[Gpdd] Rainbow Bridge - Timothy

Julia Porter tabithaporter at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 31 03:53:17 EDT 2004


I don't post very often, but this morning I am heartbroken and had to share my feelings with people that understand.
 
Timothy came into my life a short 15 months ago.  2 of my original piggies, Tabitha and Charlotte, had passsed away and the 2 girls, Iolanthe and Belinda, that came to take the void they filled did not get on.  As I had another established pair of girls in another cage, it was not an option to split Iolanthe and Belinda up.  Having contacted a friend who runs a GP sanctuary, she advised me that putting a neutered boar in with them would calm them down, so a trip to the pet shop was in order (there are no rescues where I live).  I went to a couple, but didn't see anyone suitable, however, the minute I saw this huge pig in a cage, I knew he had to be mine.  He was so handsome - his face was agouti, his middle was white and he had the perfect "battenburg" bum, half agouti and half ginger.  For good measure, he had one pink ear and one brown ear.  I took him to the vet, who advised me to wait for 5 weeks and then I could "have him done".  The day of the op was endless - I'd only had him
 5 short weeks, but I'd already fallen in love.  Fortunately, he was fine and stuffing his face by the end of the day, typical for him!  My vet advised me to wait a further 4 weeks before putting him in with the girls, which we did.  A very long 4 weeks for Timothy, who could smell the girls and didn't like being on his own.
 
In the meantime, the last of my original piglets died, leaving me with 4 young girls, so I took the opportunity to build a C&C cage and decided to put all 5 in together.  After the usual squabbling, they all settled down and were very happy together.  Especially Timothy, he loved it!
 
He was the biggest pig I have ever seen, having done some research, the average boar is 1400g - last time I weighed him, he was 1700g!!  He had the personality to match - the girls are very quiet for some reason, unlike their predecessors, they very rarely wheep, and hardly ever for food.  I really missed the wheeping until Timothy came along -and he was always shouting at me for something, or rattling the bars or just staring me out until I gave in!  Needless to say, he was always successful.  He was nearly always eating, but never that fat, he was just a big pig and he was healthy.  Unfortunately, the girls hav not always been healthy - in fact, I have never met a bunch of sicker GPs, I am at the vet at least once a week and if 2 weeks go by without a vet visit, I consider myself to be very lucky.  Indeed, just before Christmas, I was there 12 times in 2 weeks - sadly, Delilah left us during this time, she was only 18 months old, so unfair.  Anyway, I digress, my vet hadn't seen
 Timothy for over a year and I had to take him down about 5 months ago - I had always told the vet how big he was, but I don't think he believed me until I plonked him on the table - the vet's reaction was to say "Good Lord" (or words to that effect) when he saw him, he couldn't believe how big he was either.
 
Anyway, Timothy's been fine apart from the odd nose scab.  He's been running around, rumblestrutting, eating anything and everything in sight and generally having a great GP life.  I took him out on Tuesday evening to treat his nose and some sixth sense told me to feel his chin - I found 2 lumps the size of golf balls there.  I knew it wasn't good news, but I hoped he'd be OK.  I took him to the vet on Wednesday and he said we'd have to have them cut out as they would soon start to affect him - he offered to take him from me there and then and do the op on Thursday.  I said I'd take him home because he hadn't had his tea and wouldn't be very happy if he got left and I also thought I'd never forgive myself if he didn't survive the anasthaetic and I could have had him at home for his last night. So, I took him in on Thursday morning - the longest morning of my life, but I phoned at 1pm and was told he was fine and that I could collect him.  The vet told me that the lumps weren't
 abcesses and that he suspected they could be cancerous, so I said we should send them off for analysis.  What a mess!  Not because of the vet, but just because of the size of the lumps - they'd had to cut all under his jaw open, so he had a huge wound.  I took the afternoon off on Thursday to keep an eye on him, and he seemed OK.  He attempted a small bit of food on Thursday night, so I took this to be a good sign.  Yesterday morning however, he seemed really depressed and wouldn't eat anything - mind you, I could understand - I guessed he must be in a lot of pain from his stitches, but I phoned the vet to make sure.  The girl who answered the phone said it had been a big operation and that he probably wouldn't eat for a day or so as he was so sore, so not to worry.  He seemed quite perky at lunchtime and since I had to give some Baytril anyway, I syringed a very small amount of food and water into him, which he wasn't overly pleased with, but I thought it was a good idea.  He
 looked worse and worse throughout the evening, and while he had been moving quite proficiently during the day, he was kind of falling around by then.  The emergency vet doesn't know much about GPs, so I decided not to phone them.  I sat and cuddled and kissed him and put him back in his pigloo and prayed and went to bed.
 
I got up at 4am for a toilet visit and decided to pop my head round the door to check on him - it was too late, he'd died and I am absolutely devastated.  I feel so guilty - he was only a baby.  The lumps weren't bothering him and he'd obviously had them for a while.  There he was, on Tuesday night, wandering about as usual, quite happily, eating and wheeping and now he's dead - because I put him in for an operation.  If I hadn't done that, he'd still be here, shouting at me for his breakfast but I did and he's dead.  He was such a huge piece of my life - I know you shouldn't have favourites, but in his case, I couldn't help it - I was always talking about him.  I just feel like I've murdered him for no reason.  I'm getting married next year, and my fiance and I will be selling our flats in the next couple of months and so I will be moving - so if I bury him in the garden, I'll have to leave him here.  It's so unfair, why did I have to find the lumps?  Why did he have to leave me -
 he was only a baby.
 
Goodnight, darling, I loved you more than I can say, I just hope that you and Delilah have met up at the Rainbow Bridge and that you don't hate me too much.
 
Sorry, I've rambled on enough now, I'm just so upset, I had to share with others who'd understand.
 
Thanks for listening
 
Julia
& Belinda, Iolanthe, Cordelia and Persephone
remembering Tabitha, Charlotte, Perdita, Ophelia, Delilah and Timothy at the bridge

		
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