Beloved pet gerbil Nibbles given epic Viking funeral by his family

Harriet Pavey|Daniel Orton14 November 2017

A Glastonbury-based family held an emotional Viking funeral to commemorate the death of their beloved pet gerbil.

Nibbles, who was three when he passed away, was seen off in style thanks to the love of the Pickerill family.

Instead of facing a hole in the ground, the Pickerills held a Viking cremation for their pet, sending him off down the River Styx on a burning pyre.

The family, which holds Pagan beliefs, said the idea had started as a “joke suggestion” after Nibbles' gerbil companion Scarlet died a few months ago.

Viking ship burials

Ship burials were traditionally reserved for wealthy, noble Vikings and sea captains. As Pagans, they believed in the afterlife and Valhalla, a hall situated in Asgard in the realm of the gods.

"But Nibbles died at astrological Samhain, which is the pagan feast of the dead ancestors, so it seemed like having a magnificent funeral was the thing to do,” Emma Pickerill told Somerset Live.

She added: "My son Ben says, 'It was very sad but we were all happy to give him such a good send off.’”

Ms Pickerill is hoping Nibbles will enjoy the afterlife: "I'm a storyteller so I like momentous occasions to be as epic as possible and I can see him now, sitting at the table in the halls of Valhalla surrounded by Valkyries, quaffing mead from a drinking horn.

"He'll be recounting tales of glorious battles, in gold studded armour with a garnet encrusted shield, of course."

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