Commentary on animal rescue & small animal care
A belated happy ending shout out to Mr. H. R. Puffnstuff for finding his forever home! Lindsay and Desiree were looking for a companion for their piggie, Rupert. The initial introductions were pretty rough — Rupert was kind of a brat, and got a lot of enjoyment out of pestering poor Puff, but soon they settled down to share a palatial two story C&C!
Thank you again for making his forever ever a happy one!
For those of you not in our area (NC), let me inform you that we’ve been having record setting temperatures here for the past month or so. The heat index is routinely reaching 105°F, and warnings are all over television asking people to stay out of the heat. Unfortunately, while the people readily comply with this, they often forget about their companions, especially rabbits and guinea pigs.
These species suffer greatly in the hot weather, being naturally equipped for dealing with cold temperatures much more readily than heat. Each year, we get numerous calls from people asking for medical advice for their ailing guinea pigs and rabbits who have been kept outside in “hutches”, and invariably our recommendations to bring the animals in are rejected because “wild rabbits are fine” or “he’s been fine for all these years”. People unfortunately believe that the wildlife is not suffering from the heat simply because there are no wild rabbits dying in their direct line of vision, and that an animal’s ability to survive despite lack of adequate care means that they are ‘fine’.
At a recent adoption event we conducted, a woman stopped by with her daughter and inquired about adopting a rabbit as a companion for her elderly bunny. She then hesitated for a moment, and asked if we had any advice about keeping her bunny cool in the summer, as he had started having problems with the heat. We recommended making sure he had frozen water bottles and tiles to sleep on and making sure that his cage was in a part of the house receiving good air circulation from the air conditioning. She admitted that he was an outdoor rabbit. When we entreated her to bring in her elderly bunny who was suffering from the heat (by her own admission), she said that she could not, because she had read on the internet that they would get “used” to the air conditioning, and then could not be put back outside. Besides, she assured us, he was doing fine as he was a very tough bunny. He had outlived two cagemates! Two thirds of her pets had died outside from preventable problems, yet she refused to bring in her poor elderly rabbit so that he could at least enjoy the twilight of his life in comfort.
We have also had people inform us that they did not need to bring in their animals until there was a problem, and that they would happily seek vet care if something did happen, and then they would move their pet inside. Vet care is not a guarantee of survival. Friend of ACR&S Cindy wrote us with a sad story about a pig named Copper that she rescued from an outdoor home:
Received a call from my vet’s office saying that someone had left their pig out in 100-degree weather and had brought him in with severe heat stroke. When my vet told the owner he had to keep his pig inside, the owner told the receptionists he couldn’t do it and needed to find a new home. So they called me. Before I knew the situation, I told them I was in contact with a rescue, but when I learned that the guinea pig was once at a day care and then ended up with a family who left him outside, I couldn’t say no. I adopted him Saturday after he’d been at the vet’s overnight for observation, receiving fluids, etc., and after the owner came and signed him over to the vet.
It is with extreme sadness that I report that Copper didn’t make it. I’ve lost track of how many weeks of 90 and 100-degree weather (and heat indexes) we’ve had, but Copper’s former owner left him out the whole time <sniff>. I think that probably Copper’s systems were beginning to shut down little by little until he finally was flat out, and the man (I use the term loosely) finally got him to the vet. Copper perked up quickly with fluid therapy and with being in the incubator, and we were so excited to adopt him. However, during the weekend, he didn’t want to eat, so my husband and I began hydrating him with a slurry of pellets and water and also with homemade Pedialyte (with no-sugar-added cranberry juice substituted for sugar). He began to perk up, and on Monday, when I was going to take him back to the vet for a checkup, he ate breakfast on his own and was doing so well I thought he was out of the woods. Monday afternoon he was eating carrot pieces and grabbing the slurry syringe. Then Tuesday morning he had totally gone downhill. I rushed him to the vet’s, but we sadly had to help him to the Bridge yesterday afternoon.
I am at a loss to understand how Copper could have been left outside.
We had so hoped he would have some happy years with us. I do think he had some good, though brief, times — he liked sitting on my husband’s stomach and in the crook of my elbow. A friend who met him Monday night thought he was sweet, alert, and very handsome.
Please make sure your guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, chinchillas, and other small animals remain inside, especially for the summer. Additionally, be aware of your animal’s changing needs as they age. An older animal cannot tolerate the same temperature extremes as a healthy animal in the prime of life. The same goes for very young animals. Often our most heartbreaking calls are from otherwise excellent owners who took their beloved pet outside to play, not realizing that event 15-20 minutes of this extreme heat can cause heat stroke/exhaustion.
If your house is older and prone to hot spots, even with air conditioning, make sure your animals are well ventilated. Use fans to help circulate air (make sure you don’t point them directly at the cages), provide frozen water bottles or tiles that have been placed in the freezer so your animals can cool off, and if you suspect a problem, seek vet care immediately!
As mentioned earlier in the blog, ACR&S had an influx of baby rats due to an emergency intake from another rescue. These little ones have been very lucky to find forever homes with some of our most amazing adopters.
The first three ratties (named Cherry Bomb, Oreo, and Coffee by their new family) went home to Mike and family just as soon as they weaned. They had a brand new Martin’s cage to come home to and a little miniature human to call their own!
Our next pair, Bustopher and Casper (formerly Munkustrap), went home to our repeat rattie adopter, Frone. Frone has given many of our beloved ratties a wonderful forever home, and these boys went in to live with Zapp and Kif (adopted last year).
Finally, a trio of ladies went to live with another repeat adopter, Melissa, who has given many of our past rats a wonderful forever home. She chose Cheyenne, Dakota, and Wyoming to join her mischief!
Thank you to our wonderful rat adopters for continuing to give our little ones amazing forever homes!
Charlemagne and Fauntleroy had a rough beginning. They were picked up by ACR&S shortly after being neutered by an inexperienced vet. Both were in rough shape (going into stasis and in a lot of pain), but after several terse hours of nursing, they began to recover normally and we thought they were out of the woods.
Unfortunately, they weren’t. The next day saw their surgical sites hugely inflamed, and we were terrified that they’d herniated. The news was better, but still odd: Fauntleroy still had one testicle, and Charlemagne still had part of one. Nearly a month after their initial neuter, we’d finally got both bunnies healthy and well, and they were on the lookout for a new home.
Enter Jill, their new mom. She saw the boys on Petfinder, and was intrigued. As a new rabbit owner, she liked that the boys were young, healthy, and had pretty good litterbox manners. After a few weeks spent organizing caging, finding a vet, and doing a ton of reading at Rabbit.org, the boys got to come to their new home.
They arrived to a huge box of hay (which her cats also enjoyed — mostly the box), a brand new cage, a playpen, and lots of love. They figured the ramp out pretty quickly, and then managed to break out of their cage almost immediately, but now they are safely contained and having the time of their life!
Thank you Jill for adopting these sweet bunnies and giving them a second chance!
Gloria (sister to Ivy and Noelle, who went home ear
ly this year), remained at our rescue, awaiting her forever home. Alison, mom to Amelia and Sophie, contacted us soon afterwards. Sophie had gone over to the rainbow bridge (a dignified and well loved old lady at over five years of age), and Amelia needed a new friend.
When she saw Gloria’s picture, she knew that was the pig for her! Introductions went well (although Gloria immediately developed runny poo and had a brief course of antibiotics to clear it up). Amelia then had to undergo an emergency spay for a uterine cyst, but last week they were finally able to be put together, and now the two girls are roomates!
Thank you to Alison for giving two of our pigs now a wonderful home!
We lost Douglas last night. He came to us in September of 2008 after having been abandoned in an aquarium at a children’s camp - you can read the full story here. He came in with a giant tumor, and unfortunately our vet felt that it was of a type of tumor highly likely to return. Apparently these tumors pop up pretty quickly - Douglas received a clean bill of health from an excellent vet just a couple weeks ago, but last night I noticed he was drooling and found he had a large, hard lump under his chin. Aspiration revealed it was a large tumor that had started to necrotize in the center. The vet felt that removal of a tumor in this location and in this condition would be very difficult, potentially resulting in serious damage to his lower jaw, so we opted to euthanize rather than put him through that.
Douglas was a beautiful, friendly pig who has been a joy to all his cagemates as well as to every human who has known him. Goodbye, little guy.
We lost Amber yesterday. Amber came to the Wisconsin Guinea Pig Rescue in early 2008. She was incredibly skittish, to the point that her foster mom thought she might literally die of fright. She was also a satin, which is a very pretty breed that is unfortunately congenitally prone to osteodystrophy, a disease where the bones do not retain and deposit minerals correctly - some bones become thickened and some become thin and brittle. It was determined that between her behavior and potential medical problems, she would be hard to adopt, and in July 2008 she came to live with us at ACR&S as a companion to Elmer. When Elmer died a year later, Amber went to live with Shtinky, shown here. They have been together ever since.
Amber has never been a friendly pig, but with Shtinky’s calm companionship, she finally stopped assuming that we were constantly out to kill her. In the last six months or so she’s even learned that we are a good source of treats, and has started begrudgingly taking her c-tablets from our fingers!
Recently, Amber has been showing signs of ovarian cysts including enlarged and crusty mammary glands. Fortunately, a spay is usually an easy fix for this problem. She went into surgery yesterday with the wonderful Dr Gibbons at Brook Falls Veterinary Hospital. Prior to surgery, he guessed that she probably had a uterine tumor as well as the cysts. We discussed the chance that she might not make it through surgery and decided that he would evaluate as he went along; if the tumor was diffuse or involved with other organs, we would euthanise her on the table; if it could be removed easily, he would finish the surgery and we’d take our chances with recovery. During the surgery he found cysts on both ovaries, a huge uterine tumor - over 2.5″ long and nearly 5% of her body weight - and multiple adhesions between the tumor and the abdominal wall, the bladder, and the ureters. However, he was able to remove all of the tumor and adhesions without complications and we thought she’d be fine. She woke up and was initially doing well during her post-surgical recovery period, but a few hours later she went shocky and we could tell it was time to let her go. She died peacefully without any pain.
We’re grateful to WI-GPR for giving us the chance to have this little girl in our lives. She was a wonderful and lovely little companion and we shall all miss her.
It’s been a busy week in the Sanctuary. We lost Chester on Friday May 14th. We noticed that he was down a little in weight and had a redued appetite on Sunday the 9th - this is why it’s important to always weigh your piggies frequently! His anorexia progressed into stasis, but we were able to stabilize him with assisted feedings and subcu fluid administration. On Thursday he was still not producing much poops and had started to have labored breathing, so we determined it was time for a vet visit. X-rays showed significant decrease in lung volume, as well as a large volume of air in the stomach and colon - he was swallowing air as he tried to breathe. The vet suspected an upper respiratory infection, but was hesitant to give antibiotics while he was already in GI distress, so we opted to wait another day and check the X-rays again to see if there was any improvement in lung condition. By Friday it was clear that he was losing the battle and we had him euthanized. Necropsy revealed mutiple nodules in the lungs which the vet suspects was lymphoma, although we are still awaiting the lab confirmation.
I’m very sorry to lose him and shall miss him, but I find comfort in the fact that he was over 7 years old. Sadie is still doing well and we’re getting ready to pair her with Douglas, another old man who recently lost his girlfriend.
Goodbye, Chester, and thank you for being such a sweet, wonderful companion to so many people over so many years!
We lost Ms Piggy today. She originally came to us from the Orange County Animal Shelter in late 2005, as a 2 or 3 year old by estimate. We took her in to pair with our Jacksonville pig Cookie for an adopter in early 2006. The pair were returned after about 18 months, and both had lost a lot of weight. Between this and their age it was decided to make them Sanctuary residents.
Cookie died in July 2008 and Ms Piggy was paired with Brownie (shown here to her right). Brownie passed in September. During all this time we were still trying to resolve Ms Piggy’s low weight.
In October 2008 we found an excellent vet, Paul Gibbons, who finally discovered that Ms Piggy’s weight loss, poor coat condition, constant thirst, and hyperactivity was due to hyperthyroidism. Although the guinea pig rescue community is well aware of hyperthyroidism in pigs, there is very little clinical data and only one or two published case reports, and Dr Gibbons had to get creative at adapting the protocols for diagnosis (by measuring T4 levels) and for treatment. We started treatment with Tapazole and after a few months of dose adjustment, found a dose which worked wonders for her. She put on weight and her other behaviors normalized. In December 2008 she was paired with Douglas, and they’ve been together ever since.
Ms Piggy’s behavior last night was perfectly normal - begging for dinner, running from her medicine. Her weight has been up, and there was no indication at all that she was ill or even slowing down. We suspect that it was just her time to go. At the lowest estimate, she is at least 5.5 years old - the length of time she’s been in the rescue, even assuming she was much younger than we thought on intake. She could certainly have been as old as 7!
She has been a sweet pig and we’re sad to see her go, but so happy she was in our lives for this long. Goodbye, little girl.
Laverne and Shirley entered the rescue approximately two weeks ago, with the help of our southern friends at Atlanta Metro Guinea Pig Rescue. They had been contacted about these guinea pigs and while they were desperately full, they wanted to help. Their owner had lost her job months earlier, and when the girls began to scratch, seize, and scream, she was unable to provide them with medical care.
Although the girls (especially Laverne) look as though they’re in dire straits and not long for this world, both of them are simply suffering from mange mites. Mange mites in guinea pigs are species specific and relatively common. So common, in fact, that we treat all guinea pigs entering our rescue as a preventative measure! Though they are communicable, they do also exist naturally on guinea pigs in minute numbers which cause no symptoms. Stress, illness, and other factors can cause ‘flare ups’ which may need help to be contained.
When left without treatment, the itching that mites cause will progress to serious hair loss, heavy wounds (as the poor guinea pigs scratch themselves desperately), and even seizures. Heartbreakingly, we sometimes get calls about these poor bald pigs where the owners inform us that the guinea pigs are on their backs “trying to scratch”. They are having painful convulsions. If left long enough, they can cause death. But this takes several months of neglect!
Mites are easily treated with ivermectin or Revolution (selamectin), and these girls are continuing their treatments with us. In a couple of more weeks we hope to be able to do a ‘before and after’ unveil of beautiful, sleek girls.
Greatest thanks go to our crack team of Cavy Couriers that helped us get these girls all the way from Georgia to North Carolina in one busy day! (As well as providing them with some of the lushest 3rd cut of KMs hay I’ve ever seen!)
