[Gpdd] MISC Condolences for Peppermint

[Penny Charlesworth]

Corrine,

I am so very, very sorry that Peppermint lost the fight for life.

I have also read your GPDD post and I have to say that you really DID do all that you could for your little girl. There are only a certain number of piggy illnesses that can be treated by the layperson and sometimes we do need a vet to help out. You have been sadly let down by the veterinary profession just when you needed them the most. Those vets should be ashamed of themselves, particularly the emergency vet who failed to respond to your plea for help. They are all beneath contempt.

In England too, there are very few vets who are experienced in piggy care so I do hope that the vet that you found on the Big Island will be of help to you in the future with your other piggies.

I once lost a piggy to liver disease and he was passing a lot of blood. Maybe Peppermint did have liver trouble, which would be unlikely to be treatable, however competent the vet. Some things just cannot be cured. A complete post mortem might have shown the actual cause but I have never done this with any of my piggies as I just want to bring them home to their family and can understand your reluctance.

Please, please do not blame yourself. Peppermint will have known how much you loved her and tried to help her but now she is free from pain. You did not kill her but made her life a joy whilst she was with you.

The "running" that you saw her doing is not uncommon with piggies near the end of their lives. Peter Gurney always thought of it as them having a last run in this life before moving on to the next. I think of it as them running to greet their old friends at the Rainbow Bridge. When you feel able, do read his section on piggies dying - under D in his A-Z http://web.onetel.net.uk/~petergurney/d.html  where he explains this better than I could.

Throwing her head back is all part of this process and the large gasp is an attempt to get more oxygen on board. All of this is very traumatic when seen for the first time and even, after 30+ years of having my little piggy sanctuary it is still dreadfully upsetting but understanding what is happening does help me to cope. My dear Pansy, who passed recently, had a few moments of "running" at the end but I was able to tell her that it was OK to run to her friends at the Bridge........I am in tears again typing this. It never gets any easier to bear.

Please accept our most sincere condolences on the loss of your precious Peppermint and give your other piggies a big hug from us all.

R.I.P. precious Peppermint. Lots of Piggyfriends past will have been waiting for you at the Bridge.

Take care,

Penny and the Piggyfriends.