Euthanasia- Advice Needed...

[Huangdi]

I know that posting this in a guinea pig forum is not going to evoke a good response but I hope people can understand where I'm coming from...or at least try.
A year and a half ago, I bought a guinea pig much to my parents' disagreement. I am guilty of not knowing much about guinea pigs at the time so when I left it to my mum's care and moved away for uni, I thought she would able to care for it.... but I was wrong. She kept the poor thing outside all year and never took it to the vet although I kept urging her to. She finds cleaning his cage extremely annoying as well. I came back to find him with a parasitic infestation and treated it accordingly. However, I'm worried about his quality of life in the long run. We live in a small, rather isolated town and good vets are miles away and as for hay, the local store doesn't stock any known, quality brands - just some C grade stuff. That's where I think the mites/parasites came from. I could order something else online but it'd be expensive and she's made it clear she is not investing anything more than the usual amount.
If I give it to a local, I'm certain he'll get the same treatment. People only have love for dogs here. If I give him to the local animal rescue community, they'll put him down.
My heart aches just thinking about it but do you think it would be best for the animal to be put to sleep? He's not getting the love he deserves nor the treatment he deserves.
I don't want to feel like he's suffering while I'm away and we're also dealing with some financial troubles lately....

I feel ashamed writing this but what would you do in my place?

 

[sport_billy]

Hello

Difficult situation, but you need to put the welfare of the piggy first.

I can see from your IP you are in Cyprus is that correct? I understand you don't have any organisations like we do in the UK such as the RSPCA..

Without wishing to sound harsh, you took on an animal and therefore you need to stand up to your responsibility and putting their welfare first even if this means hardship to yourself. Can you take them to Uni with yourself?

Your priority should be trying to find this guinea pig a safe home as soon as possible.

 

[Huangdi]

Hello

Difficult situation, but you need to put the welfare of the piggy first.

I can see from your IP you are in Cyprus is that correct? I understand you don't have any organisations like we do in the UK such as the RSPCA..

Without wishing to sound harsh, you took on an animal and therefore you need to stand up to your responsibility and putting their welfare first even if this means hardship to yourself. Can you take them to Uni with yourself?

Your priority should be trying to find this guinea pig a safe home as soon as possible.

I'm Greek but studying/working in Cyprus at the moment.
I am trying to put the animal's welfare first but there are certain limitations . My family won't care for it and I can't drop everything and go back just to care for it. Vet bills in Greece are also very expensive - 50 euros just for a casual check-up not including blood test bills etc. I'm trying to but I can't find anyone in my area that even has a guinea pig.....Giving it to a 12 year old who wants a pet to play with doesn't seem like a good idea.....:/

 

[Caron's Cavies]

Where did you buy the guinea pig from initially? Are you able to contact them and ask them if they can help you to re-home the piggy?

Obviously you now realise it was not the best thing to take on the piggy but now you need to focus on re-homing him.

I do not believe any animal should be 'put to sleep' just because it is an easy way out.

As an adult you should understand that you now need to step up and ensure that somehow you now do the right thing by him.

We have forum members all over the world so I am sure they must be piggy lovers in Greece also that would be willing to give this boy the love and care that he needs.

Not everyone with children gets a piggy for the child to be responsible for. In fact myself and many others on the forum here have children who might play with the piggies and then wander off when the hard work starts like cleaning them out etc. We take on the responsibility of caring and loving them (gladly actually) knowing that children should never be considered able to have the full responsibility of any animal.

Please, please find this boy a new home.

Perhaps you can start by starting a thread on here calling any forum members in Greece who may be interested. Then start looking at placing ads and ensure you list a price so that only genuine people apply. You should also make sure you ask them lots of questions of which genuine people would be happy to answer.

 

[LisaAli]

Hi @Huangdi

Which part of Greece is your Piggy located in, we may be able to give you some contacts for No-kill shelters as we are members of various Dog rescues within Greece & Cyprus, who will know of small animal rescues in their area..

Lisa & Ali..

 

[Little Ones]

I know that somehow you can transport animals to another country. Maybe it would be worth looking at, seeing if it would be possible to deport him to the UK. You could get in touch with animal welfare in the UK for example the RSPCA and ask if they would collect him, explain the situation. It may be a long shot but it's a possibility. The air fare may cost a bit though.

 

[Freela]

For me, personally, euthanasia is a last resort when an animal is ill/suffering with no reasonable option of recovery or with a quality of life so impaired that death is preferable. If he has the capacity to recovery physically and live a normal life, I would seek to rehome or relocate first. Do you have a humane society for animals or no-kill shelters in Greece? Even private shelters or rescues? You took him on, it isn't his fault that there weren't the resources in place to support him. Where did you get him from in the first place- there must be some sort of market for guinea pigs if they are available for sale, and I doubt he's the first pet that has run into this situation.

 

[Merrypigs Sanctuary]

Can you not take him to Uni with you? It might be worth asking! Please don't put him to sleep until you have totally exhausted any and all other options!