Hello everyone...Joined due to an emergency

Clara84 · Sep 1, 2012

Hello everyone and I apologize to contact you with such a dilemma. I have a wonderful sweet guinea pig boy named Brownie. I have had him for 2 years now in September. I used to work as a dog walker and I used to pet sit from my home.

I recently (about 3 weeks ago) we noticed him wheezing at night. We only noticed because the noise would wake us either in the middle of the night or early morning. I have never had a problem with his health before. He has a very healthy appetite. There has been no change in his weight or personality.

We also have a rabbit who does not share a cage or anythng with him but they have co existed in the same home for the 2 years. Now the reason I mention i have done pet sitting is because I was looking up if there was such a thing as a guinea pig wheezing. I read he could have a URI which comes from bordetella virus. I know dogs carry this and since these dogs left he has been not as vocal as usual. He used to squeal a lot whenever we came home or heard a bag rustle or when he wants food.

After having these dogs for 2 weeks they went home (in June) and thats when he stopped his loud squealing. I assumed he wasn't used to being around dogs and became more timid in his squealing. But he was not afraid of the dogs. He does squeal a bit when he is hungry or chirps when hes happy walking around. He runs around the house and he is happy and active and does not seem to be in pain or anything significant except the wheezing which is usually followed by a cough and that is when he ceases the wheezing.

I understand I should take him to the vet which i would but the problem is recently my own dog of 11 years became sick and i was laid off at the time and spent the little savings I had on the vets. Unfortunetly I had to put her down on Wed and now I am worried about him being sick. (My dog lived with my parents so my guinea pig never came in contact with her and what she had was not kennel cough she had some form of cancer)

The reason i am writing is because I can not afford vetinary care for him and am willing to give him up for adoption if someone could give him the proper care. I have read if this goes untreated it could be fatal. I do not want him to pass just because i do not have the funds anymore and I really really hope someone out there can help him. I just want brownie to have a long healthy happy life. Thank you and my apologies for the length of my plea

pinky · Sep 1, 2012

He needs vet care. Treatment for a URI is not terribly expensive. It's diagnosed easily by an exotic vet and the meds are inexpensive. You can ask your vet if they can set up a payment plan if you can't cover the cost right now. Please don't wait, though. An untreated upper respiratory infection can quickly turn into pneumonia and you could lose him.

CavyMama · Sep 1, 2012

If this has been going on for 3 weeks and is loud enough to wake you up out of sleep, it's a HUUGE issue. Guinea pigs are prey animals and tend to hide their symptoms. By the time the symptoms show, it's almost too late. He needs to see a vet like yesterday.

You sound like you care very much for Brownie. Putting the importance of his own health over your desire to maintain him as your pet. Like Pinky said, many times a payment plan can be worked out with the vet but he needs to see a vet right away if he is going to make it.

bpatters · Sep 1, 2012

Care Credit is available for both human and pet medical care. I'd call the exotic vets in your area and see if someone could work out a payment plan for you.

The treatment shouldn't be difficult -- he probably needs an antibiotic, and then a probiotic to go along with it. The probiotic is OTC, and can be purchased at a pet store or a drug store.

Clara84 · Sep 1, 2012

Thank you for your reply and I understand that. Unfortunatley I have not funds and I just started a part time job a week ago. He sleeps right next to our bed we live in a studio so that is why I hear him but it is pretty loud. I am going to call my rabbits exotic vet to see if they can help me somehow. I feel horrible to deny him the proper care but being in and out of the vets for my dog for the last few month has been hard and i had to put my dog down because there was no payment plan ( they were charging about $1000 a day for hospitalization but the vet was honest with us said it didnt look good and with her age she had a lot going on) Being told no these past few months money wise and now finding out he is sick too is just too much. I just hope someone can help him before it is too late. I do not know if it matters but i did purchase him from petco 2 years ago. But he has had no problems until recently. Again thank you for your reply and I will try my best to help him before it is too late.

Clara84 · Sep 1, 2012

I applied for the pet care card this past week and was denied.

Digital_Dad · Sep 1, 2012

What is it you are wanting? He needs a vet, he is having difficulty breathing. You were turned down by one place, ok, go to another then. He needs treatment a forum can not provide. There are other vets who can help. If you must, and can no longer afford his care consider giving him to a local rescue so they can have a chance at saving his life.

Clara84 · Sep 1, 2012

All I need is a shelter or rescue I can take him too I contacted a few so far I was blogging to see what else I can do to get home the help he needs and deserves.

Digital_Dad · Sep 2, 2012

To provide you with shelter/Rescue information we would need to know your general location to refer you to one. Warm moist air is supposed to help relieve the symptoms of wheezing in humans, but as I am not a vet I am unsure if it would provide him with any relief or not. Do you smoke, use any chemicals, have any scented candles or incense burning that may be irritating to him. If you have had dogs there kennel cough is highly contagious as you may already know. His appetite, weight and normal personality are good signs, but prey animals like guinea's rely on hiding their illnesses to stay alive so that may be what he is doing. When ever I try to figure out what is wrong with any of my many animals I always use the approach of trying to find any and all possible factors that could be causing it, write down any symptoms and when they occurred. The more information you can have at your disposal the easier it is to be diagnosed. If you want help finding a shelter or rescue let us know about where you are and please keep us updated so we can help you and others in the future.

Clara84 · Sep 2, 2012

I do not have dogs in my home anymore I no lonnger am dog walking or pet sitting. I live in Brooklyn NY but will travel wherever I need to to take him to get help. I am calling my bunnys vet first thing tomorrow morning to see if they have any suggestions. I do not smoke or burn candles or anything in my home. I do have neighbors who smoke out in the hallway and the smoke comes in occasionally from under the door. We moved here this past January and he just started showing symptoms. I would have found him help sooner but he is my first piggie and I did not think the sound he was making was bad I thought he was making a different call. But last night I woke up to see what was wrong and as I was holding him he continued to wheeze until he coughed then stopped. I finally realized this is not normal even tho he showed no signs of being sick. Thank you so much

Digital_Dad · Sep 2, 2012

He may have something logged in his throat, very common. Or it may be a reaction to a pesticide? Hard to say without knowing all the factors of your environment. Here is a resource I found of your areas rescue shelters (broken link removed) , (broken link removed) Salem, NY 12865
[email protected] Amy , Veterinarians and Clinics . I hope this helps and again please keep us posted.

Digital_Dad · Sep 2, 2012

This too Guinea Pig Shelters and Rescue Groups .

NorthernLight · Sep 2, 2012

I'm really very sorry to hear about your situation, and Brownie's. I have mentioned to a few folks on the forum that I can relate to financial hardship and the expense of a veterinarian, and have personally benefited from payment plans. It sounds like a payment plan with your vet is not an option for you, nor Care Credit. If I may, allow me to offer up some ideas (some of them better than others):

*Reach out to local rescues and shelters to surrender your guinea pig and/ or seek veterinary help. I suspect a local small animal rescue organization would know of a cheap, knowledgeable vet who could help. You *may* not even have to surrender your animal to get this help, depending upon the organization.

*Reach out to not-so-local small animal rescue organizations, because they may be able to direct you to a place/ person/ group that IS local. Get the word out about Brownie and hopefully someone will know someone who knows someone in your area who can assist you.

*Google search "guinea pig emergency help" or "emergency veterinary help", etc. (I have not Googled these phrases, so I don't know what you will find). Google whatever helpful phrases you could think of- it was by doing this that I found some help for a dog's vet bill some years ago. Most of the services I found were for low-income folks, which may be useful to you.

*This is one of my least-favorite options, and may also seem obvious, but you could ask family and friends for assistance. Sometimes even $20 can get your foot in the door with an emergency vet. One of my friends even called a veterinarian directly with his credit card number in hand. He could only loan me about $100 at that time, but the vet allowed me to come up with the rest based upon a promisory note (a document you sign to agree to make payments, usually at specified dates, over time).

*I am not really a fan of Craigslist for a lot of reasons, mean people being one of them. But you may be able to get Brownie's story out there and *possibly* get some constructive advice or help. I wouldn't ask for financial assistance, but maybe leads to veterinarians that take payment plans.

I hope one of these suggestions could be of use to you. I am terribly sorry, once again, to hear of the loss of your beloved dog, your job, and now Brownie's health trouble. Good luck, and please act as soon as you possibly can because Brownie's life depends upon it.

Clara84 · Sep 2, 2012

I have contacted my exotic vet and they charge $95 plus any extra medicine. I contacted a local shelter for piggies but they are booked and can not take any more guinea pigs. I also contacted have a heart which is in Burlington NJ and I do not have a car but might be able to take public transportation out there if I can not find any other local help. One of the shelters suggested to take him to animal care and control but I do not want him to get put down. I would ask to borrow money from my mom (since that is the only relative I could ask) but we are both tapped out with taking our dog to the vet the last few months. Again thank you so much to everyone for the help. I am trying my best to get my little boy the proper care he needs and deserves.

pinky · Sep 2, 2012

Don't try any home remedies as they might make it worse. I'd still contact the exotic vet and ask to make payments. Meds are very inexpensive so it should not be much more than the office fee. Where are you located? The office visits here in the Chicago suburbs run $33 to $65 for two exotic vets near me.

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Hello everyone...Joined due to an emergency

Clara84

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pinky

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CavyMama

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bpatters

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Clara84

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Clara84

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Digital_Dad

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Clara84

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Digital_Dad

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Clara84

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Digital_Dad

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Digital_Dad

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NorthernLight

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Clara84

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pinky

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