death of one of bonded pair - please help (sorry a bit long)

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DublinPickles2010

Hi all, what a great site, I have spent a few hours searching for similiar threads so let me introduce myself from Dublin. Last week we lost Pickles our 2 year old to a very fast URI, we got her to the vets but the antibiotic just didn't take effect.
So I have a quiet, but dominant 3 and a half year old -Apache and we have been lavishing lots of attention on her with plenty of lap and floor time, she seems perky enough,coming out of her cabin, getting petted etc, but a little quiet. She saw the body of Pickles so I think knows she is gone. Her daily weight is fine and she is eating more hay then greens at the moment, and dry food.
The guilt I have about not having a companion for her (I know I can never replace Pickles) but I have lost 3 piggies in 4 years and at this stage just don't think I can still continue the cycle as much as I love these little critters.
My question is - as Apache is an older pig and seems OK, and it has been 9 days, will she start to miss her companion in the coming weeks, or could she be over the worst? When, if ever do they forget?
I am still monitoring her and am prepared to do what is best for her, but am holding off rushing out to get another pig especially if she seems content (I know I am no substitute for a piggie but am doing the best I can).
Previously Apache has had a tumour removed and a URI and I have had other illnesses with my pigs (some have made it and some not) but losing this Pickles was still such a shock I don't think I am over it. Any advice or help on experiences of keeping a lone older sow as happy as I possibly can, would be really helpful, thanks in advance. Or any advice please! Thank you.
 
Hello DublinPickles - I am sorry I can't give you any advice due to lack of experience, but hopefully someone will be along who can.

May I welcome you to the forum anyway - I have found it to be a very friendly place with a lot of great members who like to help. :)
 
Hi!

I have successfully bonded two three year old "widows" as well as a 3 1.2 year old sow with a 12 month old neutered boar. Both times, I took the bereft girl with me to a rescue that would allow it and let her make her own choice.

Here is a link to Dublin SPCA; I don't know whether there are other specialist rescues or shelters.
http://www.dspca.ie/homes_detail.php?number=281&sectionnumber=10&type=Home Needed

Best of luck!
 
Hi, thanks so much for taking the time to reply back. There are not alot of GP rescue organisations as there are in the UK. We did go to DSPCA before for another pig a few years back. The thing is now I don't feel I can get another pig for my remaining girl. I have such conflicting emotions about it - total guilt but also that I can't do this anymore. Do you have any experiences of keeping a single pig? She is eating, her weight is the same and is just that bit quiet (she was always the quieter pig). I know that it would be much better with another pig but I don't think I am prepared to go down the road of the endless cycle again. Any advice would be great thanks.
 
I understand how you feel, as I haven't felt ready for another one after my special girl Minx died and Dizzy was left alone at the same age. However, I did not want her to suffer and ended up loving my Llewelyn very much!

Sadly, at 3 1/2, she is frankly a bit too young to be kept single for years of her life!

We have a member here from Northern Ireland near Belfast who has just lost one of her girls and perhaps may be interested to take your girl in to live in her big girl group.
 
Guinea pigs do not forget as easily as you'd think and their feeling run much deeper.

After Dizzy's death last summer aged five, I adopted several young sows to live with my now three year old neutered boar Llewelyn. And yet, when I rehomed a four year old sow who had been handed into rescue upon the death of her sister on New Year, Llewelyn took to her in a way I haven't seen since Dizzy died. It was so obvious that he is still missing his first wife very much! and has nor forgotten her!
 
Hi, sorry for not replying sooner.

First of all just wanted to say how much I empathise with your situation. I just lost my darling Humbug to a bacterial URI at the weekend and am devastated by her loss. I'm not in your predicament as Humbug lived in a big herd with 12 other girls and a neutered boy so they are adapting to her loss.

I have come across your situation from a couple of angles. One of my girls, Fizz, was the last surviving member of a group of 3 girls. Her previous owner didn't seek new herd members as she lost her girls and Fizz was eventually left on her own for a few months. Her previous family decided to look for a new home for her as they found she was becoming withdrawn and reticient. They spent time with her and when she came to me she was very tame and clearly very well cared for but they believed she was missing her friends. Introducing Fizz was the easiest intro I've ever done and she settled in immediately and was very glad to join her new herd. We all believed she had been mising having piggy companionship and that was why she was just so happy to be part of a herd again. She became playful and outgoing within days.

At the moment I have a lone bunny due to bereavement. I lost our other bunny back in November and have searched my soul over and over again about what to do. My bunny is lonely and became depressed, withdrawn and even territorially aggresive after the loss of her companion. I battled long illnesses with 3 of my pets last year only to lose all of them, including my bunny and I just haven't been able to gather the strength to take in another bunny. The other 2 I lost were a chinnie and a cat and they left behind more than one friend so haven't had to cross this decision with them. I have contacted a local rescue and asked them if they would take her in, which they have agreed to do when they have space. They do homechecks etc so feel safer that they will find the best home for her and in addition they have other bunnys and hope to find her a friend to be rehomed with.

It's a very difficult choice to have to make. In my own experience I've seen the effect on the individual animal of what bereavement has done to them and made my decision based on their behaviour.

I wish you luck with what to do. I have some contacts in Southern Ireland and around Dublin so if you decide to look for a new friend or rehome then I might be able to put you in touch with someone.
 
I've just heard of a lady in Bray searching for a third piggy girl. If you were at all interested in rehoming Apache this lady is happy to have a homecheck and could put you in touch with each other.
 
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