[Gpdd] [RAINBOW BRIDGE] Geranium at the Bridge :-(

[Joan]

Hi you guys.  I've been mostly a lurker here for quite a while.  The
last of my two guinea pigs made the trip to the Bridge lately.  She
was about 5 1/2.  Fortunately, she did pretty well until the last
couple of days and took the trip herself just about when I thought it
was time to take her to the vet.  She loved dandelion leaves and wheat
grass and strawberry leaves.  What I had to go through to get them for
her during her last few weeks on earth!! (she wouldn't eat any other
veggies but would devour them with gusto).

Several of you helped me when she got depressed after her life partner
Petunia died about a year ago and Geranium was depressed.  I want to
thank those of you who wrote to me now, even though I didn't respond
to much email then.  I was just so busy taking care of all our other
18 animals that I had to neglect something, and I thought better to
neglect email than animals.

Anyway, miraculouly, this little pig, who had been shy and skittish
all her life, finally decided to trust us a little and drew closer to
us, and I think that helped her come out of her depression.  That plus
the fact that we bent over backwards trying to find her treats that
she liked.  When I would give out salad to the buns and to Geranium
(kept separately, yes.), she would look at the store bought salad mix
and look at me sadly, and I knew that meant I was supposed to go
outside (in the rain and dark and wind) and scavange for whatever
yummy fresh stuff I could find in our small garden and the yard that
might be to her liking.  No thank you to  the fennel, well maybe to a
few celery leaves, if the moon was full and the planets were lined up
just right...  She got so she knew that, when I went out after she
gave me "the look" I would return with some acceptable offerings.

So I think she was doing okay when she finally got sick and had to
leave.  The vet thought she had a tumor in her lower abdomen but
thought it was too risky to operate, and it didn't seem to bother her,
except she would tend to dribble urine and her butt would get red and
dirty and sore.  She even got to the point where she didn't mind
getting butt baths; in fact, I think she sort of liked it, because the
warm water felt good and she knew she felt better after she was nice
and clean, with healing salve on her behind.  

We have left her pen up for several weeks now, just so her little
piggie spirit knows she is always welcome here, but now I think it is
time to take it all down.  So we have some piggy supplies to give
away.

Does anybody live anywhere near the Oregon coast?  We have a nice
large coroplast and cubes pen.  The coroplast needs to be thrown out,
but we have a nice fresh 4' x 8' sheet of coroplast and the cubes, and
we also have some piggie toys and bedding.  I would love to give them
to somebody on this list if anybody lives near enough to come get
them.  It would mean a lot to me to know that they are going to
somebody who loves piggies.  Please contact me by email
(jwikler at casco.net) if you want them or know somebody who could use
them.

I want to say that it has been really nice finding a community of such
loving caring people who care so much about guinea pigs.  It really
does my heart good.  And I want to thank you all for the support you
give just by being here and all the good information you all share.

Warm regards,

Joan ("Momma Jo") Wikler