Joy and sorry are often going hand in hand...
Parallel to Merlin and Sulwen finally returning to me, Dryw (pronounced Dree-oo) suffered sudden back leg paralysis. For a few days it looked like she was going to hang on in there and she even perked up a little on Friday and Saturday but then she sadly took a turn for the worse on Sunday and drifted away to the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday. She was 6 1/2 years old after spending nearly all her life with the Tribe.
Dryw came here as an adoptee of @The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue in August 2019, fostered by a forum member. She was part of the Manchester rescue action, an intake of sows in particularly bad state. Her litter brother Salem (who stayed on with the fosterer) sadly died aged 1. It is therefore extra precious that Dryw lived to such a good age and was able to die from an old age related issue.
The fosterer asked me to please keep on Dryw's baby name 'Wren', so we compromised on the Welsh name for the bird, which fit nicely with this little baby joining my biggest boar Pioden 'Magpie' and the last of his previous wives, Hedydd 'Skylark', who celebrated her 8th birthday shortly after Dryw's arrival but sadly, like Dryw, died from age related arthritis soon after. Dryw was my compromise to prevent Pioden from being on his own while at the same time I needed a baby who could not challenge frail old Hedydd. Dryw did indeed cheer up Hedydd but also snuggled up to her in her last days. It was lovely to watch their bond.
Pioden - baby Dryw - Hedydd
Since Dryw (who ended up being called Deedoo for ease of pronunciation) turned out to be rather a rather sassy little lady and sadly very fear-aggressive towards any new (larger) piggies, she remained the only wife of Pioden, not helped by the Pandemic. However, it was always endearing to watch large Pioden with his small wife, who he dearly loved.
Bonding babies Llinos and Lleian with Dryw and old man Pioden
I finally managed to find a couple of rescue-born baby girls, which would not be able to challenge her in Autumn 2021. In the end it got a bit closer to the wire than expected since Llinos 'Linnet' and her cousin Lleian 'Smew' had only three weeks with a delighted old Pioden.
Lleian - Dryw - Llinos
Lleian moved across to live with Brangwyn after his then wife Melangell died very suddenly last summer. I kept them in the adjoining pen in order to help Llinos with the difficult transition to life without her bestie Deedoo who she has been comforting and looking after very touchingly over the last week.
My last picture of Llinos and Deedoo enjoying an afternoon snack of fresh grass
It has been a privilege and a joy to be able to give my little madam what she needed most: A long and happy life of 6 1/2 years in steady and very dedicated relationships where she could feel loved and secure - even though her companions were incidentally both my largest and my smallest Tribe piggies!
I have sent Dryw off with a little seasonal bouquet of self-seeded primroses for the joy she has brought me and her companions, Easter roses (hellebores), tulips and sprigs of perennially flowering wallflower for the enduring special bond between her and Llinos.
Parallel to Merlin and Sulwen finally returning to me, Dryw (pronounced Dree-oo) suffered sudden back leg paralysis. For a few days it looked like she was going to hang on in there and she even perked up a little on Friday and Saturday but then she sadly took a turn for the worse on Sunday and drifted away to the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday. She was 6 1/2 years old after spending nearly all her life with the Tribe.
Dryw came here as an adoptee of @The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue in August 2019, fostered by a forum member. She was part of the Manchester rescue action, an intake of sows in particularly bad state. Her litter brother Salem (who stayed on with the fosterer) sadly died aged 1. It is therefore extra precious that Dryw lived to such a good age and was able to die from an old age related issue.
The fosterer asked me to please keep on Dryw's baby name 'Wren', so we compromised on the Welsh name for the bird, which fit nicely with this little baby joining my biggest boar Pioden 'Magpie' and the last of his previous wives, Hedydd 'Skylark', who celebrated her 8th birthday shortly after Dryw's arrival but sadly, like Dryw, died from age related arthritis soon after. Dryw was my compromise to prevent Pioden from being on his own while at the same time I needed a baby who could not challenge frail old Hedydd. Dryw did indeed cheer up Hedydd but also snuggled up to her in her last days. It was lovely to watch their bond.
Pioden - baby Dryw - Hedydd
Since Dryw (who ended up being called Deedoo for ease of pronunciation) turned out to be rather a rather sassy little lady and sadly very fear-aggressive towards any new (larger) piggies, she remained the only wife of Pioden, not helped by the Pandemic. However, it was always endearing to watch large Pioden with his small wife, who he dearly loved.
Bonding babies Llinos and Lleian with Dryw and old man Pioden
I finally managed to find a couple of rescue-born baby girls, which would not be able to challenge her in Autumn 2021. In the end it got a bit closer to the wire than expected since Llinos 'Linnet' and her cousin Lleian 'Smew' had only three weeks with a delighted old Pioden.
Lleian - Dryw - Llinos
Lleian moved across to live with Brangwyn after his then wife Melangell died very suddenly last summer. I kept them in the adjoining pen in order to help Llinos with the difficult transition to life without her bestie Deedoo who she has been comforting and looking after very touchingly over the last week.
My last picture of Llinos and Deedoo enjoying an afternoon snack of fresh grass
It has been a privilege and a joy to be able to give my little madam what she needed most: A long and happy life of 6 1/2 years in steady and very dedicated relationships where she could feel loved and secure - even though her companions were incidentally both my largest and my smallest Tribe piggies!
I have sent Dryw off with a little seasonal bouquet of self-seeded primroses for the joy she has brought me and her companions, Easter roses (hellebores), tulips and sprigs of perennially flowering wallflower for the enduring special bond between her and Llinos.
