A FURRY TALE
by Rebecca

“Squeak!”

“Oh come on, you can do it ol’ girl. It’s almost over,” Kelli said.

“Squeak! Squawk! Squeal!” said the baby guinea pigs.

“Oh, look! They are searching for their mama!” stated Kelli. “Look at her first litter of babies, aren’t they precious?!”

“Yes they are. Mega did a super job,” added Kelli’s mom.

“But Mom, look at the baby gray one. Why can’t it get to eat?”

“It’s the runt. It may die, but you can’t save it like normal pigs. It needs its mama’s milk. Kelli we can’t do anything about it. Leave it be.” stated Kelli’s mom holding back tears.

This place where we are at is the home of a twelve year old girl who has a guinea pig who just gave birth. The little gray runt died a week later leaving seven brothers and sisters. Most of them had brown or black fur, except him.

This story is not about a runt but a little guinea pig named Brownie.

“Where are we going guys? Take this blind fold off me!” yelled Rebecca.

“Nope, we can’t unless you want your birthday surprise to just be a gift,” said her mom.

“Pst! Katie, where are we going?”

“I can’t tell you, Rebecca!” yelled Katie.

It was October 26, 2003. Rebecca was turning nine years old that day.

“Well, here we are. Do you have the box, Emily?” asked her dad.

“Yea, it’s right here,” Emily answered.

“Everybody get out and Rebecca you go first. Now hold Mom’s hand,” instructed her dad.

Rebecca grabbed her mom’s hand and went inside the house.

“Oh, my gosh!! It’s Kelli’s house. Her mom was our substitute and said that she had baby guinea pigs. Do I get to have one? You didn’t! You did? YES! HOORAY!”

“Well, I guess you figured it out. Go over there with your sisters and look, but don’t touch,” said Mom.

“Ohhh. They are soooo cute!! Look at the gray one,” Rebecca stated.

“I’m sorry Rebecca, they gray one isn’t doing well. We have to keep it,” said Kelli.

“Awww, darn.”

“Hey, do you want to hold one?” Kelli asked. “Tell me which one and I will get it out for you.”

“Um, I think I want that one,” Rebecca said pointing at a little dark and light brown baby girl. She had a mix of long and short hair with spikes. She also had black, glossy eyes. “Oh, she is so cute!” Rebecca held the little baby up by her chin and nuzzled it. “Her fur is so soft and warm. She is so tiny!”

“Well Rebecca, if I’m not mistaken, I think you found a little pet. What is her name?” asked dad.

“Brownie. Her name is Brownie Squeakers because of her fur and she squeaks a lot,” Rebecca said as she stroked her fur.

“Well, Emily give Rebecca the box so she can put Brownie in it.”

“Okay Dad. Here Becca, be careful.” So then Rebecca gave Brownie to dad and he held onto Brownie. She would fit right into the palm of his hand.laid Brownie down into the box and picked the box up. She told Kelli and her mom thank you and the whole way home she continued to thank her family. As they got to the house, Rebecca started thinking. “Where is she going to sleep? What will she eat? How will I know?”

“Oh Rebecca, we also have some other gifts inside,” said her mom.

“Oh boy! Thanks you guys,” yelled Rebecca.

When they got inside, Rebecca put Brownie down and Emily brought her the other gifts. She had a plastic tub (which was her new home/bed), one bag of pine shavings, one bag of cat liter, a water bottle, a bag of food, a pack of wood chews and a bowl for her food.

“Ok, what we do first is lay down newspaper in the tub then pour cat litter and smooth that down. Then put the pine shavings on top of the litter,” read dad out of a book on guinea pigs.

“Katie, do you want to pour in the cat litter?” asked Rebecca. “And Emily, do you want to help me with the pine shavings?”

“Sure,” they said.

Once that was done Rebecca got to fill up the water bottle and put food in her bowl. Then we put in a cardboard shoebox with a hole in it for the opening and we put in a dinosaur chew and a chew ball.

Over the years Brownie grew and grew. She ate and ate. She was loved and loved. Some of her favorite foods were lettuce, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, grapes and apples. Brownie also loved to chew. She would chew anything she could get her little teeth on. Over time she chewed on many things including her tub, Rebecca’s homework, Katie and Rebecca’s hair, shirts, skirts, pillows and a Raggedy Ann doll. Brownie also loved to hide! One time before school, Katie was holding her and Brownie went up Katie’s shoulder and into her hood on her sweatshirt. It looked so cute! A few times she was also found hiding under the bed and under the dresser. She was always hard to get out, however since Brownie loved food, she learned where it came from and anytime we rustled a noisy bag or opened the refrigerator, she would make noise and come out.

Brownie had her favorite people, Rebecca and mom. She picked them because they were with her most of the time. Her favorite toy was her chew ball and tunnel. She always slept under her tunnel at night or when she was scared. Brownie did not enjoy her leash! She would get mad when you tried to put it on her. To exercise, she would run around in her tub. Brownie slept in Rebecca’s room and followed Rebecca when she would whistle a song.

Over time, Rebecca learned how to feed, hold and play with Brownie. Brownie also loved to play with dad. One time dad put his finger in her tub and she bit it really hard and wouldn’t let go. Dad had to give her a little tap on her head to get her to let go. She looked really confused, but let go of his finger. Brownie stayed pretty healthy for most of her life. She once got an eye infection for a week. When the family moved to South Dakota, Rebecca got to hold Brownie on the trip. Things went well until Brownie went to the bathroom in Rebecca’s lap and made her wet. Brownie brought joy to the family until one day...

March 29, 2006-Brownie was only two years old. Not even full grown. She was sick and in pain. The family prayed hard for her.

“Sob, sniff! Is she going to be okay? Will Sarah ever see her again?” sobbed Rebecca. Sarah is Rebecca’s twenty-one year old sister serving a church mission in Ecuador.

“Sniff. I don’t know. The doctor said she was in pain and guinea pigs don’t take pain well,” sobbed Rebecca’s mom. “Let’s just go down stairs and work on your quilt.”

“Okay, sniff,” sobbed Rebecca. About twenty five minutes later, Rebecca went upstairs to check on Brownie. She was still in pain. Rebecca tried to comfort Brownie by singing to her. “Hush little baby don’t say a word. Momma’s gonna buy you a mocking bird and if that mocking bird doesn’t sing, Momma’s gonna buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns brass, Momma’s gonna buy you a looking glass.” Rebecca sang it twice. Then she told Brownie that she loved her and said good bye. The next time Rebecca came up to check on Brownie, she wasn’t breathing well. Rebecca yelled for her mom. Mom also noticed that Brownie’s breathing wasn’t normal. They cried and cried and cried. Mom got Brownie out of her tub, wrapped her in a blanket and laid Brownie in Rebecca’s arms where she took her last breath.

The next day, Rebecca, Dad, Mom, Emily and Katie had a wonderful funeral service for Brownie. She was buried in the back yard under the lilac bushes. Our family will never forget our furry friend. Over the next few days, Rebecca was very lonely and sad.

On April 4, 2006, Rebecca sat down to play the piano when she heard “rip”.

“What was that sound?” she asked.

“What sound?” Mom and Emily said in unison.

“The rip sound,” said Rebecca.

“We didn’t hear anything,” they said.

“Oh, I know what is was. It was Brownie,” said Rebecca.

Brownie often tore her newspaper and chewed on it. Brownie was just saying, “I love you and good bye.”

THE END