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Emergency vet dash for Winnie

LucyP

LucyP

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Hi all

One of those nightmare situations..

I found Winnie not very responsive this morning, she can move a bit but was laying on her side, eyes quite wide. She then started crying in pain and showed some jerking/twitching movements. I’ve rushed her to the vets and she’s there now. They dashed her straight through from reception to be seen.

Just spoken to the exotic vet.

Winnie has a low temperature so they’ve put her in an incubator. She’s on strong pain relief and they’re going to x ray and ultra sound. They said it’s difficult to know what the issue is so far but their prognosis is guarded.

I am worried sick about our lovely girl and fearing the worst. She’s almost 7 but had been fine as far as we could see. They said her ovarian cyst which has been tiny all her life seems to feel bigger now so could be causing pain. She’s probably not a good candidate for a spay if it is that due to her age and previous respiratory issues a presumably the state she is in now? But we don’t know. They also said it could be vital organs, like kidney or liver or heart. We’re extremely worried. They’re keeping her (and Dottie for companionship) in hospital today and have suggested I go home for now.

I almost thought she wasn’t going to survive the journey to the vets and wondered if it was wrong/unkind to bring her in, as she would be happier at home, but I feel she needs a level of pain relief and if they can help her o want that for her. I hope she doesn’t die in hospital but I am worried we won’t see her again.

Please hold Winnie in your thoughts.

IMG_3249.webpThis photo was from last week.

Many thanks
 
BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry. My thoughts are with you and Winnie.
 
Thank you. She did some poos in the night (although a bit soft) and ate some nuggets at 4am (I held off on veg due to the soft poo) and she seemed ok then if a little subdued, so whatever is happening seems to be sudden. She was only just in the vets yesterday as a companion to Dottie (who was there for tests).
 
Thank you. The vet just called. The scans showed a large and very nasty looking mass inside of her, she was struggling so much and they (very experienced exotic surgical vets) did not feel operating would be safe or effective. So we had no choice but to put her out of her suffering and opt to put her to sleep. I’m so shocked by this. She only had a check up in October when nothing untoward was found. She had had ovarian cysts but only 1cm or so. They don’t think the mass was necessarily ovarian related (although it was hard to tell as it covered such a large acre). We are beyond devastated. We’ve had her since .2019 when she was rescued from a hell hole hoarding situation in Manchester along with over 80 pigs. She has been an absolute legend. I hope she hasn’t suffered too much. They gave her strong pain meds and also an anti anxiety sedative. So I hope it has been relatively calm. I’m so gutted.
 
I am so sorry. You did all you could for her, it's so sad her time had come. Winnie had a wonderful life with you.
Sleep tight sweet Winnie.
 
Very sad to hear. Rest easy at the bridge little Winnie 🌈😔
 
I'm so sorry you lost your sweet girl..RIP gorgeous Winnie.
 
I am so sorry that you lost Winnie in such tragic circumstances.
It’s heartbreaking when something like this happens.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve and remember all the days filled with love that you gave her.
Hugs 🤗
 
Oh no, poor Winnie, how sad 😢
You gave her the best years of her life and she will know how cherished and lived she is.
RIP sweet little Winnie, over the Rainbow Bridge 🌈❤️
 
I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️
Take comfort knowing she had the happiest of lives with you
 
Oh no I’m so sorry. Popcorn high over the bridge gorgeous Winnie. ❤️
 
LucyP said:
Thank you. The vet just called. The scans showed a large and very nasty looking mass inside of her, she was struggling so much and they (very experienced exotic surgical vets) did not feel operating would be safe or effective. So we had no choice but to put her out of her suffering and opt to put her to sleep. I’m so shocked by this. She only had a check up in October when nothing untoward was found. She had had ovarian cysts but only 1cm or so. They don’t think the mass was necessarily ovarian related (although it was hard to tell as it covered such a large acre). We are beyond devastated. We’ve had her since .2019 when she was rescued from a hell hole hoarding situation in Manchester along with over 80 pigs. She has been an absolute legend. I hope she hasn’t suffered too much. They gave her strong pain meds and also an anti anxiety sedative. So I hope it has been relatively calm. I’m so gutted.
Click to expand...

BIG HUGS

Guinea pigs are prey animals and very good at suppressing any signs of illness until it is too late. Please try not feel bad over not having known - see it as a proof that Winnie was in control of her life right up to the very end, just as she wanted to be. A true guinea pig legend indeed!

Thanks to better diagnostics, vets can now see much more what is going on inside the body so you know at least what was the matter with her, even if it is usually well beyond a vet's capability to operate by the time internal growths are detected because they generally involve several organs already.

Rest assured that Winnie has been treated with love and gentle care right up to the very last moment even if you could not be with her.

Please give yourself time to not be OK; it is so hard when the shock of her sudden deterioration, the bad news and any instant necessary end of life decisions happen so close together.
Give yourself space to absorb it all in your own time. It can take several days and you can feel rather like a zombie during this period. It is a natural and pretty common trauma protection mechanism and not you malfunctioning. When you are ready to cope, you will connect with your feelings again.

Feel sad, but please don't feel bad. You haven't missed anything because Winnie didn't wanted you and her mates to notice anything. And you have certainly not done anything wrong. The inevitable soul searching is a sign just how deeply you love and care about Winnie, but not an indicator that you have failed her in any way.
As humans, we are wired to reflect everything back onto ourselves - that is our species wiring and our own hang-up. It has nothing to do with real facts. But the intensity of it is an indicator of how much you feel responsible; it is the other side of the coin we call 'love'. The more deeply you love, the worse you are often affected; especially in traumatising circumstances like yours.

You are welcome to open an ongoing support thread in our new End of Life and Bereavement section where we offer understanding ongoing community support if you struggle with any aspect of your grieving journey, which is very often a lot more complex than expected, or any practical questions and moral/emotional dilemmas that turn up.
End of Life and Bereavement Support Corner

Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
 
I’m so sad to read of your loss of the beautiful Winnie
She was living her best life with you, your family and Dottie
( especially since she was rescued from an appalling situation 6 yrs ago)
She knew she was loved and had all she needed …all a Guinea pig could want
Take of yourself ….in time you will be able to relive all the happy memories ❤️
 
Thank you everyone for such kind and supportive words, as is typical on this forum.

We are still in shock and devastated about this. Winnie was zooming a few days ago and skipping about in her usual joyful manner, she was always so perky, and even though she was the oldest of her various pairings (she had 3 different friends over the years), she always seemed so young and sprightly compared to everyone else. Constantly on the go, flying around. She bounced back from everything life threw at her (which was plenty) and we dared to hope she’d make another birthday. Her general condition seemed pretty good.

She’d had an X ray in April for suspected mild bloat and diarrhoea, then a general check up in August with a thorough hands on exam, and then another check up and hands on exam in October, as we weren’t sure if she had a URI (turns out she didn’t). No clues at all that something nasty was brewing inside but I understand it can be hard to see, and I know that things can develop quickly in their little bodies.

I wish we’d had the chance to help her, or even if not that, some warning that this was coming.

The vet was lovely and we are very grateful for the tender and swift care they gave her, and their honest advice to us, hard as it was to hear.

I am very glad she had overall a good life, she certainly seemed to make the most out of each day, she was the sweetest little piggy, so gentle and well behaved, sassy when she wanted to be, funny, and clever. A total sweetheart and an absolute source of pure joy. ♥️ I pray she didn't suffer at the end as that is unbearable to think about.

Dottie’s coping reasonably well I think and after a slightly subdued Saturday is eating well today and begging for food. We need to think about what to do next for her. She has a progressive heart disease which is currently stable (her ultrasound last week showed no fluid, which is good news, but she still has an arthymia and likely DCM and is in heavy dose or heart meds daily) so she is a vulnerable piggy health wise.

We need to end the cycle after Dottie, largely because our human life has become a bit overloaded with health and loss and challenges too. So we may look into fostering a pig for the duration of Dottie’s life if we can because we don’t want her to be alone but we couldn’t face e surrendering her back to the rescue. I guess we’ll just have to try to not get attached to a foster pig but is that even possible I wonder? Anyway we’ll mull that one over, it doesn’t need to be decided today as she is managing thank goodness.

Thank you for all your support. Not just on Winnie’s last day but in her almost 7 years, this forum advice has kept her alive at least once. You helped her go from a piggy from a nightmare start to a happy and healthy and confident girl.

IMG_1500.webpIMG_3965.webpIMG_8403.webp
 
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