[JudiL[MetroGPIGRescue]]

As Audrey (see below) reminds the GPDD members of Peter's birthday on Monday, March 9th, I hope everyone lights a candle for this wonderful man. Peter passed away from cancer on June 30th, 2006. His later years of his adult life were solely devoted to the care and wellbeing of guinea pigs and to educating the rest of the world in layman's terms about how to care for them. Many of you don't know of him, and some people don't agree with his ideas on treating piggies, but for those of us who do, he was the greatest gift the guinea pigs of this world could have ever hoped for. The day he died was full of sadness and many, many tears.

God Bless Peter Gurney. I hope there is a Heaven, because if there is, Peter is surrounded by the millions of precious guinea pigs who have joined him there.

Please all, light a candle for Peter on Monday evening at 8:00 p.m. your time. We owe it to him to remember him for the wonderful gift he gave us and the legacy he left for all of us. See Audrey's message on the GPDD and if you light a candle, please email her.
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We are almost to March 9th, and we hope to get lots of participation for our annual Candle Lighting Memorial to Peter Gurney and to all the piggies who are with him at the Rainbow Bridge. This is a real event, NOT virtual, and all you have to do is light a candle on March 9th, at 8:00 pm. Afterward, just tell me
where you lit your candle (city or town, and country), by posting it on the GPDD or to me directly, and I will post a list on the GPDD of all the places where a candle was lit.

This is our 4th candle memorial to Peter Gurney and it is something everyone can do. Peter Gurney was a world authority on guinea pigs, who died in 2006 in Great Britain. He left us with a wealth of knowledge that most of us have used through his books and website. March 9th was his birthday.

As candles are lit in each respective time zone, the light will literally move around the world. This year we will also try to post a world map showing where the light travelled. We will be remembering not only Peter Gurney, but all of our beloved piggies who are now with him at the Rainbow Bridge, and who he is looking after.

So, be sure to light your candle on March 9th, at 8:00 pm, and then tell me where you are. Looking forward to lots of lights!

Audrey and Will, Slaves to Gordon, the GP
(Remembering Reese)
agbmcmd@yahoo.com

[magicmoo]

Thankyou, JudiL, I will be lighting a candle.

I know that some of his ideas are not to everybody's liking, but he was an early crusader, he certainly cared about guinea pigs and their living conditions. He also managed to change long-held perceptions of them in general.

I think if he were alive and well now, he might be a member of GL, teaching and learning new ideas, as we all constantly do.

[Bethie]

I too, Magicmoo, do not agree with some of what Peter Gurney taught, but still, what a great man. He dedicated his life to cavies and he did so much to improve their care. Even if he didn't get everything right, he sure got things moving in the right direction. Here in the UK, he was a true pioneer in Cavy Care.
I will be lighting a candle tomorrow near York, North Yorkshire, England.

[magicmoo]

He did try, which is so much more than so many others did.


I always like to think that in 10 year's time, we too may have all changed our best ideas for raising healthy cavies. Science etc moves on constantly, and for his time, Peter Gurney was probably way ahead of the rest of the UK.

My candle will be lit at 8pm in Warrington, Cheshire, UK, tomorrow.

[Kellyjo]

Wow I can't believe it's been three years.

He did say something nice about GL once.

Something to the effect "If those women on Guinea Lynx Don't know it, noone does".. I remember someone posting that years ago.

[TexCavy]

I have used some of his herbal remedies in conjunction with other medical treatment of course and even had good results preventing further stones in Sidney. Even I may not agree with all his ideas, but I do believe he was special and did truly care about piggies. He is certainly missed.

[LionCalie]

I'm not familiar with his work, but it sounds like he was a wonderfully dedicated Cavy Slave. Needless to say I will be lighting a candle here in remembrance.

[JudiL[MetroGPIGRescue]]

This site has mostly correct facts. He did not tour the U.S. to promote his book, "The Sex Life of Guinea Pigs". He came to the U.S. in July of 2000 to celebrate the Guinea Pig Extravaganza, put together and hosted by yours truly. He stayed at my house for 2 weeks and it was wonderful. We had people from all over the country show up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gurney

Peter was a huge advocate for the 'proper' veterinary care of guinea pigs in the UK. Unfortunately, it still lags behind us here in the U.S. with limited exception. The Cavy Cambridge Trust is one place where you can go to have wonderful guinea pig care, although Vedra is not a veterinarian.

http://www.rodentretreat.co.uk/cct.html

[Lynx]

I met both Peter Gurney and Judi at the get together.

[magicmoo]

Lynx and Judi-I am so jealous! What was he like, in the flesh, so to speak?

He appeared to be a wonderful, caring man. Judi vets here are slowly catching up-it took me a while, but I now have the choice of two marvellous vets. They don't claim to know everything, but they know a great deal of accurate info, plus they are willing to look at the evidence, data and info that I take from here. I get lots of 'Oooohs and aaahs, Yes, Harkness and Wagner, etc etc'. One of the vets even gets his reference books out to show me how perfectly it correlates with the info that I produce!

[cutemomomi]

I remember reading his AtoZ guide when I was a new slave.
He was very helpful in my beginner's days.
I remember him as someone who truly cares and take pride in his guinea pigs...

[sammianne]

I remember finding Peter's website early on in my quest for piggie knowledge. I agree that all of his ideas might not be the norm or what we agree with on GL, but he did a lot to start the ball rolling on the crusade for better guinea pig care. At the very least, he loved pigs and made a safe spot for those he took in. I will light a candle tonight in his memory.

[EllieMom]

I just lit my candle. He was the expert that I read first when I got my girls.

[JudiL[MetroGPIGRescue]]

Yes, he was there first before everyone else. He wrote "The Proper Care of Guinea Pigs" in 1995. He was ahead of his time, that's for sure.

My candle is lit as well.

[Henle15]

He was an early pioneer and we hopefully will continue his mission by educating people and changing the way people view guinea pigs.

Imagine what he would be able to do now as more and more information and technology exists.

I love his herbal remedies as most are correct and work wonders. Obviously he isn't always going be right and all of us won't agree with every single idea of his, but all we can do is take his ideas and expand them and make them better and more informative.

[GuineaPigFun]

Aside from his websites, the thing that stands out for me is taking his pigs on his visits to the kids in the hospital. I bet the kids really enjoyed them.

[jedifreac]

Yes, I loved hearing about the hospital trip stories, too. Too bad the hospitals eventually declared the visits a health hazard.

[JudiL[MetroGPIGRescue]]

I know. That was so sad for everyone. Peter was crushed. He made this little cart specifically for taking the piggies to the hospital. I think there is a picture of it in one of the books.

If you lit a candle, please post it here. A world map is in the works!!

[SwissPiggies]

Judi,
A candle was lit in Geneva, Switzerland, in grateful memory for Peter.
And an email sent to Audrey.

[poppypiggy]

JudiL, thank you for posting this. Unfortunately I didn't see it earlier, so I missed to light a candle in Peters memory this year, but I certainly will do it next year.

I am a big fan of Peter Gurney and have all his books but one. They are so charming, and his love for guinea pigs shines through in everything he wrote. He must have been a remarkable person!

Like several of you, his website was the first place I got meaningful information on piggie care, and I consider him the first true crusader for piggie welfare. (Lynx is of course the second!)

If anybody should hold it against Peter that not all his information is 100% correct, I think they are unfair. GuineaLynx has of course much more information, but we are now more than 9000 (!) members who join all our accumulated experience, and even if Lynx’s efforts never should be underestimated, it is this experience of all of us together that makes GL so good. Peter on the other hand, was only one dedicated person who started out knowing as little as any of us when we were new to pigs, and managed to learn from a few other enthusiasts, but mostly by his own experience, and then spread that knowledge to other cavy lovers. I, and un-numbered pigs, will always be grateful to him!

Just to make sure I remember it next year, I have written ”Peter Gurney” in my calendar on March 9th 2010! :-)