B
boysmum
I lost my darling Captain on Friday.
He had had some teeth problems for which he was getting regular trims, but he also got a respiratory infection and I was told by the vet to give him antibiotics. The infection did not seem to be clearing up and I took him back 3 times. Nothing, no further treatment . One vet even said when she heard him rasping "Oh that's just normal guinea pig noises!"" No it is not! I changed surgery after that. Captain had to be syringe fed and had trouble breathing. He went to the vets again on Tuesday and I came away with no further progress. "Keep him on the antibiotics"
I got the rodentologist round 2 days later and she listened to his chest and said that his lungs were affected and that he needed an urgent diuretic to clear them. Phoned the vet and she was very argumentative that the rodentologist was not a vet and how could the rodentologist have the skills to diagnose this! When i said that he must get the diuretic and that I would take him in again to get it, she said that they were too busy! I was nearly in tears. I insisted on taking him that evening, no matter how long it would take for me to wait.
I took him in and I was seen by another vet, not the one who had spoken to me on the phone. He examined Captain for ages and said that his lungs were indeed affected, in fact one had solidified and that this was a progressive disease. It was too late to do anything. He seemed rather sheepish in fact. I think he knew that the proper action had not been taken. Captain was PTS and I feel so upset and so angry with vets. I knew that Captain had started to suffer withthe breathing issues and I could not bear to put him through more pain. In fact, had the rodentologist not come round and informed me of the lung involvement, it is likely that Captain would have suffered a very painful end. The vet said that he would have passed away during the weekend at home and in true discomfort.
They don't seem to recognise that these are not just "pocket pets" which can be replaced easily. I loved "The Captain" dearly. :'(
He had had some teeth problems for which he was getting regular trims, but he also got a respiratory infection and I was told by the vet to give him antibiotics. The infection did not seem to be clearing up and I took him back 3 times. Nothing, no further treatment . One vet even said when she heard him rasping "Oh that's just normal guinea pig noises!"" No it is not! I changed surgery after that. Captain had to be syringe fed and had trouble breathing. He went to the vets again on Tuesday and I came away with no further progress. "Keep him on the antibiotics"
I got the rodentologist round 2 days later and she listened to his chest and said that his lungs were affected and that he needed an urgent diuretic to clear them. Phoned the vet and she was very argumentative that the rodentologist was not a vet and how could the rodentologist have the skills to diagnose this! When i said that he must get the diuretic and that I would take him in again to get it, she said that they were too busy! I was nearly in tears. I insisted on taking him that evening, no matter how long it would take for me to wait.
I took him in and I was seen by another vet, not the one who had spoken to me on the phone. He examined Captain for ages and said that his lungs were indeed affected, in fact one had solidified and that this was a progressive disease. It was too late to do anything. He seemed rather sheepish in fact. I think he knew that the proper action had not been taken. Captain was PTS and I feel so upset and so angry with vets. I knew that Captain had started to suffer withthe breathing issues and I could not bear to put him through more pain. In fact, had the rodentologist not come round and informed me of the lung involvement, it is likely that Captain would have suffered a very painful end. The vet said that he would have passed away during the weekend at home and in true discomfort.
They don't seem to recognise that these are not just "pocket pets" which can be replaced easily. I loved "The Captain" dearly. :'(
vets like that make the whole situation even more stressful. I feel so sorry for you that you had that experience....
