sallyvh
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Posts
- 1,392
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2014
- Messages
- 1,392
I don't post much on the forum anymore, however I thought some of you may appreciate following a new rescue story that will hopefully have a happy ending.
A few days ago a Kijiji ad was brought to my attention of someone rehoming a senior guinea pig. Here's a screen capture of the ad:
You don't often see people rehoming pigs of this age, so I decided to contact the seller to get some more information. Sadly, what I found out was so shocking and disturbing.
The seller couldn't remember the exact date, but said her sister purchased two female guinea pigs from a petsmart 5-7 years ago. After a couple years the one passed away so the sister gave this guinea pig to the seller.
Once talking to her, the seller admitted that she "didn't vibe" with the guinea pig and she was rarely handled. She said she was maybe picked up 10 times in all the years she had her. She's also only been fed cheap pellets all this time. No hay. No veggies.
I decided to just go get her, as I cannot fathom a senior animal having been just ignored like this for so many years. So I picked her up today and her cage was absolutely disgusting. A thin layer of pine/cedar shavings. VERY dirty and the waterbottle had a thick layer of algae on the inside. The whole thing is going straight into the garbage.
The pig herself isn't in horrible shape, but definitely not great either. She's quite small in stature and a little on the thin side, but not horrible. Thankfully her eyes are clear and bright, no discharge and her breathing sounds clear. Most concerning though are her back feet. On top of just being dirty overall, her back feet look like they have bumblefoot, with the one being quite swollen.
She's very skittish, which is to be expected, but she has been nibbling on hay. She's in quarantine for a few weeks while I observe her and hope to get her feet looking better with soaks and medication. I'm going to try to get her into the vet sometime next week for a check-up, but my preferred clinic is only seeing emergencies right now, so I will see if it's an option or if an appointment will be delayed.
I think we've decided on the name Mabel for her. I'll keep everyone updated on her progress. Here's some photos of her, her prior living conditions and her poor feet. Here's hoping that I can turn things around for her and she can live out the remainder of her life.
A few days ago a Kijiji ad was brought to my attention of someone rehoming a senior guinea pig. Here's a screen capture of the ad:
You don't often see people rehoming pigs of this age, so I decided to contact the seller to get some more information. Sadly, what I found out was so shocking and disturbing.
The seller couldn't remember the exact date, but said her sister purchased two female guinea pigs from a petsmart 5-7 years ago. After a couple years the one passed away so the sister gave this guinea pig to the seller.
Once talking to her, the seller admitted that she "didn't vibe" with the guinea pig and she was rarely handled. She said she was maybe picked up 10 times in all the years she had her. She's also only been fed cheap pellets all this time. No hay. No veggies.
I decided to just go get her, as I cannot fathom a senior animal having been just ignored like this for so many years. So I picked her up today and her cage was absolutely disgusting. A thin layer of pine/cedar shavings. VERY dirty and the waterbottle had a thick layer of algae on the inside. The whole thing is going straight into the garbage.
The pig herself isn't in horrible shape, but definitely not great either. She's quite small in stature and a little on the thin side, but not horrible. Thankfully her eyes are clear and bright, no discharge and her breathing sounds clear. Most concerning though are her back feet. On top of just being dirty overall, her back feet look like they have bumblefoot, with the one being quite swollen.
She's very skittish, which is to be expected, but she has been nibbling on hay. She's in quarantine for a few weeks while I observe her and hope to get her feet looking better with soaks and medication. I'm going to try to get her into the vet sometime next week for a check-up, but my preferred clinic is only seeing emergencies right now, so I will see if it's an option or if an appointment will be delayed.
I think we've decided on the name Mabel for her. I'll keep everyone updated on her progress. Here's some photos of her, her prior living conditions and her poor feet. Here's hoping that I can turn things around for her and she can live out the remainder of her life.