Ginger's Zesty Zoomies

Ginger, a short-haired red guinea pig, had moments of pure, unadulterated speed. She would be calmly munching hay, and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she'd take off. A frantic, skidding lap around the perimeter of her cage, a sharp corner, another lap, maybe a popcorning jump in the middle, then a sudden stop back at the hay pile as if nothing happened. These 'zoomies' were unpredictable and always made us laugh. They were the physical manifestation of a happy, healthy guinea pig. Her cage, now still, misses those spontaneous eruptions of furry velocity.