Remembering Coffee

by anders458, posted in Uncategorized, pets

BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND” BLOG

I’m taking a quick break from nature in Chicagoland to celebrate the life of Coffee, one of our family guinea pigs, who passed away this week. More nature in Chicagoland coming soon.

Our family guinea pig, Coffee, died yesterday after a short illness.  

Coffee was the fourth guinea pig I ever owned—two when I was a boy and two as the father of a boy. My son Liam was about 10 when we bought Coffee in pandemic year 2021 as a companion for Peanut, our first COVID-year purchase, who needed a friend.

Guinea pigs have very distinct personalities, and Peanut (on the left in the photo below) is definitely more self-assured and frat-boyish than Coffee (on the right) ever was. With his pointy rat nose and laser-like focus when he wants something, Peanut could probably dig himself into Fort Knox if there were mounds of carrots next to the piles of gold. 

When we brought Coffee home from a small, family-owned pet store, he was extremely shy. He wouldn’t leave his house in the middle of our travel cage for a week. I wondered if something bad happened to him at the shop or by a previous owner. I’d never encountered such fearful behavior from my other guinea pigs. I doted on Coffee at first and spoke soft and kind words to him. I literally told him that we loved him several times a day and tried to tantalize him with all types of fun foods. Before going to bed each night, I’d peer into the cage and say, “We love you, Coffee. Have a good night, and we hope that you’ll come out of your house once and for all.” I never really thought he understood, but perhaps he understood the emotion and care attached to my words.

With each passing day, Coffee would put his snout out of the doorway of his house a little more until he was confident enough to be outside in the cage completely. We gradually introduced Coffee to Peanut. They were brothers now—occasionally sweet ones sitting next to each other in peace, but often stealing each other’s food or fighting for dominance in the cage. Guinea pig life mimics human life in some ways.     

Coffee was a handsome guinea pig who definitely looked more like a guinea pig than slightly rat-ish Peanut. But something just seemed a little off about him. He didn’t see that well, and he chewed the metal cage bars incessantly even if he’d just eaten. Unlike Peanut, Coffee was needy and a bit of a drama king, but we tried to fulfill his needs and love him.

Guinea pigs are wonderful pets for kids, but they poop A LOT! They take up a lot of space if you want to be a good owner. And they require a lot of care. Peanut and Coffee were perfect additions during that hard COVID year or two when people weren’t getting together or going anywhere. I’m grateful that Peanut and Coffee gave my son so much joy and wonder during those challenging years. And they gave/give me a lot of joy, too, probably most because they were a way for Liam, his mom, and I to connect about something together.  We loved:

  • bringing cardboard tunnels and other toys into their house to stimulate them.
  • trying out new foods to see which ones they liked the best.
  • taking Coffee and Peanut outside during the warm months; they were like crazy natural lawn mowers amongst the thick grass.
  • petting them and simply observing them as they played or rested.

It’s a powerful notion how pets—even little ones like guinea pigs, hamsters, or turtles—became a part of the fabric of a family’s life.

Coffee died yesterday, and we buried him on a bright, but cold, morning, with the sun low on the winter horizon and the sparrows singing in the trees.

I’m surprised at how sad I feel regarding his loss. But I take heart—despite so many bad things happening in the world—that I have not become so hardened that I can’t feel deeply about a little–but often uncertain, pretty animal–who brought us joy for several years.

Rest in peace, Coffee. I hope your heaven is a beautiful valley that features the freshest grasses, piles of carrots and kale, and a muddle (herd) of other guinea pigs who don’t steal your food.

Copyright (text/photos) Andrew Morkes

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking for some other great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT ANDREW MORKES

I have been a writer and editor for nearly 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I’m also a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school. 

In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 60 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).

Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:

Leave a Reply