Monika, my colleague, landlord, friend, and “parent” of Tobi, entrusted me with her chinchilla. My mantra was, “he cannot die on my watch,” which is precisely what he did. He was not looking good. Chinchillas typically live to be 9 years old in the wild, longer in captivity. Tobi was 15. During his last few weeks, he got daily loving attention from Jill, who fearlessly pet him in ways I was afraid to. Who knew he loved being pet all over and didn’t care if you plucked out his fluffy shedding tufts? He quickly preferred Jill over me and when let out, ran straight for her lap and leaned his head against her while she petted him.
I’ll miss him bouncing up and down at me in his home every time I passed by it. Feeding him a raisin once a week that he took in his paws like a giant treat. Having a creature to care for. He left me now. Jill leaves in about 10 days. My friend Kate from Ireland just left. It’s going to be a different place and different experience, this second half of my Moravian Czech adventure.
Tobi died while Monika was on a ski vacation in Canada. I had the horrible task of calling her and telling her. She took it well. I realized that I didn’t know how to close such a conversation. You can’t end with “have a good night” or “see you soon!”
And what to do with his, well, body? I thought I should just put it in the dumpster but thank goodness Jill had the wherewithal to point out that Monika would probably want to bury him. So into the freezer he went. I had to go to my Czech language class and my teacher told me that I have to get a box for him – thank god she also mentioned that. I can’t have Monika come home to him frozen in a plastic bag! But for now, I’m living with a dead chinchilla in my freezer. That’s not a sentence I’ve ever written before.
Adventures in the Czech Republic 
Leave a comment