Need support for my emotional babbling (long)

First of all, I want to say how sorry I am about your loss.:hug: big hugs

Now, this is my successful vets story -

I accidently dropped Nala once and she badly bruised her back legs and refused to use them because they hurt so much. So she just dragged her legs behind her, it was so awful to see. So I immediatley took her to the vets and he felt around, telling me that she definetly, as far as he could tell, had not broken or disloctaed anything. So he gave me an anti-inflammatory drug for her and she made a full recovery. During the check up afterwards, he noticed that Nala smelt quite a bit, so he tested her pee and found that she had a pee infection. So I had medicine for that and in a few days her smell disappeared and she seemed a lot happier.

That is two successful vets stories at once. Don't give up on your vets, it's really upsetting that your first encounter was a bad one but that doesn't neccessarily mean that it's a bad vets. But if you really don't want to go back to that vets in particular, have a search around for another one. But it is important that you do have a vets and one that you are happy with.

I'm sorry you lost your Gabby pig. Sometimes, despite everything you do, you can't save them. But, sometimes you can. I almost lost Oreo to a URI. In fact, one vet told me that I should prepare my daughter (she's nine) for the fact that her beloved guinea pig was going to die in the next day or two. I went on-line, found a more cavy-savvy vet who treated the URI more aggressively, hand-fed the little piggie for about four weeks of ups and downs in terms of recovery. Eventually, she got better. She's wheeking for lettuce right now and sticking her cute little nose through the grids to get my attention. If it hadn't been for the vet, she would have been dead before Christmas.

Find a vet you feel you can trust and make sure you know what to look for so that if something does come up, you can get treatment for your pigs as soon as possible. That doesn't guarantee happy endings, but it helps.

I don't know if I have a happy vet story but... I had the same thing happen to me. I had a young pig die of a URI even after getting her to a vet and doing all we could for her. I too was devastated. I never wanted another pig again. She was, in my mind, the greatest pig ever and I might as well just give up on having pigs because I felt SO sad about her. I was also thinking all of these thoughts that "If I only would have done this, that or the other, she would have been ok." But the truth is, some things just can't be fixed. You and your vet did all you could for your pig. She was just too sick and there was nothing you could do. Vets cannot cure everything. BUT they can cure many many things. Don't be scared to go back. You may have a problem with your new pigs in the future that the vet WILL be able to fix for you. Most likely your new pigs will be happy and healthy for a very long time. Just because your other pig got sick does not mean that all pigs get sick. Just enjoy your new pigs, be alert for signs of trouble (so that you can catch anything early enough to treat it successfully), and in time you will feel better about all the things that are causing you stress right now. I hope you feel better soon!!!

I am also sorry for your loss. It's very sad when a beloved pet dies. One sad truth of the ownership of most animals - dogs, cats, cows, horses, guinea pigs, and many others - is that they are long outlived by us. The only thing we can do is to love them for the short time that they bless us with their presence. I think that we are allowed to grieve and be sad, but we must realize too that other pets are out there and need our love and homes. I hope you learn to relax and enjoy your new piggers. Also know that a trusted veterinarian is irreplaceable. Best wishes to you!