[Gpdd] Misc: Re: Pet Stores

[Leah McNeil]

Sherry,
Your story about Curly really hit home
for me because, I too have bought a sick
pig from a pet store. Back in Jan 2000,
about a wheeeek after my 1st pig, Amberlea
passed away, I was in our local PetsMart
and saw a bunch of cute baby g-pigs. But,
the one that caught my eye was this sickly
looking piggie with crusty eyes and runny
nose--he was obviously sick. And he was
the runt so he was getting pushed around
by the bigger pigs. So, I Had to save him.

I brought him home and set up his area.
He was so little and so delicate (and by
the way, I thought he was a she, so I
named him Brittney Lea). I lived by myself
in a one bedroom and I was used to having
my Beloved Amberlea sleep in my bedroom
at night. During the day, I kept the cage
in the living room. Well, my apt was on the
1st floor and my bedroom was Freezing at
night. So, I pretty much started sleeping
in the living room, so I could keep an eye
on B-Lea and keep him away from the draft.

Long story short, I nursed him back to
good health and thought that everything
was gonna be fine after he was all well.
But, I was wrong. I think because he was
so sickly as a baby, that it did irreparable
damage to his body. And he had problems his
entire short life. First, something was
wrong with one of his ears, but the Vet
(inexperienced) couldn't find anything
wrong with him. Looking back, I am almost
positive it was mites, but really I don't
know for sure. His ears was always dry,
and I had the scrape test done several
times, etc. etc. etc. I always worried
about the little fella, but he was overall
okay. He would have his good days and his
bad days. 

Well, after he was a little over 1 year old,
he lost the ability to close his left eye.
And I took him to several Vets, but no one
could figure out why. I think that's when
I started writing into the Digest. Before
then, I was just a reader. And several Slaves
(like Judi from MGPR) helped me a lot. So,
I had to put ointment in his eye 2-3 times
a day, and it seemed to bother me more than
it did him. He was a Sweet, little guy and
had so much Character for something so small.
He slowly deteriorated after his left-eye
problem and 6 months later, I helped him
over the Bridge. He hadn't eaten on his own
for over 3 days and I knew that he wasn't
going to make it. And I didn't want to watch
him die (like I did Amberlea).  He lived to
be 1 year/8 months old, but honestly, to this
day, I truly believe that my Love was keeping
him alive. He was such a Fighter, even up
until the day he was gone. When I told him
that I was going to take care of everything
(right before I took him to the Emerg. Vet)
he totally tried to perk up and act like
nothing was wrong for a few minutes. But,
when I gave him a baby carrot, he couldn't
even pretend like he wanted to eat it. I was
so upset and crying that I could barely drive
to the Vet's.

Well, I'm sorry to tell such a sad story. :-(
I need Happy thoughts now, so I think I'm
gonna look at some of ya'll's websites.

    Love 'n Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeps,
      Leah...Slave to Brownie Bear and
                        Butterscotch :-)

***Always remembering my 'Special Needs' Piggie,
         Brittney Lea...



		
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