Had my guinea pig euthanized this AM

[OneBadBunny!!!]

Angie,

Honesty hurts... I think that you could have done a better job takingcare of your guinea pig. However, I understand what its like to have avery ill pet. Rex, a late guinea pig of mine, got sick a few years ago.When the vet bills were about $900 we paid and Rex was still gettingworse. On his last night he was clearly suffering and the vet's officewas closed. In the end we decided that an overdose on his pain medswould be the most humane thing to do. I can understand that youprobablly needed to put you piggy down.

But I can't understand how you wouldn't give him the same treatment asyou would another pet. Or why you "gave nothing emotionally". I wonderif you would all be so understanding if she said that she put therabbit down, but would have done the surgery on the guinea pig.

I think I actually favor my pigs, as they are a lot easier to pleaseand, in my opinion, give more love back. But maybe Ijust havean independant bunny.lol. However, I would always give Peter, my bunny,the same care as my other pets regardless of my prefferences.

You are clearly a good pet owner! I can tell this and I don't even knowyou. You are doing a very nice thing saving these pets, but maybe youshould think about the quality of life, rather than the quantity ofyears.

I'm not saying you should get rid of your buns, who yiou clearly ovetoo much. But maybe you culd try and swallow your pride a bit and finda new home for the remainig guinea pig. No one will judge you,youhave obviously done whats best for the animals so far, socontinue the tradition.

Where do you live, maybe if you decide to, i could help you find a home for your Peter.

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm not going to give up Petey but am settingaside time every day to hold him and pet him. I think that I felt thatboth pigs gave each other company and because they had each other Ididn't have to give as much. I have a bonded pair of bunnies who reallyare so interested in each other that they want very little to do withme.

I think that the problem with my life is that between the shelter andmy home there is not enough of me to go around. Yesterday I spent 5 hrsat the shelter where we have a (I think) a pregnant doe rabbit , 2guinea pigs who were physically neglected and have the beginning ofscurvy plus terrible cysts and another surrendered male rabbit . I wasspending a lot of time trying to figure out how to get the vitamin cinto the pigs as they don't like it in the water. I foster therabbitsat home after they are altered andI spend alot of time worrying about the shelter animals.
When I get home I have a household full of animals (14)andsometimes I cannot spread enough affection around..even to the rabbits.
After I have had 5 days to read posts and reflect on all this I knowfor sure that my initial post was written specifically so that I wouldreceive criticsm (as I do feel guilty about the guinea pig.)
When an animal is old I probably will not go the whole 9 yards withtreatment if I know a younger petis in need of somethingbecause I can't afford to go the whole 9 yards with all of them .
If the guinea pig had been younger I would have had the surgery but he was an older pet
Part of me is sorry that I wrote this post as I brought all this on myself.

I don't plan on getting more pets (that means that I say goodbye to theones at the shelter that are being put down. Do you know what thatfeels like?)
Maybe I felt that a few good years with me is better than dying healthy and young at the shelter.
If you are not at a kill shelter you cannot know the pressureon someone like myself to "save" the animal . This includes spendinghours on the phone and computer trying to find "no-kill" shelters orfoster homes to save animals.

Today, 6 days after I had the pig euthanized , I am going to defend myselffor the 1st time.
I doubt that anyone else in my shoes could do better

 

[SweetPeasMommie]

Angie do you have a GNC store near by.

Look for vit C chewables in 100 mg. Cut them in 4ths give one peice to a pig.

If they don't like it, you could get baby food, sprinkle Vit C chewables on a small amount of baby food and give it to them.

Get like a pear flavor or apple, Don't get bannanas since it gives themconsipation. I hope this helps. If you need advice on gps let me know Ican give you as much as I can.

 

[Maureen Las]

Hey....thanks a lot. I was readingabout it on the computer and thought that maybe they would needinjections. I have bought the vitC at GNCfor myselfand I think it comes flavored. Thats a great idea and I'll let you knowhow it works (although this sounds like an easy way to get it in them)

 

[SweetPeasMommie]

Some of my gps liked it and some would just make a face and walk away or spit it out.

No prob, he if you need anything for gps let me know. I have so much knowledge for them that ppl think I am a vet tech.

 

[OneBadBunny!!!]

If you are not at a killshelter you cannot know the pressure on someone like myself to "save"the animal .

Oh boy... How do you think I wound up with as many animals I did?lol

I doubt that anyone else in my shoes could do better

I agree with you. And I'm pretty sure that I didn't say anything in mypost about the euthanization of your pig being wrong. My problem waswith the socializing or lack there of. And the fact that you would havedone better for your bunnies.

Yesterday I spent 5 hrs at the shelter where we have a (I think) apregnant doe rabbit , 2 guinea pigs who were physically neglected andhave the beginning of scurvy plus terrible cysts and anothersurrendered male rabbit .

Thats aweful, agian, where do you live? If I'm not close enoughto help personally, maybe I could help you find non-kill rescues orfoster homes...

As for the scurvy pigs. I currently own 7 pigs and have owned pigs mywhole life. I know I'm young, but I do know quite a lot about them. Youcould try a variety of Vit. C enriched foods including: oranges,strawberries, etc. Also Petsmart and Petco carry Vitacraft orangetreats. They contain plenty of Vit. C. Guinea pig pellets also containVit. C. Remember that there is no such thing as overdosing on Vit. C inguinea pigs!

 

[SweetPeasMommie]

Trust me, vitacraft are bad, even the kind thatgoes in the water. They do no work at all since pet stores do not checkthe dates and rotates so who knows how long the products last. Pigshate them flavored waters. I have had well over 50 of them in my home.

 

[Maureen Las]

Thanks onebadbunny

I am in La Crosse Wi. and have taken guinea pigs fromourshelter to Baraboo. It is sometimes difficult to get them in.. but theydo have foster homes near madisonand several have gone to afoster home in Rhinelander Wi.
Right now we are in the middle of record breaking snow..have 20inchesand more on the way so I don't think that we will be travelling reallysoon.

I joined the guinea lynx forum (thank you SPM) and just posted on that site.
Right now I am going to try to get the shelter to take these pigs toanother vet as I don't think that the one on call this week knowsexotics well.

I can also e-mail one of the rescuers for more advice on the one really sick pig.

I have become rather sensitive about my original post as I already knowI was wrong not to give the guinea pigs emotional attention but I canonly reflect on my own behaviour and try to change it and I will changeit.

If you are at a kill shelter then you do understand what I mean.

 

[SweetPeasMommie]

Any time Angie, they are a great resource site for gps. Wonderful to learn from.

 

[OneBadBunny!!!]

caviesgalore.com is a great forum. they have anadoption section and the people are great! I am actually a member,"BanditBoy", you should join. They are very cavy knowledgable and theyeven set up pig trains to get pigs to new homes. I wouldn'tmentionthe story about your pigs not getting attention or thesurgery though, as they would probably be reallyoffended.Anyway you should definately join, they would beable to give advise on the sick guinea pigs and possibly help with newhomes or local rescues/fosters etc...

 

[OneBadBunny!!!]

Maybe this will help...

HIGH Vitamin C foods:
- Guinea pig pellets with stabilized vitamin C - alfalfa based foryoungsters, pregnant & nursing sows, slim or sick pigs; timothybased for healthy, grown, chubby pigs (do not substitute rabbit orchinchilla pellets; avoid mixes with nuts, seeds or colored bits)

- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)
- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Corriander greens
- Celery leaves

- Collard greens
- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard
- Water Cress
- Garden Cress
- Swiss Chard, Red Chard
- Beet greens
- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones)
- Carrot tops / leaves
- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried)

- Dandelion greens
- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed)

- Kale - curly or plain
- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers)
- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini
- Cauliflower / Broccoflower
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero
- Savoy Cabbage
- Kohlrabi leaves

- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or chile)
- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially grown can be low in vit C)
- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous)

- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously)
- Cantaloupe Melon
- Honeydew Melon
- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible)
- Gooseberries
- Strawberries
- Kiwi Fruit
- Mango
- Guava
- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava
- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon
- Persimmon - american or oriental
- Rosehip

 

[Maureen Las]

Thanks onebadbunny...I did join guinea lynx andgot some great help and actually didn't read this post untilnow. have talked with the director of the shelter in terms ofgetting a 2nd opinion on the guinea pig as the seizures could be areally bad mite infestation. Thanks so much for the links and also thevit C veggies. Really appreciate it.

 

[Pipp]

I'm only just seeingthis post now,sorry, and I can't believe some of what I'mreading. This is like saying that you're livingwith a husband and a homestay student, and they should be treatedequally with yourresources because you committed to theircare.Yes, the little piggie deserves to haveeverything possible done for him, so does every human, but that justdoesn't happen. It's commendable to supportyourneighbours and the starving children in Africa, but youcan'tgive all you've got unless it's alovedone. Mother Teresa is not the norm.

Maureen is possiblythe most passionate and productivecaregiver on this forum. She's certainly among the verytop.She doesn't just care for the pets she loves,she throws herself into the care and well-being offurrystrangers, and it's all at a great personal cost.

Just because her commitment to this little pig doesn't matchherover-the-top efforts for her bunnies,she'streated so harshly?It's a good bet that 90% oftheowners out there wouldn'tprovide any treatmentto a pig at all. How many times do we meet people who say, 'Ihad a rabbit once, but it died.' 'Oh, what happened?' 'Idunno, itgot sick and died.' You think they'd take in theirkids' guinea pig?

It's also not factoring in the pain and suffering of old age.I would seriously consider euthanizing myself if I was faced with thepain of aninevitable decline.I'd like togo out on a high note with fond memories of my life. I'm nowseriously considering euthanizing one of mycats.She's 17, she has a horribly uncomfortableskin condition andother problems that they just can't seem tofix.She's not dying,but she'smiserable.Ifeel guilty because she'sreally has been cast aside since the rabbits came along, I'm sure thestress of the bunnies not even allowing her in my room much less on mylap isn't helping, but I also don't want to run uphorrendousvet bills just to alleviatemy guilt, especially when I knowthere's no instant fix. We might get her more comfortable,but I may just as easily be condemning her tomonthsmoreagony only to have something elseage-related go wrong with her. That's a decision I still haveto make -- and yes, I will go onawhile longer, but onlybecause I think there are still a few things to try that won't breakthe bank. And if I don't and someone judges me forthat, a pox on them.

I'm a huge advocate of all life being equal, I don't eat any animals,but I'm not more put off by somebody eating a dog than a cow, and Ieven respect insects. But to say someone shouldbepolitically correct within their household by committing toall as equal tenants is a holier-than-thou sham.

Maureen, thanks for helping those little piggies out. Andmost certainly don't 'get rid of' Peter. (I hate thatterm,its used for garbage, not pets).

sas :rant:

 

[Maureen Las]

Thank you so much Pipp as I pm'd you.

Some good came out of it as I am now in the middle of attempting to getthe appropriate medical care for 2 piggies at the shelter that wereneglected.... I also give Petey daily attention.

 

[ahri22]

Yesterday I thought my daughter's pet mouse wasdying. If the mouse had been a cat, a dog or a bunny, I would havetaken it to the vet's. But because it's a mouse, I didn't. Is thatwrong of me?? Probably... According to some people here, I suppose itwas wrong!

We have had the mouse almost a year (got her for my daughter's birthdayon March 22nd last year). She was quite young then, so wouldn't be muchover a year now (expected life spans of mice are between 1 and 2 years,so I would have thought she'd have a few more months). She's had issueswith her skin. She used to have woodshavings in her cage, but developedallergies or something and scratched her ears so badly the edges weretorn off, so we put her in shredded paper but she doesn't seem to likeit as much. It also stops her wheel moving properly, and she doesn'tseem to be exercising as much as usual and is getting very fat.

Anyway, yesterday I found her in her little TV (where she sleeps), shewas very still and felt very cold. I put her in a little box surroundedby tissues and put the heater on to warm her up, I gave her some waterby hand, and kept her beside me all day. But I didn't take her to avet. Luckily, she started to perk up, we put her back in her cage andshe started eating again. So, all in all, I'm really happy!! I havealways loved our mice, and I've always cried when they died, but I'venever taken them to a vet or given them the samelevel of care in that way that I've given my bigger animals.Maybe it's because their lives are short, I don't know!

I guess the fact is that people do treat their pets differently. Theycan love them all, but not in the same ways and not to the samedegrees.

I also think that it's better to save an animal from a kill shelter andgive it at least a reasonable quality of life than not to give it achance at all!! With so many animals, it's impossible to give each one100% of your time and energy and love. A guinea pig with a companionmay not miss human companionship much at all, and provided that it'swell cared for with food, shelter and bedding, then who's to say itisn't a good enough life? Many pets get a lot less, and many, manyanimals (I don't want to know how many!) get abandoned and killed. I'drather see those animals in the homes of people who will provide fortheir basic needs rather than see them put down, even if as pets theydon't get as much attention as others, simply because there just isn'tthe time to give them that attention.

 

[Elizabeth]

Pipp wrote:

Justbecause her commitment to this little pig doesn't matchherover-the-top efforts for her bunnies,she'streated so harshly?It's a good bet that 90% oftheowners out there wouldn'tprovide any treatmentto a pig at all. How many times do we meet people who say, 'Ihad a rabbit once, but it died.' 'Oh, what happened?' 'Idunno, itgot sick and died.' You think they'd take in theirkids' guinea pig?

I stand by what I said to angieluv. If you take in an animalthen you must provide proper vet care for it, regardless of how muchyou do or don't love it. Why should one animal in your careget better treatment than the others? What makes bunnies morespecial than guinea pigs, ora mouseor a cat forthat matter?

The hardest part about being in rescue is learning to say no.If you can't say no, then be prepared to provide proper care (and thatincludes vet care) for all the animals in yourhousehold orlearn to say no and excuse yourself from rescue until you're able toprovidethe carethe animal needs.

Animals do not fear death, only pain. Keeping that in mind,in my opinion, taking in an animal because it's going to be euthanizedand then not providing proper vet care for whatever reason isworse than leaving it to be euthanized.

 

[Maureen Las]

Instead of focusing on me...a person whoprovides proper and sometimes extensive vet care on allherpets why don't you take a look at the dairy, hog, and beefindustries in which unspeakable acts of cruelty on farm animals is thenorm . Why is a cow or pig any different than a mouse or a guinea pig.?Its still an animal and thats why I'm a vegetarian but not a vegetarianthat sits in judgement of everyone else that is not.

 

[Elizabeth]

angieluv wrote:

Instead of focusing on me...a person who provides proper andsometimes extensive vet care on all herpets whydon't you take a look at the dairy, hog, and beef industries in whichunspeakable acts of cruelty on farm animals is the norm . Why is a cowor pig any different than a mouse or a guinea pig.? Its still an animaland thats why I'm a vegetarian but not a vegetarian that sits injudgement of everyone else that is not.

I think it's a fair and safe assumption to say that you brought the focus on yourself when you made the initial post.

And again, I'm not disputing the fact that you're an owner who providesproper and sometimes extensive vet care; you made it perfectly clearseveral times over that as long as it's an animal you feel passionatelyabout (i.e. a bunny) then you're more than willing to provide extensivevet care.

And to bring the "beef, hog and chicken" industry's acts of crueltyinto thisconversation and tell me to focus on that instead,is honestly? Just plain silly. You know nothingabout me; how do you know I'm not already passionately involved withthat cause?

And yeah, I'm pretty judgemental, I'll admit it. I'm alsovain, sometimes a hyprocrite, I can't cook worth a damn, myhousekeeping skills are horrendous, I have a terrible temper, my mathskills are non-existent, I tickle my husband even though I know hehates itand I could use some seriousconditioningfor my split ends.

I'm flawed andI accept it. Hee!

 

[Maureen Las]

I really understand what you're saying.Elizabeth, but I started this post a long time ago and I'm worn out byit (although it really caused me to think seriously about everythingsaid)
In general I agree with what you are saying and to bring the farmindustry into the discussion is silly but I got off the original topic .
I also am a horrible housekeeper, can't cook at all, have no mathskillsand have a terrible temper so we have something incommon....I'm flawed too!!!