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Seeking some comfort

Jesse's pigs

Jesse's pigs

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 31, 2016
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Location
Cambridgeshire
I come with sad news again and I am so devasted and not even home to see him.

I’m currently away on holiday (first vacation abroad for 5 years) and like any pet owner I whittled about going, whittled about leaving them.

My mum watched them for me, I’ve got the three (Bellamy and stitch bonded furry piggies and Ruvik a new skinny pig addition I’ve only had since June and 9 months old). I still live with mum and they occupy my bedroom in a stacked c and c cage. Furries below and Ruvik on top in my beloved Steve’s old cage. I left UK Saturday afternoon, I’m 6 hours behind as in Mexico and my mother returned from work today to find Ruvik deceased. She called me as I wanted to know if anything happened with any of my pets, and I’m obviously gutted. I feel guilty. He was only a baby and I may be bias, but I look after them bloody well. He hasn’t shown any ailments par an abcess near his eye he got not long after coming to me and the wonderful Northampton Cat and Rabbit clinic sorted it. She followed my instructions on looking after him (she has cared for my piggies in previous years when I went away for a weekend) and said this morning at 4am Uk time they were fine as she leaves for work at this hour. Apparently she found him in his fleece tube and said it looked like he’d fell asleep, but when she showed him to me ( I needed to see for myself) he was laying on his side, eyes half closed or at least the one I could see and legs splayed? Like stretched and he was already rigid) I know will never know what happened, but I just hope he didn’t pass painfully.

Could it have been a heart attack at so young? I wish I hadn’t come away now and I feel so guilty for not being there or being there now to see him.

Really seeking some comfort so I can stop beating myself up I suppose. It just sucks I only lost my 7 year old Steve in May and I got Ruvik to heal the hole somewhat and now he’s gone too. And so quickly. I have all the what ifs going round my head, What if I hadn’t come away? What if someone else had looked after him? Was I doing something wrong?

One sad and defeated pigmum.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
I come with sad news again and I am so devasted and not even home to see him.

I’m currently away on holiday (first vacation abroad for 5 years) and like any pet owner I whittled about going, whittled about leaving them.

My mum watched them for me, I’ve got the three (Bellamy and stitch bonded furry piggies and Ruvik a new skinny pig addition I’ve only had since June and 9 months old). I still live with mum and they occupy my bedroom in a stacked c and c cage. Furries below and Ruvik on top in my beloved Steve’s old cage. I left UK Saturday afternoon, I’m 6 hours behind as in Mexico and my mother returned from work today to find Ruvik deceased. She called me as I wanted to know if anything happened with any of my pets, and I’m obviously gutted. I feel guilty. He was only a baby and I may be bias, but I look after them bloody well. He hasn’t shown any ailments par an abcess near his eye he got not long after coming to me and the wonderful Northampton Cat and Rabbit clinic sorted it. She followed my instructions on looking after him (she has cared for my piggies in previous years when I went away for a weekend) and said this morning at 4am Uk time they were fine as she leaves for work at this hour. Apparently she found him in his fleece tube and said it looked like he’d fell asleep, but when she showed him to me ( I needed to see for myself) he was laying on his side, eyes half closed or at least the one I could see and legs splayed? Like stretched and he was already rigid) I know will never know what happened, but I just hope he didn’t pass painfully.

Could it have been a heart attack at so young? I wish I hadn’t come away now and I feel so guilty for not being there or being there now to see him.

Really seeking some comfort so I can stop beating myself up I suppose. It just sucks I only lost my 7 year old Steve in May and I got Ruvik to heal the hole somewhat and now he’s gone too. And so quickly. I have all the what ifs going round my head, What if I hadn’t come away? What if someone else had looked after him? Was I doing something wrong?

One sad and defeated pigmu
Click to expand...
Picture of the little man annoying another one of my babies Stitch during floor time. He was such a funny little guy and I planned to get him a cage mate when I returned as I’d been waiting for his abcess to heal.
 

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I am so sorry. Please don't blame yourself or your Mum. It sounds like he had something genetic going on that you couldn't have done anything about, his death was so quick. Ruvik's time had sadly come and it would have happened whether you were there or not. Piggy slave's deserve a holiday as much as anyone else and I'm sure your Mum looks after your piggies very well. Be kind to yourself as you grieve for you special piggy.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
I come with sad news again and I am so devasted and not even home to see him.

I’m currently away on holiday (first vacation abroad for 5 years) and like any pet owner I whittled about going, whittled about leaving them.

My mum watched them for me, I’ve got the three (Bellamy and stitch bonded furry piggies and Ruvik a new skinny pig addition I’ve only had since June and 9 months old). I still live with mum and they occupy my bedroom in a stacked c and c cage. Furries below and Ruvik on top in my beloved Steve’s old cage. I left UK Saturday afternoon, I’m 6 hours behind as in Mexico and my mother returned from work today to find Ruvik deceased. She called me as I wanted to know if anything happened with any of my pets, and I’m obviously gutted. I feel guilty. He was only a baby and I may be bias, but I look after them bloody well. He hasn’t shown any ailments par an abcess near his eye he got not long after coming to me and the wonderful Northampton Cat and Rabbit clinic sorted it. She followed my instructions on looking after him (she has cared for my piggies in previous years when I went away for a weekend) and said this morning at 4am Uk time they were fine as she leaves for work at this hour. Apparently she found him in his fleece tube and said it looked like he’d fell asleep, but when she showed him to me ( I needed to see for myself) he was laying on his side, eyes half closed or at least the one I could see and legs splayed? Like stretched and he was already rigid) I know will never know what happened, but I just hope he didn’t pass painfully.

Could it have been a heart attack at so young? I wish I hadn’t come away now and I feel so guilty for not being there or being there now to see him.

Really seeking some comfort so I can stop beating myself up I suppose. It just sucks I only lost my 7 year old Steve in May and I got Ruvik to heal the hole somewhat and now he’s gone too. And so quickly. I have all the what ifs going round my head, What if I hadn’t come away? What if someone else had looked after him? Was I doing something wrong?

One sad and defeated pigmum.
Click to expand...

BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry about your loss and the timing. At this young age, it is highly likely a genetic heart defect from injudious breeding. Nothing you or your mum could have done anything about; it is like living with a hidden ticking bomb in your body that could go off at any time without warning. :(

I have lost two youngsters myself to sudden acute heart failure. One of them was rescue-born from a horrendous neglect breeder situation (a case that actually ended with a conviction). Many of the babies from the rescued sows had a quite distinctive look but sadly it turned out to also be a kind of death mark from their in-bred dad because they all died young as I later learned. I still miss my Telyn 'Harp', even after all those years. :(

Especially skinnies are generally seen as a gold digger mine when it comes to guinea pigs by many people who want to make a quick buck or two on the side, unfortunately. :(

Please be kind with yourself and with your mum. Try to console yourself that Ruvik may not have had a long life but that you have given him all your love in the time he had with you.
 
Oh no, how sad, I'm so sorry. What a shock for you and your Mum 🙁
Sounds like something genetic to me, for a young pig like him to pass so quickly.
Don't beat yourself up - we never know how long our pigs' lives will be, but all that matter to them is the moment, the here and now. And you gave him many many happy days.
RIP Ruvik, over the Rainbow Bridge 🌈❤️
 
So sorry for your sad and unexpected loss, I had the same happen with my young piggie Bracken at just six months old, so know how you feel. :(
Please don't feel guilty though, you deserved a holiday and gave your babies the best life, it's natural to feel that you are to blame somehow, but you have nothing to feel guilty about. :hug:

RIP dear Ruvik. ❤️ 🌈
 
I’m so sorry. You haven’t done anything wrong. Sometimes it’s just their time to be called to the bridge.

I’ve lost a piggy young (about 4 months) 😢

I’ve also lost a piggy while I was away on holiday. I did know he was unwell so it wasn’t a complete shock for me. I walked along the beach questioning if I should just stop having piggies. But then the name Pebble came to me. I took it as a sign that I was supposed to carry on.

I’m so sorry for your loss.
 
Having lost Camowen to heart failure not long ago, it's nothing you or anyone else did. Cam might have been older but he also had issues that kept piling up until the heart failure took him - he had to eat a very restrictive diet, couldn't tolerate foods other than hay, bell pepper and cucumber. Skinny breeding was not kind to him, as it wasn't to Ruvik. But there's nothing you or I could do that would've changed their outcomes.

I'm so sorry. He looks like he was a sweet boy.
 
I’m so sorry for your loss 😞 Please do not blame yourself or your mum as I’m sure your mum feels just as bad as you do

Sadly guinea pigs can die suddenly at any age and it sounds like Ruvik had a ticking time bomb which nobody would have been able to foresee. It very much sounds genetic especially as he was a skinny

Be kind to yourself as you grieve and please try and remember that Ruvik wouldn’t want you to be sad and he’d still want you to enjoy your trip x
 
I am so sorry you lost Rubin so suddenly, it’s must be so hard as you are so far away, sending hugs :hug: I have had two piggies pass suddenly, out of the blue, please don’t blame yourself or your Mum, sadly these things do happen

Popcorn high little man 🌈
 
So sorry for your tragic loss of Ruvik.
Remember that you gave him a home filled with love and a guinea pig lives for today.
You gave him happy today’s all the time he was with you.
You and your mum now need to be gentle with yourselves as you grieve
 
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