I’m still processing this but today I said goodbye to my beautiful Boris, the agouti beauty.
Boris came to me post neuter after being surrendered to the rescue as a solo juvenile hormonal boar who had been foolishly sold by a pet shop breeder as a suitable companion for another boar. After the inevitable fight that ensued he found himself homeless and then plumless as @The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue neutered him.
I wasn’t looking for another boar. He came to me named as Bjorn, and he was meant to serve out his 6 weeks wait and then be rehomed. But as we all remember in the Spring of 2020 Boris Johnson (of partygate scandals) locked the country down and this gorgeous, polite, gentle giant of a boar was left waiting all alone with no hope in sight of being allowed to go dating.
So the natural solution was for Bjorn to join my ladies - Evie and Iris - who accepted him relatively easily. We renamed him Boris after the bumbling PM whose actions led to him moving in with us permanently.
Boris became a firm favourite with everyone here. A polite, gentle giant who was respectful with his ladies, loved a snuggle and would sit for ages on your lap or on a little cat bed while you were watching TV. I finally had my very own lap pig.
About a year ago Boris started with weird symptoms. Slow weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, weird lumps and bumps. FNAs showed he didn’t have lymphoma. He loved a bit of Emeraid to help him maintain his weight, and he seems to bounce back again.
Things stayed relatively stable for Boris, but after Evie’s death earlier this year he really did suddenly take a turn for the worse. Massive rapid weight loss and changed behaviour led to X-rays and blood tests that showed he had hyperthyroidism. Over the past 5 months we’ve been battling to get his condition under control. We’d completely maxed out the thyronorm dose but he was still losing weight. Then over the last week or so his behaviour changed. Subtly at first but then very markedly. He was clearly not at all happy. He became completely uncooperative with his meds. Refused syringe top ups that he had previously loved and pushed his ladies around like a belligerent boar as he guzzled everything in sight. He refused cuddles and for the first time he gave me a bite. At the vets today he behaved like a different pig from the gentle giant he had always been. I had a very long and considered discussion with our vet who has been treating him for this condition for months. With his level and rate of deterioration and no reasonable prospect of any improvement we agreed it was best to help him to the Rainbow Bridge as he was so miserable. I’m absolutely gutted but know that we did all we could for him.
Sleep tight my gorgeous agouti beauty. I hope you are reunited with your beloved Evie and Boo. Iris and Hazel are very quiet tonight. We will all miss you xx
Boris came to me post neuter after being surrendered to the rescue as a solo juvenile hormonal boar who had been foolishly sold by a pet shop breeder as a suitable companion for another boar. After the inevitable fight that ensued he found himself homeless and then plumless as @The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue neutered him.
I wasn’t looking for another boar. He came to me named as Bjorn, and he was meant to serve out his 6 weeks wait and then be rehomed. But as we all remember in the Spring of 2020 Boris Johnson (of partygate scandals) locked the country down and this gorgeous, polite, gentle giant of a boar was left waiting all alone with no hope in sight of being allowed to go dating.
So the natural solution was for Bjorn to join my ladies - Evie and Iris - who accepted him relatively easily. We renamed him Boris after the bumbling PM whose actions led to him moving in with us permanently.
Boris became a firm favourite with everyone here. A polite, gentle giant who was respectful with his ladies, loved a snuggle and would sit for ages on your lap or on a little cat bed while you were watching TV. I finally had my very own lap pig.
About a year ago Boris started with weird symptoms. Slow weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, weird lumps and bumps. FNAs showed he didn’t have lymphoma. He loved a bit of Emeraid to help him maintain his weight, and he seems to bounce back again.
Things stayed relatively stable for Boris, but after Evie’s death earlier this year he really did suddenly take a turn for the worse. Massive rapid weight loss and changed behaviour led to X-rays and blood tests that showed he had hyperthyroidism. Over the past 5 months we’ve been battling to get his condition under control. We’d completely maxed out the thyronorm dose but he was still losing weight. Then over the last week or so his behaviour changed. Subtly at first but then very markedly. He was clearly not at all happy. He became completely uncooperative with his meds. Refused syringe top ups that he had previously loved and pushed his ladies around like a belligerent boar as he guzzled everything in sight. He refused cuddles and for the first time he gave me a bite. At the vets today he behaved like a different pig from the gentle giant he had always been. I had a very long and considered discussion with our vet who has been treating him for this condition for months. With his level and rate of deterioration and no reasonable prospect of any improvement we agreed it was best to help him to the Rainbow Bridge as he was so miserable. I’m absolutely gutted but know that we did all we could for him.
Sleep tight my gorgeous agouti beauty. I hope you are reunited with your beloved Evie and Boo. Iris and Hazel are very quiet tonight. We will all miss you xx
) xx
