Poor dear Daddy died at about 12 today. I was up with him last night and I remembered about that thing called Kangaroo care that parents do with new borns, so he was on my warm tummy last night to try to soothe him. I tried everything. It was an awful ending. I had just phoned the emergency vet to take him to be put to sleep but he decided himself that he'd had enough. Terrible.
BIG HUGS
I am ever so sorry. Daddy sadly didn't sound like he would make it, to be honest. But it is the kind of scenario I hate when my gut feeling is right. I have been there often enough myself over the years. It is always worse when it happens over a weekend.
You have done the right thing in keeping Daddy warm but not hot. It makes letting go easier once the circulation is starting to break down.
Please be kind with yourself. Some battles you can sadly not win; there is nothing you have done wrong. Medication for the digestive tract is sadly very limited and not the most effective - and guinea pigs are mostly gut, wrapped in fur with a wheeking whistle attached...
Give yourself time and try to get a rest and some sleep whenever you can. It is OK not to be OK for a while after an experience like yours but try not to get trapped in one of the pernicious mind loops that grieving can take you into.
Here is our sensitive but practical grieving guide for owners to help you understand your experiences but also with lots of tips of what you can do for yourself and where to find help if you need it:
1 The grieving process
- Loss and the start of the grieving process
- Grieving with a terminally ill guinea pig
- Going through the grieving process
2 Ways of coping
- Expressing and processing your feelings
- Regaining your guinea pig
- Burial and marking the passing
- Dealing with special days
3 How do I tell my children?
- Finding local support lines and charities...
Here is our guide for bereaved companions, from the immediate things you can do from saying goodbye to the longer term. As long as any companion is eating and drinking, they will hold for 1-4 weeks so you will have a bit of time for your own emotional needs.
1 What can I do immediately after a guinea pig has died?
- Saying goodbye
- What can I do for my grieving piggy?
- Emergency: acute pining (not eating/drinking) or sudden illness
2 New companionship and human grieving
- When can I start looking for a new mate?
- "Replacing" a guinea pig: the conflict between human and cavy needs
- How do I best go about finding a new mate? (Possible options listed for bereaved sows and boars)...
The best thing you can do for yourself is talking. If you are in the UK, then the free pet bereavement platforms of the Blue Cross will be the place for you (weekdays). In other countries, access to pet bereavement support can be rather patchy, unfortunately:
Pet bereavement and pet loss
My thoughts are with you.