[Gpdd] MISC: pet stores

[sherry bevins]

Good afternoon fellow piggie slaves!

I am new to the GPDD and have only written one time (I'm kinda shy), but I 
wanted to share an experience that I had with a local pet store. I often 
shopped for supplies for my piggies at this store, and also bought several 
of my piggie friends there. On this particular day I noticed a little guinea 
pig sitting hunched up in a corner who was obviously in need of some extra 
care. I mentioned to a sales person that I thought the little guy might be 
sick and asked him what the store policy was in dealing with sick animals. 
He told me that the sick animals were kept in cages in another room until 
they could be sent back to the place where they came from, which in this 
case was out of state. I asked him if they ever had a vet to come out and 
see the sick ones. He replied that they did not. I then stated that I 
thought this little guy needed some extra attention, to which he rather 
indignantly replied that if there was one thing that they got it was 
attention. I explained that I wasn't trying to say that they didn't get 
proper care, but that this particular little one was in need of veterinary 
attention and that without it he could possibly die. Well, I guess he 
thought that I was some kind of a kook or troublemaker because he eventually 
just brushed me off and went on about his business. After speaking to at 
least two other employees, and hearing basically the same story from each, 
none of which offered any hope of the poor little guy getting the help that 
he needed, I decided to buy him. I spent three days syringe feeding him 
around the clock until our vet could see him. Luckily, with medication and 
lots of TLC, he recovered. We placed him with one of our older males and 
they became good friends. He made the cutest little booping noises which 
kind of reminded us of some of the sounds that Curly of the Three Stooges 
made, so we named him Curly. For about six months he did well, even though 
he remained tiny,weighing only one pound. Then he got sick again. Somehow he 
had injured his eye, which never really got better, even though our vet gave 
us antibiotic ointment to put in it. His health just went downhill slowly 
but surely. He would sit hunched up in a corner most of the time. One 
morning he just seemed to be gasping, and so I rushed him over to the vet's 
office, thinking that there probably wasn't anything that could be done for 
him. Surprisingly, his lungs were not terribly congested, and our vet 
thought that he would be fine after a round of antibiotics. For another 
month he struggled to get well; he was still eating and drinking, so I had 
hope. Then one morning I found that he couldn't stand up without staggering 
around as though he were dizzy. I watched, horrified, as he had convulsions. 
We never found out what was wrong with him. Nothing else that we tried to do 
to get him better worked. He allowed me to syringe feed him for about three 
weeks. As long as he seemed to be trying, I didn't want to give up. He 
finally got so thin and weak that I felt guilty for forcing him to eat and 
drink. He finally stopped accepting any kind of nourishment, and then I knew 
it was time to let go. For eight months he was part of our family and we 
loved him dearly. He was such a brave little fellow. I went back to the pet 
store several times after that and saw more little guinea pigs that had 
crusty eyes and noses. I can no longer go in there because each time I see a 
sick little one I want to bring it home. It is heartbreaking the way these 
helpless animals are shipped into these stores. Those little babies have to 
be really strong to withstand the stress. I was told that some of them don't 
even survive the trip.
It is so sad. Well, this has gotten a bit long-winded, but I have to applaud 
those who go on piggie patrol to their local pet stores. I just wonder how 
many other people have purchased a sick, stressed out little piggie from one 
of these stores, only to have the same heartbreaking experience that we had 
with Curly.

Best wishes to all,

Sherry and piggie friends ( Pepper, Cinnamon, Sweetheart, Ivory,Cocoa, CJ, 
Lucky, Wimpy. Flick, Fluffy,Ginger,Newbie, Mr.T, Stripe, and Merry)