RIP, Ruffles. We'll miss our chirper.

[bpatters]

Friday night at midnight, Ruffles was fine -- begging at the end of the cage for her "treats" -- Oxbow Vitamin C and a Urinary Support tablet -- and her dinner. Saturday morning I left the house early and in a hurry, so just put the pigs' plate of vegetables in the cage and ran out the door. When I got home at one, some of the breakfast food was left, which is very unusual.

I checked them out, and Ruffles was sitting in the corner of the cage. Her eyes were runny, and her breathing was very labored. I grabbed her up and left for the vet, calling them on the way to tell them I was bringing her in.

A x-ray showed her lungs full of fluid, and with fluid outside the lungs, so opaque the doctor couldn't even see her heart. The three likely causes were heart failure, cancer, or a virulent pneumonia. An ultrasound might have showed the heart problems or a tumor, but she was so stressed out by the x-ray and her breathing was so labored that we decided not to do one. We put her on Baytril and Lasix and I brought her home, planning to take her back for another x-ray on Monday if she survived the weekend.

I hand-fed her about every two hours, as she would only take about five cc. of CC at a time. Until about three this morning, she would also eat a bite or two of some other food, usually carrot, tomato, or radicchio. But at three she refused the syringe with the CC, and got so upset that she could barely breathe. I tried again at five, but she again resisted the syringe and immediately had a seizure. I knew then it was useless to continue, so held her and scritched her ears until she was ready to be put down. She had another seizure when I put her in the cage, and was gone when I got up at eight.

I will take her in for a necropsy later today, mainly because if it's a fast-moving bacterial infection I need to know so I can have the appropriate medicine on hand in case Patty shows any signs of developing it.

RIP, Ruffles. There are no house eagles at the Rainbow Bridge, and you and Flourish are together again. We miss you terribly already.

 

[poop_patrol]

Clearly she missed her best piggie friend and now they can be together again. So sorry you lost Ruffles so closely on the heels of losing Flourish. We all know they had the best possible life and best possible care. All pigs should be so lucky. You honor their memory every time you help another pig in need on this board.

 

[jaycriae]

I'm very sorry for your loss. She was well-cared for until the very end, and that's the most any pig can hope for.

 

[Beatrix187]

I am so sorry for your loss. Ruffles must have been a wonderful piggie. And you really did give her the best care in the world. Ruffles was so lucky to have an owner like you.

 

[pinky]

@bpatters, I'm so sorry for your loss. I know how you're feeling. I recently lost both of my seniors within a few months of each other. Rigatoni died in his sleep. He was 7 but showed no signs of illness. It was like he just fell asleep and didn't wake up. Wishbone had a rough ending. She was walking oddly so I took her to the vet. She had a huge internal mass that showed on the xray. She was still eating so I hated to euthanize her so the vet gave me pain meds and said if she stopped eating or acted like she was in pain to bring her in. After only a few weeks and I could tell she was struggling. It almost killed me to have her put to sleep. If my son hadn't gone with me, I don't think I could have taken her..... Ruffles was one lucky little girl to have been fortunate enough to live in your household. Please accept my condolences.

 

[Pariscamp]

Sorry for your loss, you tried, and you did more then a lot people would do probably, and I agree with others, the life they had with you was one good life
peace be with them
and peace to you in your tired heart

 

[bpatters]

Just as an update to this thread for completeness. The gross necropsy on Ruffles showed blood in the pericardial sac (the one around the heart). Since a rupture of the heart would have stopped it much more quickly, Dr. Jordan thinks, and i concur, that there was some sort of slow leak in the heart or a vessel of it. As the sac filled more and more with blood, the heart pumped less and less effectively, and the fluid built up in and around the lungs.

I opted not to have the micro examination done. It's nothing contagious, which is what I was worried about, for Patty's sake. And there's nothing either he or I could have done for her. I just hope it wasn't painful.

 

[piggielife]

I'm so sorry for your loss....