I am sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's been an overwhelming time. Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions on illnesses and doctors.
First off, we did not go to Wakefield. Instead we went to Putman Veterinary Clinic. (Tracy, we used Dr. Orcutt with our guinea pig Flash; she was wonderful.) Unfortunately, Dr. Orcutt wasn't there. We did see Dr. Emerson, and she was great.
Rocket was still wobbly on Monday morning, but he was trying to be a normal guinea pig. He tried to stand on his hind legs and hold onto the edge of the cage for food. It was so sad seeing him so sick but wanting to be a happy healthy pig. The vet and car ride were terrifying for him. Dr. Emerson examined him, and found that his back teeth were overgrown, and were growing over his tongue. This might have been why he hadn't been eating hard foods. She also found this hard thing on his throat that could have been a tumor or a numerous amount of other things. On top of that, she thought he might have pneumonia, and that he was having trouble breathing. He might also have an ear infection (he had started tilting his head that morning, and his head was wobbly). She was not able to diagnose the leg problem, as he would need an x-ray, and she didn't think he was up to it. Her verdict was that we could take him home and start treating him, but there was no guarantee he would improve, or we could hospitilize him, still no guarantee he would improve. It didn't look like he would make it.
We decided to take him home and give him one last day, and then take him back and euthanize him. We were planning on giving him whatever he wanted to eat, and letting him have a great last day. She gave him some fluids, a pain killer and some other shot. We took him home and the ride was very stressful for him. His head had already been wobbly on his neck, but he kept banging it against the metal bars of the traveling case. It was very sad.
When we got home and put him in his cage, three of his legs were paralyzed, he had to drag himself around, and refused both food and water (even the clover, which he would eat).
We spent the day with him in intervals, gently stroking him and talking to him. We had changed our mind; he was very very sick, and we didn't think he'd make another car ride. We canceled the appointment at Putnam and called up a traveling vet, scheduling for her next available time, 12:30 the next day so that he could die at home. We ate dinner.
After I finished eating, I went to check on him. He lay behind his house, one of his favorite sleeping places. He was barely breathing. I couldn't see his tummy moving as he does when he takes a breath, so I called mom and dad over. They thought they could feel a very slight breath. When my dad touched him, he gave a last little burble. Even after he died, we still sang to him and talked to him. We buried him that night under the lilac bushes in our yard.
He had his whole family with him to say good-bye. We miss him very much
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Yesterday, all the flowers in our yard burst into bloom and we saw a cardinal flying around our yard. We think it's a good omen for Rockie. I hope our little guinea has fun in Guinea Heaven, with his buddy Flash.
