Timing and bereavement

Posie&Coco

Posie&Coco

New Born Pup
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Looking for a bit of reassurance.

About two weeks ago we lost our lovely Posie in a traumatic and awful way. It’s left me feeling like I don’t want to replace her, which would always have been difficult at the best of times.

Coco is almost 4. She’s had multiple health issues over the years (including a recent emergency hysterectomy for a prolapsed uterus). She’s displaying signs of loneliness and I need to find a solution fast.

Initially I started to look to adopt a friend for her but couldn’t find any available females at any of our local rescues. My daughter (age 7) then said she didn’t want another Guinea pig as she worried when that one died Coco would be lonely again, so she asked me to find a sanctuary where Coco would be well looked after with lots of Guinea Pigs. This is a long shot as there is only one locally and they have little space.

So I’m considering putting Coco up for adoption but I have huge concerns about the level of care she would get. She currently has a big run attached to a hutch, is fed a variety of food and has an oil heater keeping her toasty warm.

We have a 7 month old baby so my daughter and husband have both said they feel they don’t have as much time for the Guinea pigs as they want to be with the baby after school/work.

So now I’m left with a tricky decision:

1) Wait and hope the local sanctuary can take her and support them through donations.
2) Put Coco up for adoption
3) Adopt a Guinea pig (one has became available)

Any advice or thoughts welcomed,
Sam
 
I’m so sorry you lost your little Posie and understand your concerns for Coco. I don’t know where you live but if you are in the UK please have a look at the recommended rescue list, here’s the link https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/. If you live abroad please look on the GuineapigLynx’s website as they have a list for US and other countries. All the rescues are currently struggling at the moment with very long list of piggies waiting to be surrendered.
Perhaps you need you need a little more time to consider what’s best for you all as grief is very sore for you all.
A good rescue will always vet prospective owners to High standards so please don’t worry about her going forward if you decide to surrender her to a good rescue. I would keep clear of online and news sites though as you cannot vet their intentions and set ups

Good luck
 
The other thing that has crossed my mind just now is you could as a rescue to bond her with a neutered boar if there were no sows available. Like any pairing the. Piggies have to like each other but mixed sex pairings are usually very stable
 
I am so sorry for your traumatic loss.

If you could let us know roughly where you are based this would help us give more appropriate advice.

If the local sanctuary can eventually offer her a place, they should welcome a visit from you and your family and be willing to show you where and how she would be kept. This may help put your mind at ease, and supporting them with donations is a lovely idea. I would always recommend visiting in person to be 100% sure that the care they offer is in line with what you can offer her at home.

If you are going to put her up for adoption please make sure you do this via a good quality rescue, whilst being aware that advertising her yourself or going through a group that calls themselves a rescue may be risky. A proper rescue will be able to vet potential homes and make sure they find an appropriate place for Coco, as well as getting adopters to agree to return her if they become unable to care for her in the future.

You could also ask local rescues about the possibility of fostering a guinea pig as a companion which may help in the short term.
 
Swissgreys said:
I am so sorry for your traumatic loss.

If you could let us know roughly where you are based this would help us give more appropriate advice.

If the local sanctuary can eventually offer her a place, they should welcome a visit from you and your family and be willing to show you where and how she would be kept. This may help put your mind at ease, and supporting them with donations is a lovely idea. I would always recommend visiting in person to be 100% sure that the care they offer is in line with what you can offer her at home.

If you are going to put her up for adoption please make sure you do this via a good quality rescue, whilst being aware that advertising her yourself or going through a group that calls themselves a rescue may be risky. A proper rescue will be able to vet potential homes and make sure they find an appropriate place for Coco, as well as getting adopters to agree to return her if they become unable to care for her in the future.

You could also ask local rescues about the possibility of fostering a guinea pig as a companion which may help in the short term.
Click to expand...
This is very helpful. Thank you.

We did ask about fostering but was told this wasn’t how it works so perhaps I need to check with other rescue centres.

We are in Durham.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
 
Bill & Ted said:
I’m so sorry you lost your little Posie and understand your concerns for Coco. I don’t know where you live but if you are in the UK please have a look at the recommended rescue list, here’s the link https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/guinea-pig-forum-recommended-rescues.196734/. If you live abroad please look on the GuineapigLynx’s website as they have a list for US and other countries. All the rescues are currently struggling at the moment with very long list of piggies waiting to be surrendered.
Perhaps you need you need a little more time to consider what’s best for you all as grief is very sore for you all.
A good rescue will always vet prospective owners to High standards so please don’t worry about her going forward if you decide to surrender her to a good rescue. I would keep clear of online and news sites though as you cannot vet their intentions and set ups

Good luck
Click to expand...
Just wanted to take the time to thank you for helping with my concerns, especially the reassurance re: future home.

I have contacted Tees Valley Guinea Pig Rescue and asked them to find Coco and new friend and home.

After a week of poorly baby, it feels like the right decision.
 
So sorry for your loss of Posie.
I hope the baby is better now.
Given everything you’re coping with I think you’re doing a great job trying to find a good solution that works for Coco.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
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