[Gpdd] [RAINBOW BRIDGE] Granny Canny has gone
DebJonSara at aol.com
DebJonSara at aol.com
Mon Apr 3 16:26:49 EDT 2006
When I posted condolences for Lasher just the other day, I mentioned that my
Cannelle had been diagnosed with a terminal condition. Little did I realise
that a few days later I would be posting her obituary, but indeed, I found
our "old lady" dead in her cage first thing this morning. She had huge mammary
tumour that had been misdiagnosed by the local vet as a hernia; it was two
very kind rodentologists who came over from Britain who gave me the correct
diagnosis, and also told me she had fluid on one lung and a weak, slow
heartbeat. They predicted she would pass away within days rather than weeks, and sure
enough, she did. I had given her a special cuddle yesterday evening, but she
was still quite lively and eating, so I didn't realise she was on her way to
The Bridge.
I rescued Cannelle as a heavily pregnant sow in January 2003, and the
rodentologists estimated her age as about 5 years when she left for The Bridge -
apparently one can tell from the back feet? She had 6 babies then, of whom we
kept Scruff, who went to The Bridge November 2004, and Cherry, who came back
to us after being rehomed. When our Claude escaped into the females' run in
Spring 2004, Cannelle was the only one to conceive, so we also have her
mischievous sons, Cannelletto and Zebra, to remember her by - Zebra is like his dad,
but Cannelletto looks a lot like his mum.
Although we were never aware of any of her offspring having had babies, we
always thought of Cannelle as our old granny. When she developed the tumour,
Pete made a special cage for her that she could get in and out of without
jumping, and it became a meeting place for all the others. Although Claude chose
to sleep with his younger harem, he visited his "wife" every day, and spent
most of yesterday with her. He was looking for her today, poor chap. She was a
sweet, gentle piggie, always more at home amongst other piggies than in human
hands, probably because of the way she was kept for her first 2 years, used
as a breeding machine in an overcrowded outdoor hutch. She was one of only
three piggies in her run who survived the massacre by dogs in May 2003, and you
may remember my telling you how she got stuck in the round window of a
wooden house in January this year and had to be sawn out. So she'd had quite a
tough life, and was a brave little trooper.
Actually, she was not so little - she was my heaviest sow, and had not lost
weight during her illness. The rodentologists pointed out, though, that she
was skinny around the spine and hip bones. So if you weigh your piggies
regularly like I do, be warned to pay attention not only to what they weigh but also
to where the weight is - one should not be able to feel their spine or hip
bones.
Run free and popcorn with all those other piggies who have left us, Cannelle
- I hope you know how much we loved you. Ron, could you please put a rainbow
over Cannelle's name on the pooh trail, and also over her old pal Poivre,
who left us 2 years ago, and Poivre's son Red Dandy - I think the Dolly
Mixtures were the only ones with a French flag.
Debbie
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