Zippy

Zippy was a pure black Abyssinian that we adopted along with Bungle and George.

• Full name: Zippy Zinia
• Other names: Zippoloid. Spaceman Zip. The Mission Specialist. Spiky Boy.

Right from the start he was… odd. He moved strange. Even more staccato than a regular guinea pig baby, his movements were almost stop-motion. He was simultaneously skinny and fat. You could feel every bone in his body while also watching his giant belly swing beneath him. But more than anything he was… well, there’s a particularly good scottish word for this: diteit.

Yes, Zippy was stupid, even for a guinea pig. He got stuck in paper bags. He would fall over when trying to stand on his back legs. He had a favourite stretch of white wall that he would just go and stare at.

But he was adored by George, and the two of them were the bestest of friends. Even if George tried to bum him on a daily basis.

Sadly Zippy died in August 2024. He was always ill, and we quite expected something to happen to him. But the suddenness still took us by surprise.

We remember him fondly. His strange “huh?” sound will forever live with us.

Carry on traveling the stars, strange little spaceman.