[Gpdd] HEALTH. Alice's pig

[Penny Charlesworth]

Oh my. What a terrible decision to have to make. You are right, surgery is very hard on piggies and such major surgery would be in unknown territory. I don't know of a vet in England that would be competent to perform this operation. I hope that someone will prove me wrong. You may be more fortunate in North Carolina.

When my elderly dog developed a mass on her leg, my vet would not consider amputation, on account of her age but primarily because the cancer had, most likely, already spread, and she was left to enjoy the remainder of her life supported by painkillers, without the trauma of invasive surgery.

I have had a three legged piggy who was born that way and she managed to run as fast on three legs as her companions did on four so the loss of a limb should not present an insurmountable problem but, personally, I feel that the shock of it all would prove too much for a piggy to bear.

I would hesitate to allow such dramatic intervention on one of my piggies and hope very much that the biopsy shows a benign tumour, which could be left alone. Only you can make the right decision for your piggy.

Wishing you and your piggy the very best of luck,

Paws crossed,

Penny and the Piggyfriends.