Mama ( Mama Bear )
2011 - 2015
Mama Bear a.k.a. Mama ( for short ) was a Rescued Guinea Pig that My Husband & I Adopted on Monday, July 18th, 2011. She was the 3rd of 5 that We Adopted between Our 1st one which was a Rescue We Adopted on Monday November 15th, 2010 & the last 2 Guinea Pigs that We Adopted on Sunday August 21st, 2011.
Thanks to a Friend who's a Vet Technician in the States ( We live in Ontario, Canada. ), We were able to keep Her comfortable with the advice of My Friend until She took Her last breath as My Husband & I held Her when She crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
The very next morning, We brought Mama to Our Vet's Office to have Her Cremated, have a small clay/ceramic made that had not just Her footprint but also some hair clippings. After We left the Vet's the morning We dropped Her off, My Husband had this powerful urge to Adopt another Guinea Pig & so We drove to the SPCA to do just that. They have a location in the City We live in. Unfortunately, it wasn't opened until 12pm ( Noon ) & it was just about 10:30am when We went there.
Suddenly, My Husband says to Me "Let's go back to the same Rescue where We Adopted Mama & that's just what We did. When We walked in there was just one Guinea pig there who had been alone for about 3 weeks. He came in with a sibling but within the 1st couple of hours, His sibling was Adopted. There was just something inside of Our Hearts telling Us that He was the one & so We Adopted Him & His name is *Paddington ( Bridge )*!!!!! I felt a tender squeeze around My Heart when We brought Him Home & We just knew that Mama's spirit brought Us to Paddington. I wanted to give Him a name that would memorialize Mama's Memory but it was tough seeing that We had just Adopted a male. Then, a good Friend suggested after naming Paddington, that We could give Him a Middle Name & Her suggestion was *Bridge* which would represent Mama's spirit leading Us to Paddington after She had passed over the Rainbow BRIDGE!!!!! She said to use it as His middle name & that *Bridge* would be short for Rainbow Bridge & that would be how We could incorporate Mama's Memory.
To conclude, I would like to thank all of the Staff at Gateway for the beautiful job They did with the Cremation & the few extra add-ons that We had done with the Cremation. The care that You took made My heart feel so much better. I cannot Thank You enough for this because it really did bring so much peace into Our Hearts. I haven't met any of the Staff at Gateway because We brought Mama to the Vet's as I had mentioned & They sort of acted like the middle man, so to speak.
We now have 5 Guinea Pigs including Our newly Adopted baby.....Paddington. Each day is getting a little easier. I thought I would cry My eyes out when We went to pick Mama up but I almost felt a relief walking into Our Vet's Office. I realized that the peace & relief I was feeling was definitely warranted after opening up the box that had Her Urn in it along with a Satin pouch that contained some of Her Hair clippings, another Satin pouch exactly like the one that had Her Hair in it but in this one, it contained a beautiful little oval clay/ceramic plaque with Mama's footprint & Her name engraved below it. Then, the Certificate of Cremation/Condolence Card which I thought was a beautiful touch. Her Urn is so beautiful & Her name was also Engraved on it.
Thank You for such a beautiful job. I will definitely recommend friends & family in the area to Our Vet's Office if They don't go directly to Gateway and as much as I know it will hurt to lose the others when Their time comes, I will definitely return to My Vet's to have You guys do Their Cremations as well. I truly mean it when I say that My Heart felt at ease seeing the beautiful Memorial You guys made for Our Mama!!!!!
<3 R.I.P. Mama Bear - Mommy & Daddy miss You so much & We Love You even more. We'll never forget You!!!!! <3