[Gpdd] GPDD (Health) (Love, Care for All Piggies/ Piggy Parents)

Ellen Garrison lola.garrison at gmail.com
Fri Aug 20 03:58:42 EDT 2010


Hi Everyone and Everypig!

As I sit here catching up, I was just reading about what M. wrote about her
Fugly, and how it struck me in that I have named the chinchilla in our
family after him; but the other thing that I must share about is how, in
reading about little Fugly having kidney stones, it reminded me of how my
Rufie had basically the same thing.  When the vet took xrays, it looked on
the xray that two stones were in one kidney, although later it was
discovered that they were caught in the ureter.  I loved Rufie with all my
heart.  I had done all I possibly could do for him. In some ways, I still
feel it was not enough.  I did not want him to suffer, and it was so
exhausting to me that looking back it seems all a blur.  I feel that I was
not always aware whether or not he was not in pain, and if he was, if I had
known, I would have acted quicker to alleviate it.  Because I know that the
number one thing that we all want, is for our little ones to be
comfortable.
When I had Li'l Guy, my first piggie, who showed signs of arthritis,
blindness, etc. I was still pretty much clueless and naive when it came to
whatever the problem was.  I did not mention this last month, but he passed
two years ago on July 24th. When I was reading about Laura's Frodo the
Vacant, and I do apologize if I come across as sounding insensitive, because
I really do not mean to, I just have not had the time to catch up with the
digest, so I am still two months behind and now that we have the internet
back at work, hopefully in more time I will be able to catch up in no time;
what with my laptop working at home now, too.  I just do not know the status
of Frodo or any of the others right now as I am not up to date so please
excuse me for being so late. I promise to catch up and condolences to any
piggy parent who has lost a piggy.  But when I was reading what Laura wrote
about Frodo becoming paralyzed due to arthritis, I did not know this could
happen to a piggy.
I have shared about this before, and grief is a strange thing,  I have
mentioned things about Rufie's death before and also Li'l Guy's and Gin
Gin's. I feel like I unawarely "used my guinea pigs as guinea pigs", at
times, and never knew what to do as a result of not really learning what to
do.  I feel like we as humans owe a lot to the helpless little animal lives
that humans have learned a lot from as a whole; and luckily since I have
studied the Gpdd and what all of you have to say I am now finally getting a
better idea of what to do and what not not to do.  But I still feel a little
guilty and it breaks my piggy-loving heart.
With Li'l Guy Antonio, well, he was at least 6 years old. He like the others
I read about in here with the same symptoms, had a huge appetite.  I noticed
he was getting bad vision, the other thing was if he was in a cage he never
like to be picked up out of the cage, so I do not know what happened but he
acquired this behaviour of each time, trying to bite my hand whenever I
picked him up, I mean, hard. So I had to use a hand towel to pick him up.  I
know he was an "only" piggy with me first, rescued from the trauma of being
with a pecking order of boars, and he was small and very scared when I first
got him, I think he was about 2 (that was back in October 2004.)  I had my
other bunny at the time who he adored.  We moved and I had to take the
bunnies to the rabbit sanctuary.
I then got Gin Gin, and Li'l Guy fell in love! My idea was to have him
neutered so he was fixed, but I do not think I will ever do that again
because it puts them through trauma.  I had the idea then that he could be
with Gin Gin, which worked, because I did not want her to become pregnant
having already turned 6 months old. Piggies over 6 months old, should not
get pregnant, this I did read about from Peter Gurney.  Still I was naive
about cavies.
When I rescued Rufie from another pet store where he had been attacked (his
ear was torn) from a bunch of baby pigs, Li'l Guy became apparently jealous
but looking back, I know he was just in fear.  I again was clueless, and let
the piggies run around as I cleaned cages.  This took place one night when I
let the two boars out shortly after getting Rufie, thinking they would "get
to know" each other.  They got in a rumble-tumble fight, and I reached in
to get Li'l Guy, who weighed 3 lbs. at the time (1344 gms.) he just chomped
down on my hand and then my finger and I remember having to shake him off.
He was fine, I was not. But I took care of my wound.  So I learned a little
bit more....he was just threatened, but so robust and resilient, up until
that night when I came home from work and he was having convulsions.  I was
so ignorant, and I wish to God I had left the Air condiiotiner on that hot
July day.  I had fans on and gave the other three piggies ice bottles, but I
was afraid Li'l Guy was going to get cold or something.  I had been scolded
by the landlord-from-hell (what a nightmare that was) about having my air
conditioner on. He was horrible, just horrible, and I was so scared and
intimidated by him that on that one day, I left it off. The fans were all
on, windows open, and they were not ever in direct sunlight.  I just was
afraid I could not leave Li'l Guy with an ice bottle, and go to work.  It
upset me so much that to this day I need to get it out of my system.  Well,
I had no idea then that he had become arthritic though I noticed that
sometimes he would falter, and was getting 'clumsy' he still could walk. I
also sensed he may have had an URI and I had not enough money to take him to
the vet.  In my own mind I was doing everything I possibly could do:  they
were always getting plenty of hay, water, pellets, and at least one cup of
veggies a day.  Never in direct sunlight. Always kept dry.  I was just
afraid...I came home from work, and he was on his back, in convulsions from
heat stroke, but also I think it came on because he could not right himself
after falling onto his back, as Laura, I think, said Frodo was doing.
Before I went to work, I had known something was not right and I just could
not put my finger on it.  I now realize, he had struggled for the majority
of those nine hours I was gone, trying to right himself back up off his
back, I beleive now his back legs may have become paralyzed; as I read more
in Gpdd I learn more.  I think this because when I took him out of his cage
and put him on the floor he fell over again, and he felt very hot. It was
about 10:20 pm and I calle dthe vet's emergency line and she told me what to
do.  I gave him some ibuprofen, melatonin and serotonin to ease his
suffering, whichis all I had in my medicine cabinet.  The vet said it was
not to save his life but to make him comfortable. As soon as I did this, and
this was really a tiny, tiny bit of these three chemicals, just a fraction,
he stopped twitching, and I just held onto him, exhausted, and placed him on
my chest, lying on the floor, and he stopped moving, and I felt the spirit
leave his body, and I was still in denial; but later I felt so guilty, and I
told the vet I felt that I was not there for him, and she said that in the
end, I was there for him, and that he had been critically dying.
So this hurt so much; it was something we went through, and now that I have
clarified it in my own mind by expressing it here, I feel I can finally
forgive myself for actions that were maybe not the most wise.  For I know
that Lil Guy ahs already forgiven me a long time ago. I love you  Li'l Guy,
Rufie, Cheyenie, and Gin Gin, and Mercy too.
I will see you at the bridge some day.
Thank you for letting me share this, my heart goes out to all of you.


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