[VoodooJoint]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]On January 26 2005 I pulled from a backyard a Male Guinea Pig and two Rabbits (male and female), survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the last survivors of 11 rabbits and 3 guinea pigs.. The rabbits were transported north where they would have a chance of adoption. The male Guinea Pig stayed with me. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Gumbo, as the guinea pig was renamed, was in good/poor condition. He was a bit underweight, dirty and his nails were overgrown and curling around. He also had a large foot spur. Under loving care he quickly put weight back on and his injuries and issues from neglect were soon healed. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Gumbo’s physical appearance was starling. He has a general tattered look to him. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Upon investigating the story of his life before the storm I found out that Gumbo was housed in an outdoor hutch with at least one rabbit. The hutch he and the rabbit lived in was inadequate. It had a wire floor, no resting boards, no enclosed housing for the animals to get out of the weather or stay warm in and was open to the wind on 3 sides. The only furnishings in the hutch was a cinder block, a plastic milk crate and a bowl of scummy water that once held food. A couple of handfuls of poor quality hay and pine needles along with newspaper were thrown into the hutch as their only means of burrowing for warmth and relief from the wires. Gumbo’s feet were red and inflamed but luckily he did not yet have a full blown case of Bumblefoot. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]The hutch where Gumbo lived [/FONT]







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