In late October my guinea pig, Chip went downhill rapidly. He had no prior symptoms, one morning I woke up and noticed him audibly crying, and it was as though he'd lost half of his bodyweight overnight.
Luckily I work from home, so I was able to rush him to the vet but they struggled to diagnose the issue. They found ulcers in his mouth and along his throat, but his teeth were fine. He was wheezing, but his lungs came back clear. They sent me home with painkillers, antibiotics, and critical care, and wanted to do some more invasive tests when he was stronger. I fed him every 4 hours and for a while he came around and seemed to be recovering, and was even popcorning. I kept him in quilted baby bed next to me all day to keep an eye on him. Suddenly, again out of nowhere, he started seizing and screaming. That quickly devolved into gasping, as blood started coming from his eyes and nose. Then he was gone. From start to finish this was maybe 3 minutes at most, so there was no way I could have got him to the vet, and yet I felt so guilty. If I'd have known how violent his death would have been, I'd have insisted on having him PTS.
I still don't know how he died. I couldn't bring myself to get an autopsy, although I know I probably should have. I was just heartbroken and couldn't bear the idea of him being "cut up."
His cagemate, Dale, grieved horribly. He stopped eating, stopped grooming, all he did was lay there and occasionally make sad noises. I had to supplement him with critical care, and the vet told me he was going to die if I didn't get him a new companion. He'd given up life. I didn't feel ready, but I knew I had to put my feelings aside for my little man's sake.
We went boar dating and were matched with a 5 week old I named Cooper. I fell in love with him, and he is a loving little thing who saved Dale's life. We've had him for about 3 weeks now, and I truly couldn't imagine life without him.
Which is part of the problem.
I feel like I've "replaced" Chip, and the fact that I love Coop so much already makes me feel as though I'm betraying Chip by moving on so quickly. I still find myself refering to them as Chip and Dale, not Dale and Cooper, and that makes me feel bad for both my new little one and Chip.
I know my behaviour is irrational, but I still feel as though I'm betraying Chip somehow. On the flip side, feeling like this makes me think I'm not giving Coop enough love, which also inspires guilt.
Luckily I work from home, so I was able to rush him to the vet but they struggled to diagnose the issue. They found ulcers in his mouth and along his throat, but his teeth were fine. He was wheezing, but his lungs came back clear. They sent me home with painkillers, antibiotics, and critical care, and wanted to do some more invasive tests when he was stronger. I fed him every 4 hours and for a while he came around and seemed to be recovering, and was even popcorning. I kept him in quilted baby bed next to me all day to keep an eye on him. Suddenly, again out of nowhere, he started seizing and screaming. That quickly devolved into gasping, as blood started coming from his eyes and nose. Then he was gone. From start to finish this was maybe 3 minutes at most, so there was no way I could have got him to the vet, and yet I felt so guilty. If I'd have known how violent his death would have been, I'd have insisted on having him PTS.
I still don't know how he died. I couldn't bring myself to get an autopsy, although I know I probably should have. I was just heartbroken and couldn't bear the idea of him being "cut up."
His cagemate, Dale, grieved horribly. He stopped eating, stopped grooming, all he did was lay there and occasionally make sad noises. I had to supplement him with critical care, and the vet told me he was going to die if I didn't get him a new companion. He'd given up life. I didn't feel ready, but I knew I had to put my feelings aside for my little man's sake.
We went boar dating and were matched with a 5 week old I named Cooper. I fell in love with him, and he is a loving little thing who saved Dale's life. We've had him for about 3 weeks now, and I truly couldn't imagine life without him.
Which is part of the problem.
I feel like I've "replaced" Chip, and the fact that I love Coop so much already makes me feel as though I'm betraying Chip by moving on so quickly. I still find myself refering to them as Chip and Dale, not Dale and Cooper, and that makes me feel bad for both my new little one and Chip.
I know my behaviour is irrational, but I still feel as though I'm betraying Chip somehow. On the flip side, feeling like this makes me think I'm not giving Coop enough love, which also inspires guilt.
Poor Patrick, he’s so sweet.
