Loss of a guinea pig

Question
Me and my girlfriend abby purchased 3 guinea pigs over the past several months. we have grown very close to them even though they are very skiddish still i cant really tell if they like us or if they are scared. The first one we bought and probably loved  the most died today due to my dog getting in my room and getting inside of my cage.=/. I was devastated and cried for hours. It was hard to tell my girlfriend about it as well and she cried a lot too. We still have 2 though and they seem to be fine. is there anything we can do to help with the mourn?  guess i really just wrote this to talk. But i am devastated.

Answer
I'm so sorry to hear what happened Brandon.  I know other people who've had the same kind of tragedy and lost pigs. I hope you didn't hold the dog responsible or punish him. In spite of what people think dogs do not have a guilty conscious. Unless you scold him within 7 seconds of the act he has no idea what he did wrong. He was just following instinct.

Now then, let me reassure you that your other pigs will be fine. They don't grieve as some other animals do. They just go forward with life as it is.

Remember there are two kinds of animals, predator and prey. The prey is eaten by the predator because that's the 'balance of nature.' Guinea pigs are prey animals, so their instinct is to run from anything they perceive as danger. It's the 'fight or flight' instinct. A lion or a wolf will fight when threatened. A rabbit will run away, because they have the flight instinct.

Most cavies will run like crazy when you try to catch them to hold them. It's not because they don't like you or don't wish to be held. They're just hard wired to run. As a result many people think they're doing something wrong or their pig doesn't like them. Not so. It's just a natural reaction. Once you pick them up they're just fine.  

So to answer your question about helping the two remaining pigs to help them mourn, there isn't anything you need to do. They may be a little more frightened when someone approaches their cage for awhile, but they will get over that too.

As for the skittishness that may never go away. But don't be discouraged, just remember that once they're in your arms they know they're safe and they will be okay.

It's a terrible thing to get over when something like this happens. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. We always feel responsible when these things happen. We can't help it because we love our animals as if they were our children and that's not a bad thing. That's what makes us compassionate and caring.