(no subject)

Well I'm feeling miserable and forlorn today. Angel, the last of our guinea pigs, died in my arms this morning. She was a grand old lady of six, which in guinea pig terms is over a century. She went off her food on Sunday, sure sign of illness in these little creatures. Bank holiday on Monday of course so I took her to the vet on Tuesday. The vet prescribed an oral antibiotic to be administered by open syringe but warned us that she might not recover. We've kept lots of these adorable animals and have seen this before. When feeling unwell, they stop eating but then it's a decreasing spiral because they become too lethargic to eat or drink. I gave her water and liquefied veg via open syringe but she went into decline. That is her body became lethargic but her head remained perky and retained her personality. We'd decided to take her to the vet this morning to have her put to sleep but when I saw her this morning I knew the end wasn't too far away so I held her and stroked her and talked to her until she died. Why do we get so attached to animals? Are we hard-wired to develop attachments, to feel 'love', in order that we do not feel alone? What do our pets get out of this, apart from a cushy life? Can they feel love for us or is it just that a human equals someone who can open tins of food?

When I studied animal psychology at university, I read that animals in their natural habitats do not have personalities and what we perceive in our pets is merely what we want to see. We want them to be equal and to understand every word we say so we misinterpret their behaviours as responses that demonstrate a communion ie we give them souls. Others suggested that the reason wild animals do not develop personalities is that they spend every moment looking for food and avoiding danger, in other words a personality is a luxury that they do not have the time for. 

Whatever the truth, if there be a heaven, I want it to have animals.