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Elvis on her 5th and last birthday! (May 25th, 2000)
                  ELVIS
May 25th, 1995 - April 14th, 2001
Elvis was the alfa guinea pig in the cage. She last shared it with her grandfather Cappuccino and her half brothers Lion and Coffee. She always got what she wanted. I could clearly see she was the boss in the group. It was very funny to look at her and the others, how they communicated with each other. Elvis had the highest voice of all my guinea pigs, I always recognized her "calling". As soon as she heard something which sounded like food, even if it was just a plastic bag, she squeaked. When drinking from the water bottle she made a strange noise, because she bit it instead of just licking it. She was one of a kind. I think Elvis could eat anything at anytime of the day! Her favorite food were cucumber and of course lattuce. She ate soo quickly, within minutes it disappeared in her tiny mouth and her belly got big :-)

At the beginning of March 2001 I noticed a huge lump under Elvis' chin. She didn't react when I touched it, but I got a fright and dreaded something malignant. I took her to the vet, who said he had never seen something like that before. That made me worry even more. He touched her throat for a long time and said it could be either her salivary glands which had swollen up or her lymph glands. It is very difficult to make a diagnosis in guinea pigs and there are no treatments to heal them. The vet told me to come back if Elvis stopped eating. I felt some relief and since Elvis acted like normal, always hungry and curious, I didn't worry as much as before. In April I noticed how Elvis' body had swollen, her tiny feet were completely hidden under her huge body and she found it always harder to walk. She spent most of the time in the sleepy house and even refused food and water. I knew something must be terribly wrong. I put her on the floor in my room and she wanted to walk back to the cage but couldn't. It broke my heart to see her suffer like that. I couldn't let my girl in such bad conditions, so on Good Friday, April 13th, 2001, I took her to the vet, dreading the worst. He touched her lymph glands, they were swollen and he said Elvis had lymph cancer. I was devastated and felt so helpless. At first he too, thought there was nothing we could do, but then, suddenly he gave it a try with some very effective pills. He gave Elvis an injection and said I should give her those pills which would make the sweling go back. If it would work, we could go on like that and Elvis could live a normal and happy life. I was sooo happy there was at least some hope, because I didn't stop believing in the strength of hope and prayers. The next morning, April 14th, 2001, I woke up by hearing a strange sound. It was Elvis in her sleepy house, scratching at the cage's ground with her feet. She was trying to get up but her body was so swollen that she couldn't move. I prepared the pill, but by looking into her eyes I could see the pain. She was ready to go, she looked at me as if she was saying "Mommy, please help me!" and this helpless feeling was unbearable for me. I knew I could help my girl to feel good again, and I had tod ecide what was best for her and not for me. The vet told me that letting Elvis go was the only right thing I could do, and so I held her in my arms while her spirit slipped away. She relaxed and I looked into her eyes and saw peace and comfort. My pain had just begun. The only comfort was knowing that she had joined her family and friends at Rainbow Bridge and that the Heavens Above had just gotten a new "ruler of the house": my Elvis!!!

Elvis girl, Mommy still misses you a lot and I think of you very often. You will never be forgotten, you have enriched my life beyond words. I know that we will be reubited again someday in Heaven. Take good care of your family, and don't try to be tooooo much of a boss :-)

In love and peace, Mommy
Visit Elvis tribute page at the "In Memory Of Pets Site"
"I have sent you on a journey,
to a land free from pain,
not because I did not love you,
but because I loved you too much,
to force you to stay"
      ~Author unknown ~
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