Wiebke's Tribe: Sows and the City Boars

Happy 5th Gotcha Day (adoption anniversary), Cerian 'Little Love'! Her name is pronounced a bit like Kerry-Anne.

It is a precious milestone that I didn't think you would reach after a big wobble at the same time as Brathlys passed away in August.

Hard to believe that it is already 5 years since I travelled by train all the way to Sandwich to April Lodge Guinea Pig Rescue on the east coast of Kent to bring you and your best friend Breila 'Briar Rose' home as a stuck in rescue pair with little chance of finding a home between your long hair and Breila's ruby eyes; especially not in a rescue that was full up. It has been my longest adoption journey but one of the more straightforward ones with only one (walked) change between London St Pancras and London Euston.
You are my only ever stumble with the Adoption adverts for Guinea Pig Magazine but since your picture turned up just a few months after I found Breila look-alike Bedo 'Little Splendid Lord' dead in the cage one morning and was just losing Carwyn 'Blessed Love' to what turned out a brain tumour, it is - I think forgiveable - that you never made it into the magazine...

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You and Breila were very wrapped up with each other and never accepted any other piggies. You are the only sow I know who nonstop dominance humps any (totally non-aggressive) husboar I have tried to introduce! Breila sadly passed away unexpectedly after a very quick weekend decline just before last Christmas. You still haven't accepted any new mate although you are at least not frightened of young Baeddan and Blodyn who you are your neighbours. Any other piggies on the ground floor you love to start a commotion with through bars during roaming time.

At ca. 6 1/2 years you are now very arthritic and frail, so I really treasure to have reached this landmark with you.

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Remembering as usual those I have lost this year as the big nonstop haemorrhage of the last two years has finally come to a end in August.

Llawen 'Merry', 19th January 2023
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Exactly a month after I lost Breila and Hyfryd within 24 hours of each other just before Christmas, Llawen 'Merry' made the journey to the Bridge. She was coming up to 7 years of age and had been rather frail for a while.


Hapus 'Happy', 10th March 2023
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Llawen's sister Hapus joined her at the Bridge just about two weeks short of her 7th birthday. But I am blessed to see these two babies born in harrowing circumstances live to such an age. Their fight as babies for the scant mother's milk in horrible circumstances meant that they were never best of friends and that they spent a good part of their lives in different groups. But they reunited after Llawen had lost the last piggy she'd accepted before the age of 6 months and made peace with each other. Hapus was the socially more compatible sister; her best friend was skittish Heilin who was back with her again in her last weeks.


Tegeirian 'Orchid' (nickname: Rhian), 18th May 2023
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My little crackpot beauty for who I had to wait 20 weeks between a full pregnancy wait and the first lockdown in 2020 overlapping by a matter of 3 days sadly had to be pts because of a suspected large internal cancer that was causing a massive fluid build up in the body. She was weakening fast and her prospects were bleak.
Rhian was only 3 years old. This is the loss that has hurt me most this year.


Brathlys 'Scarlet Pimpernel' (nickname Lissie), 11th August 2023
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My turncoat piggy who changed from a bright orange to a dark brown after arriving here has found just a few days short of 4 years of happiness with me and good piggy company after being found abandoned and badly traumatised in a winter garden up North weeks after her family had left and taken the hutch with them.
It's been a bit of a challenge but by December she was no longer biting hands (only tweaking them) and she had accepted a very patient Alan as her hubby. Lissie found new happiness with young Melangell and then with widowed Llelo and lived to an estimated age of 6 years.

She sneaked in just before the deadline of 22 losses in 24 months, making the worst run of losses by a long way.

But it is such a relief that the long run has finally come to an end and that the losses are going to be much fewer and back to a more normal and much less relentless rhythm again from now on.
 
How lovely to remember those beautiful piggies - each one very special and enabled to live their best lives ever within the loving caring home of Wiebke and her family ❤️❤️❤️❤️
 
Wiebke said:
Remembering as usual those I have lost this year as the big nonstop haemorrhage of the last two years has finally come to a end in August.

Llawen 'Merry', 19th January 2023
View attachment 238541
Exactly a month after I lost Breila and Hyfryd within 24 hours of each other just before Christmas, Llawen 'Merry' made the journey to the Bridge. She was coming up to 7 years of age and had been rather frail for a while.


Hapus 'Happy', 10th March 2023
View attachment 238542
Llawen's sister Hapus joined her at the Bridge just about two weeks short of her 7th birthday. But I am blessed to see these two babies born in harrowing circumstances live to such an age. Their fight as babies for the scant mother's milk in horrible circumstances meant that they were never best of friends and that they spent a good part of their lives in different groups. But they reunited after Llawen had lost the last piggy she'd accepted before the age of 6 months and made peace with each other. Hapus was the socially more compatible sister; her best friend was skittish Heilin who was back with her again in her last weeks.


Tegeirian 'Orchid' (nickname: Rhian), 18th May 2023
View attachment 238543
My little crackpot beauty for who I had to wait 20 weeks between a full pregnancy wait and the first lockdown in 2020 overlapping by a matter of 3 days sadly had to be pts because of a suspected large internal cancer that was causing a massive fluid build up in the body. She was weakening fast and her prospects were bleak.
Rhian was only 3 years old. This is the loss that has hurt me most this year.


Brathlys 'Scarlet Pimpernel' (nickname Lissie), 11th August 2023
View attachment 238544
My turncoat piggy who changed from a bright orange to a dark brown after arriving here has found just a few days short of 4 years of happiness with me and good piggy company after being found abandoned and badly traumatised in a winter garden up North weeks after her family had left and taken the hutch with them.
It's been a bit of a challenge but by December she was no longer biting hands (only tweaking them) and she had accepted a very patient Alan as her hubby. Lissie found new happiness with young Melangell and then with widowed Llelo and lived to an estimated age of 6 years.

She sneaked in just before the deadline of 22 losses in 24 months, making the worst run of losses by a long way.

But it is such a relief that the long run has finally come to an end and that the losses are going to be much fewer and back to a more normal and much less relentless rhythm again from now on.
Click to expand...
They were all beautiful and you have some happy memories of them ❤️ You gave them all a lovely home x
 
Wiebke said:
Remembering as usual those I have lost this year as the big nonstop haemorrhage of the last two years has finally come to a end in August.

Llawen 'Merry', 19th January 2023
View attachment 238541
Exactly a month after I lost Breila and Hyfryd within 24 hours of each other just before Christmas, Llawen 'Merry' made the journey to the Bridge. She was coming up to 7 years of age and had been rather frail for a while.


Hapus 'Happy', 10th March 2023
View attachment 238542
Llawen's sister Hapus joined her at the Bridge just about two weeks short of her 7th birthday. But I am blessed to see these two babies born in harrowing circumstances live to such an age. Their fight as babies for the scant mother's milk in horrible circumstances meant that they were never best of friends and that they spent a good part of their lives in different groups. But they reunited after Llawen had lost the last piggy she'd accepted before the age of 6 months and made peace with each other. Hapus was the socially more compatible sister; her best friend was skittish Heilin who was back with her again in her last weeks.


Tegeirian 'Orchid' (nickname: Rhian), 18th May 2023
View attachment 238543
My little crackpot beauty for who I had to wait 20 weeks between a full pregnancy wait and the first lockdown in 2020 overlapping by a matter of 3 days sadly had to be pts because of a suspected large internal cancer that was causing a massive fluid build up in the body. She was weakening fast and her prospects were bleak.
Rhian was only 3 years old. This is the loss that has hurt me most this year.


Brathlys 'Scarlet Pimpernel' (nickname Lissie), 11th August 2023
View attachment 238544
My turncoat piggy who changed from a bright orange to a dark brown after arriving here has found just a few days short of 4 years of happiness with me and good piggy company after being found abandoned and badly traumatised in a winter garden up North weeks after her family had left and taken the hutch with them.
It's been a bit of a challenge but by December she was no longer biting hands (only tweaking them) and she had accepted a very patient Alan as her hubby. Lissie found new happiness with young Melangell and then with widowed Llelo and lived to an estimated age of 6 years.

She sneaked in just before the deadline of 22 losses in 24 months, making the worst run of losses by a long way.

But it is such a relief that the long run has finally come to an end and that the losses are going to be much fewer and back to a more normal and much less relentless rhythm again from now on.
Click to expand...
They were wonderful piggies ❤️
 
It's sadly not been a good start to the new year for me.

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Tudur (Welsh form of 'Tudor', pronounced Tee-dee-rr) 'Leader of the Tribe/group of people' started losing weight very quickly over the turn of the year. On New Year's Day I found a small lump in the thyroid area. Sadly, I failed to get an emergency slot at the Cat&Rabbit on the first two mornings after the holiday.
As the hard lump quadrupled in size over the course of 2nd January and was obviously pushing on his windpipe and causing heart strain (diaphragmic breathing), I booked him in for a same day emergency pts at my local clinic after my second fail. The vet there confirmed my suspicion of an inoperable runaway tumour. :(

Tudur had turned 3 years of age just before Christmas.

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Tudur and Teggy after their bonding

He was a friendly boar (one of my hub's favourites) who had a fulfilling life in making older widowed sows very happy. I adopted him from @furryfriends (TEAS) when he returned there after the death of his first wife in October 2021. It was the easiest bonding ever - old Teggy (who had lost both her younger companions within a month of each other), simply plonked herself on the floor and lifted her bum, which turned out to be really heady stuff for a teenage boar! Anyway, both emerged happily bonded on the other side of the hormonal overload and were devoted to each other.

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Tudur and Teggy not very long before her sudden death at the age of 6 years

Teggy sadly passed away in the following year but Tudor was accepted by Hapus and her shadow Heilin in June 2022 and in October of the same year by Cai's widows Carys and Tegeirian.
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Tudur bonding with old Hapus 'Happy' (front) and Heilin 'Generous' (at the back)


Hapus left to join a short-lived old ladies' group with Hyfryd and her sister Llawen when her arthritis became too much for group life. Tegeirian sadly died - also from a suspected internal cancer - in May but Carys, Heilin and Tudur became a very closely bonded, loving and mutually supportive trio. Especially Carys has hardly moved far from him in the last few days.

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I have laid Tudur to rest with a bouquet of winter jasmine, variegated euonymus, cotoneaster berries and rosemary for remembrance in the same large burial planter that holds his beloved Teggy, Hapus and Tegeirian.
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Thank you for giving him such a lovely life! Tudur(originally named Spike) had been bred for snake food, but thankfully a family local to me had rescued his pregnant mum who then came to TEAS as part of a group of three boars and three sows, living together in a 1 metre cage. Spike originally went to live temporarily with another forum member, to be a companion to her older sow and after she passed he continued his excellent adventure, when he was adopted by @Wiebke

He certainly packed a lot into his life, which could’ve been so, so different, if mum and her friends hadn’t been saved.
 
I am so sorry you’ve lost Tudur, he must have had a wonderful life with all those ladies. I do believe Tudur “Spike“ was my Kiki’s uncle. Take heart he was very loved @Wiekbe :hug:


Sleep tight little man 🌈
 
I am so sorry you have had to say goodbye to Tudur. What an action packed life he had.
Sending you my very best wishes at such a sad time.
 
Oh no I’m so sorry to hear Tudur had to travel to RB
What a lovely piggy he was and he had a special home with you , your family and most importantly the girls.
such a sad start to 2024 for you Wiebke - sending a big hug to help
 
So sorry you lost your gorgeous Tudur. It sounds like he had a lovely life with you. Sleep tight little chap ❤️🌈
 
So sorry you have lost Tudur. Thank goodness he was rescued and went on to have such a loving home.
Sending you massive hugs.
Have fun at the rainbow 🌈bridge little Tudur.xx
 
So sorry that you had to give Tudur that last gift of love.
Not a great start to the year for you.
Holding you in my heart ❤️
 
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