Remembering Peanut

by anders458, posted in Uncategorized, family and friends stories, 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 Peanut, one of our family guinea pigs, who passed away this week. More articles about nature in Chicagoland coming soon.

Our guinea pig, Peanut, died yesterday evening after a short illness.  

Peanut was the third (of four) guinea pigs I have owned—two when I was a boy and two as the father of a boy. My son was about 10 when we bought Peanut in April of pandemic year 2021 from a family-owned pet shop. (Coffee, guinea pig #4, arrived later in 2021. He died last year, and you can read an article about his life by clicking here.)

Guinea pigs have very distinct personalities, and Peanut (on the left in the photo below) was 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 wanted something, Peanut could probably have dug himself into Fort Knox if there were mounds of carrots next to the piles of gold.

We had five years of fun with Peanut, who used to be able to climb on top of his wooden house and race up the ramp to the second floor of his house. As the years passed, he entered “senior citizen guinea pig status.” He could still run around when he felt the urge, but he was calmer and more serene. At the risk of anthropomorphizing our Peanut, I loved the way he would gaze at me when I brought him an especially fun treat. He would look at me for perhaps 10 seconds while chewing before going back to the business of eating. The look on his face was one of happiness and appreciation. Peanut was a steady subject of conversation and action in our house: “Did you feed the pig? Do you want to take him outside? Let’s try giving him this food. Let’s take him around the house. Let’s get him some new toys. My son loved Peanut so much that he would bring a big blanket with Peanut’s face on it (that a friend had given him for Christmas) on recent visits to Iceland and Ireland. In a way, he was always with us despite being separated by thousands of miles of ocean and land.

Peanut’s last days of life consisted of eating tiny portions of his favorite food (when he was still eating), one last trip to our backyard (he loved sitting in the grass and eating), and lots of petting and kind words.

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 my son, his mom, and I to connect about something together.  And because they reminded me of the fun days that I had with my childhood guinea pigs. 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 Peanut and Coffee 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.

Peanut died yesterday and, this morning, I took his body to the Animal Cremation Society of Chicagoland, which is located in Bohemian National Cemetery. My son wanted Peanut cremated, and I was just fine with that. I’ve never had a pet cremated. It was a powerful and moving experience to stand in line outside the cremation society’s doorway waiting to be served with several grieving people clutching their beloved dogs and cats wrapped in their favorite blankets as the birds sang in the distance. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have had a cat or dog for 10 to 15 years or more and then suddenly lose him or her.

Peanut died yesterday, and 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 pretty and often fun and feisty animal–who brought us joy for five years.

Rest in peace, Peanut. I hope your heaven is a beautiful valley that features the freshest grasses; piles of carrots, kale, and dandelions; and fun times with a muddle (herd) of other guinea pigs.

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.

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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES

I’ve been a writer and editor for more than 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 also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.

In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 80 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, College Readiness: The Vault Guide for High School Juniors and Seniors, the Vault Career Guide to Consulting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series), Lerner Publishing, and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades, Hands-On Careers, Social Media Today, Woman in STEM Careers, Getting Started, and Cool Careers in Science series).

Here’s a list of the environmental- and clean energy-focused titles that I’ve written or co-written:

Articles about my work have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Practical Homeschooling, and other publications. My photographs of musicians, artists, and the natural world have been published in several books. My poetry has been published in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review. As an amateur artist, I’m pleased to say that four of my paintings were included in the 2025 Beverly Art Walk.

© Andrew Morkes

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