TW: Death of a pet

Clouet and Penelope were our first pets together, adopted in 2020. Kyle and I had just moved in together, and he had always wanted guinea pigs.

Penelope, on the left, passed away in late 2021. We adopted a third piggy, Baby, in 2021, who passed away in 2024. Clouet though? She hung around for a good long time, and was approximately 6 or 7 years old when she passed away yesterday. Decently old, in guinea pig years.

All our pets were named for the color of their fur by previous owners before we adopted them. Yuki was the Black One, Penelope was Penny for her copper highlights. Baby was a baby and we didn’t change that, I suppose. Clouet was Blondie or something like that, and we knew we wanted to change her name. It took days. We were walking around Crescent Park along the Mississippi River in New Orleans, a favorite spot to spend sunny days. The benches had street names carved into them, to orient you to the neighborhood just over the train tracks and levee. Clouet Street jumped out at us, and that began Clouet’s status as a person with a tricky name. (My mom’s phone autocorrected to asking after “Closet” yesterday. A nice little bright spot of levity while at the vet ER.)

Clouet was easy to love. She was such a good sport, which included tolerating Halloween costumes better than the other piggies.

Clouet loved to eat. Almost anything. The green tops off strawberries, cilantro, sweet peppers, carrots, lettuces. She was very well-traveled, having moved via road trip from New Orleans to Seattle with us.

Yesterday was hard and today is, too. I’m really thankful we had so many happy years with her, though, and that’s a comfort. Love you, Clo.

Do you have a story of a pet, past or present, you’d like to share? I would love to hear about them or see a photo. Just reply to this email.