[Gpdd] RAINBOW BRIDGE: Audrey

[warmbreath at comcast.net]

Dear Pat,   I am so very sorry Audrey passed, and knowing you were right 
that the end was imminent. She suffered over a short period of time as is 
natural for piggies. While vet visits would have been the wiser course I'm 
quite sure you know as does everyone on this list that there are many 
illness' for which there are no cures, the inevitable may be postponed but 
for piggies there is a cost in disruption and treatments, its a hard 
decision for each of us to make, esp. for those of us who dont have a really 
good vet at hand. In hindsight Audrey had a relatively fast and painless 
decline, best you can tell and she lived a happy live with you as her mom 
and her loving roommate. If the first symptom happened today I would say to 
get her to the vet but this is after. While there were other choices you 
could have made, the illness and outcome were after that happy life, and 
were pretty benign and fast, so I find that I must diagnose you with that 
most common ailment of piggy parents, guilt and I want to suggest it is 
misplaced. Every time you try to kick your butt I want you to divert your 
thinking immediately to those long happy years, that was your gift to her 
and what made her life happy. I'm not saying not grieve, please just dont 
blame yourself. She even had her best friend pig supervise her passing and 
it sounds like that's what she preferred. It is only a portion of my piggies 
that insist I be that companion, others chose their piggie companions. Sows 
are very communal and even assist in the births of babies being born in the 
same cage.

I have suffered this guilt malady and please believe me the advice I give on 
the subject of piggy death and bereavement have been learned at huge cost to 
myself. Mistakes, delay, the whole ball of wax, many mistake after the vet 
visits, even after hugely expensive surgery, there is no recipe for sure 
success and our blesses piggies will all beat us to the Rainbow Bridge.  I 
am not advocating that we take no action, but in Audrey's case she is gone 
and we can look back. Even if her weight loss happened over a period of time 
she felt fine most of that time.  I have learned allot from my mistakes and 
know my many piggies had very happy lives over the many years, so it's just 
this experience I wish to share with you, give yourself a break and focus on 
the happy times and you future good times with Doris and her new life with 
you and her new roommate. She sounds like such a fine caring piggy and she 
needs you now. I hope people will remind me of these words when something 
happens to my precious Sammy.

The sad truth is that sows tend to get degenerative changes that often lead 
to death  in their reproductive systems, I think it's not as bad as rabbits, 
and female buns are routinely spayed, even at the shelters. Guinea pigs are 
not routinely spayed  and consequently vets have much less experience with 
them and so their mortality is high enough that I hesitate to spay, and that 
is the ONLY cure, and it certainly cant be done in old age.

So I beg you to stop blaming yourself, I know in time your grief will allow 
you to see this but I hope in any small way to shorten that period. Please 
remember the good times, spend extra time with Doris.  Its good to plan her 
future. My opinion is that when you choose and introduce her to a new pig 
treat them as though they are both mean ole boars, by that I mean the whole 
treatment, neutral space, baths first, a big salad in the middle.  You never 
know who will get along with who, domination issues always come up mild or 
wild.  You never know it could be Doris who ends up a little dominant.  By 
this I mean she may get along with either of the pigs you describe unless 
that boss sow you mention never got along with anyone. To get along  2 pigs 
have to agree who is dominant and who is not, it's when they dont agree that 
the most trouble occurs (exceptions exist)

I hope my words help you, as you have helped Audrey have a fine life and 
that's what counts. Forgive me if you feel I dint heed your wishes, but I 
felt these thoughts didn't violate that instructions. I wish you the deepest 
condolences,  love always Sandy and Sammy