Thanks. I was starting to feel discouraged- like maybe I was sticking my nose in where it wasn't wanted, even though I was only trying to help. I have the heart of a giver and I love to give, but sometimes people don't want it. So I appreciate your telling me that.
The way I see it is this. Some piggies are only ever able to get along with one piggy and then that's it for them. Maybe, if they grieve like we do (and I don't know, just saying), they get so close to one piggy they don't really want to move on to another buddy. I wouldn't have any clue as to whether they might strike out in grief, not wanting another piggy to have the space the other piggy had. I know it's humanistic feelings on a piggy, and this is all speculation, but is it possibly true? There are a lot of piggies that have a hard time moving onto another buddy after the loss of their first, so it's not too far fetched, I don't think.
But as far as DC is concerned, from what I've heard, he hasn't even tried to go after Patches (until recently, of course- and then it was possible he was only defending himself). So if you can afford to build another cage- one cage for Patches, the other for DC and buddy- and you can afford to take care of a third pig, maybe you could find out if a buddy could be found for DC. Maybe Patches was trying to tell you something during all those failed attempts, maybe he wasn't ready for someone else, but what about DC? The attempts to match him with someone might be a little more successful.
I know it's not the best situation to leave a piggy alone, but sometimes that's what they want. It's rare, but it does happen. I would concentrate on making them both comfortable and hoping to have better success with DC. You might be able to get your second cage half price if you can find someone willing to get rid of their cubes for free/reduced price on CL or FreeCycle.
