings you're on about here. She is clearly far more upset about it than you are, surely just humour her this time and let her have what she wants? You don't have to do the actual "deed", if your wife has discussed it with her already then am sure she won't mind doing it. If you don't want it buried in the garden then the woods is a good enough alternative. Yes the child will probably forget after a while but this sort of thing is all part of growing up, ease her through it gently. In my opinion telling her you're going to burn it is a bit harsh, I wouldn't have wanted to know that as a kid.

Alternatively go to the vet's and see if they'll dispose of the body, I don't think they will but worth a go. Then you could explain that "the nice man at the vets has taken care of it, he's in safe hands there/better place" etc. I'm not a parent so I can't empathize in the same way but just my tuppenceworth!

[Wideboy]

wheelie bin?


sorry but i did laugh out loud, god im evil

[gettin2dizzy]

Burying it with the kids can be a good lesson for them to learn. Just get it deep enough!

[Ed]

thats not mean, originally i was going to suggest sellotape and fireworks

Guess I'm a sensitive little flower:smt083

[the_lone_wolf]

wheelie bin?

i laughed but then felt sad because i did...:rolleyes:


i know it's heartless, but could you not shop up a "biodegradable" box, tell the kids the pet's inside and bury that, then dispose of the remains in a more suitable way?

just be aware that if they find out the box doesn't have hammy the hamster in it they'll distrust you forever...



EDIT: or bury it, then while they're at school dig it up and dispose of it




*these are all valid reasons i should probably never have kids...

[krhall]

thats not mean, originally i was going to suggest sellotape and fireworks

Great little send of that........

But seriously, she lost 3 grandparents in the space of 12 weeks when she was 5, so I need to be careful here. We explained that and released balloons with messages on them into the sky.....

She was the one that found it though this time, so she has had to deal with the death too.

Oh and before you ask, we didn't bury those under the allotment or in the woods and they were too big for the wheelie bin!!!

[ArtyLady]

Our kid's hamsters went into little carboard boxes with a bit of their bedding and buried about a foot down. even the dog didn't find them and she was always digging! the kids made little crosses out of lolly sticks :)

[hovis]

stop being so mean:smt019

well i did post,
"
put him on the windscreen of a neigbors car, you could hold him in place with the windscreen wiper"

but i thought that was a bit mean



give it to the vet, would be my sensible answer

[the_lone_wolf]

We explained that and released balloons with messages on them into the sky.....

could you not do the same with the guinea pig?

[hovis]

could you not do the same with the guinea pig?

or tie the hamster to a balloon..... and send him on his holidays

[DMC]

Burying it with the kids can be a good lesson for them to learn. Just get it deep enough!

Dont bury the kids!! Now that is cruel :confused:

[fizzwheel]

Great little send of that........

But seriously, she lost 3 grandparents in the space of 12 weeks when she was 5, so I need to be careful here. We explained that and released balloons with messages on them into the sky.....

She was the one that found it though this time, so she has had to deal with the death too.

Oh and before you ask, we didn't bury those under the allotment or in the woods and they were too big for the wheelie bin!!!

Couldnt you have a ceremony where you bury the guinea pig and release balloons as part of that ?

[Tim in Belgium]

Bury it. Sorted.

I've buried a cat, guinea pig and Ram before (don't ask). My friend helped bury a horse once but it was quite hard as he had to squish it into the hole with a digger due to the rigor mortis.

[NickWilde123]

or tie the hamster to a balloon..... and send him on his holidays


i blame you for me going to hell

[missyburd]

My friend helped bury a horse once but it was quite hard as he had to squish it into the hole with a digger due to the rigor mortis.
Lovely. My mind associated a crunching of bones with that comment, nice. :)

[Tim in Belgium]

The hardest thing was he had to appear to be "gentle" with his digger as the owner was there...

[NickWilde123]

gentle with a digger?? never heard that before, i can now probably blame you for me going to hell aswell....

do you go to hell for this kind of stuff?????

[Tim in Belgium]

Not if you're an atheist ;)

[NickWilde123]

hmmmm intreging, where do you go

[the_lone_wolf]

My friend helped bury a horse once but it was quite hard as he had to squish it into the hole with a digger due to the rigor mortis.

you can't just shove a horse in the loo and flush it like a hamster you know, no wonder you had to push...

[Tim in Belgium]

hmmmm intreging, where do you go

In the grouind, squished by a digger if my mate buries you, or up in the air attached to ballons if Lone Wolf deals with you, in a wheelie bin if Hovis gets hold of you, it's all a matter of who your friends are.

[mr.anderson]

Barbecue?

My girlfrend is a vet and her practise charges £10 for the "Disposal" service as they are charged by the people that collect them. Then there's the cryogenic storage (chest freezer) until the weekly collections.

You could even get fancy and have the ashes back in a Cat shaped urn. (http://www.cpccares.com/caskets.htm) That would be quite funny!

[punyXpress]

Why not bury it?

And why would it be illegal to bury it in the woods? Creatures die in the woods all the time, decompose, and fertilise the soil. It's natures way of recycling.
Probably OK in your own garden, but iffy anywhere else that is not a designated ' Waste Disposal ' site. Now we are beginning to realise the sheer scale of the ( mainly unnecessary ) laws that have been enacted, or even dreamt up without debate or vote, in the past few years.

[Biker Biggles]

Bury it in your garden nice deep hole.It will decompose long before anyone digs it up,and might just help your flowers to grow better next year.

[yorkie_chris]

and they were too big for the wheelie bin!!!

You need to chop them up smaller

[dizzyblonde]

Bury it. Sorted.

I've buried a cat, guinea pig and Ram before (don't ask)..

So it was you that buried the bloody goat in the garden of my ex, only to be dug up by the kids next door:smt104 ''ere wots this leg sticking out of the flowers'':smt104

What ever you do, do not bury hammy the guinea pig in a plastic bag, or one day some poor git will dig up a mummified piggy:pukel:
A friend of mine got a house, and did a large amount of 'excavating' due to a whole load of mummified pets buried under the garden by the previous owner

I buried my persian cat under the lawn. There was a fairy circle that grew in the grass right in the middle, so we buried her there, but the hole ended up being 6ft wide because the 'ring' was above a giant ball of concrete:confused: for a washing pole or something. Then we buried freddy the gerbil in the same plot a couple of years later, but now they are covered with paving flags. The rabbit is buried under a load of block paving now too. But I won;t bury any more. My first cat is buried behind my uncles house on the moor, and he has daffodils growing above his plot now:cool:

[missyburd]

Flippin' eck Dizzy, talk about a graveyard in your back garden! Wondered what the funny smell was....oh hang on that was Matt :lol:

[dizzyblonde]

Wondered what the funny smell was....oh hang on that was Matt :lol:

:lol:

[-Ralph-]

http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/blog-168468.html

[yorkie_chris]

Lol! I heard an ace tale from someone who went travelling round south america... for a 500 dooda's you got a shot with an RPG-7, for another 500 doo-da's you get a cow.

If you missed, you got 500 of it back!

[dizzyblonde]

anyone for a kebab

[Warthog]

I would bury it. Get a spade and dig a nice deep hole. Put it in there inside a cardboard box, and fill it in. Plant some flower bulbs chosen by your daughter over the grave, then next year when they come up and flower you can explain to them that the guinea pig has been recycled by nature into flowers and how sensible and beautiful it is. I quite like the thought of having a tree planted over my grave and then all my atoms would get incorporated into the tree and people could sit on my branch arms and make a tree house in my head! :)

[thor]

Burying it with the kids can be a good lesson for them to learn. Just get it deep enough!


+1

Some day they are going to bury you (or cremate). Here's your chance to teach them something about life.

[Viney]

Ebay?

[timwilky]

we have this place near by (http://www.petcrematorium.co.uk/). Is there something similar local to you?.

[Speedy Claire]

I think that at an impressionable 8 years old you`re gonna have to be very careful what you do as your actions could have repurcussions as to how your daughter views death and the emotions of it all etc. etc. The balloon with a message is a really good idea and has worked well with lots of children.

Personally I think you should have some sort of a funeral service for your daughters benefit. Whether you use the garden or nearby woods or bury a box with a stone in or a box with a guinea pig in it won`t really matter. It`s the "funeral" service that will stay in your daughters mind. She could also release a balloon at the same time with her message on it. Best of luck

[keithd]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2860802096_7451a5e304.jpg?v=1221511222

hth

[embee]

:p

This forum is populated with sick people, funny but sick. ;)

As an aside, from what I recall guinea pigs are social animals and really don't like being on their own, is the other one on its own or do you have others?

[madness]

Deep fried. Tastes a lot like the meat from a chicken leg. Not much meat on them though.

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

or tie the hamster to a balloon..... and send him on his holidays

Oh dear that made me laugh - your so mean Hovis..! :p

On a more serious note:

I would bury it. As long as the hole is deep enough (as others have said) and you put it in a box, its fine. And why would it be illegal to bury it in the woods?

My mum has buried her guinea pig in her garden. So has my nan. As much as you dont want to do it, you need to think about your daughter and her feelings here, death is a hard thing to cope with and grasp. Just do something small and simple.

My local vet has a pet cemetry - perhaps you could see if your vet has anything like that?

Good luck

Maria

[Frank]

When one of our rats kicked it,I just lobbed it in the bin.
We did take a nice padded cardboard box (with said rat in side shhhhh) and sail it down the river to join his friends

[krhall]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2860802096_7451a5e304.jpg?v=1221511222

hth

Yes KeithD that help loads, now I know what to do with the other one to stop it getting lonely!!!

[Tim in Belgium]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2860802096_7451a5e304.jpg?v=1221511222

hth

This has just caused a serious tea/laptop interface problem :D

[hovis]

take him to ASDA and hide him in amonst the frozzen peas