I never had one that lived long enough to need to contemplate the procedure. Ours all died within a year, max. Didn't know Guinea Pigs could live to a ripe old age, honestly.

Maybe this one just got acutely depressed, and became unbearable to live with.

My sister, Molly, has had several guinea pigs. She has been known to purchase plane tickets for them so they can travel with her in the cabin of the plane. Her improv group used her current pig in one of their 24 hour film projects. Needless to say, her pigs max out on lifespan.
My parents found a ferret in their front yard and were going to house it "temporarily" until they could figure out what to do with it. It's name is Dr. Livingston and it lives in a 3 story ferret condo in their gameroom. It isn't going anywhere....

I'll step on it for $5 American.

Thanks a bunch, Phelps. Now I'm gonna have PETA breathing down my neck. Not to mention Molly, Cindy's sis.

Cindy, I'm pretty sure a ferret isn't a rodent; it's more like a weasel, isn't it?

Weasels aren't rodents?

Oh, I cringe at the thought of euthanizing a guinea pig. Alex has one he's had for 2 years. She's a sweetie and he's awfullly attached to her.

Brian, only in attitude.

Jennifer, let's hope for a silent passing in night, when it comes her time to transfer to that great Roller Cage in the Sky.

We had a guinea pig I had been tempted to euthanize using the Phelps method. It shrieked repeatedly every single time anyone opened the fridge. One day late in the summer of '06 it hadn't shrieked for hours and I soon discovered that euthanasia would not be necessary.

Jim, you didn't make this discovery by opening the door to the fridge, by any chance?

Why, yes? How did you know?

Did he have a look of horror frozen on his face?

<clouseau>Zee geenay peeg...whas ee steef?</clouseau>

Have you ever unknowingly owned a rodent? I mean, if you don't know about it, do you really "own" it? Or are you just the landlord?

My brother in law (our vet) has euthanized many hamsters, including ours (and he did it for free...it's hard to justify spending more to kill an animal than to acquire it). He says nearly all hamsters get cancerafter 2-3 years. It's hard (for most of us) to watch them die a long protracted death. Jim and Phelps excepted. ;-)

Have you ever unknowingly owned a rodent?

Well, if I knew about it, it wouldn't have been unknowingly, would it?

Uh, I forget the question...

Yes! I do have a guinea pig who is a world traveler and a movie star. He is extremely gifted and special.

Sadly, I have had to euthanize a pig. (My parents took care of that task a previous time when I was in high school.) I don't know what the going rate is for your standard drop-off, but I think that part of the bill was in the double digits. The rest of the bill leading up to that was, ahem, not.

Bonus info! Cremation? $175. I think it's a flat rate for anything under 50 lbs. I think the conversation between my boyfriend and the crematory guy went something like:
"What sort of pet did you have?"
"A guinea pig."
"We charge $175 for anything under 50 pounds, and it goes up from there. How much did your pet weigh?"
"..."
"Oh. Uh, I'm sorry. Never mind."

We charge $175 for anything under 50 pounds...

I'm pretty sure that this is where tasteless suggestions involving George Foreman grills, etc. might come into play for a certain segment of the Gazette's esteemed commentator pool.

You didn't say whether you actually followed through with this. And if you did, do you have a teensy little urn that you carry around with you? And if you do, I'll bet you have some interesting conversations to share from various airport security screenings.