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Ill Visitors And Horrible Owners

elchine1

elchine1

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jun 26, 2017
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We have looked after guinea pigs of a schoolfriend of my son for a few weeks for the holidays.One of the piggies is biting a lot and has a bad rasping breath ( and a very snotty nose) Apparently she has had that forever. The mum of the owner said, " They are just rodents, I am not gonna do anything about it'. Well, we had them for three weeks and I took her to the vets as I couldn't live with the rasping breath etc. It might be an allergy awaiting result according to the vet and she gave me some drugs. However, the pigs were picked up today and when I told the owner, she said, :"What,? if there is a problem, I will let her go overnight, maybe there is a fox looking for some food." Honestly, what do you say to that. Why have pets in the first place.... I am appalled. We have learned to love the wee bitey, coughey one and to send her off to because she is not perfect...I despair.
 
Omg, I wouldn't have given them back lol. What a horrible creature, and to encourage that sort of disgusting attitude to her kid too. I'd name and shame her to everyone tbh, if she's so proud of neglecting animals why not let everyone see her for what she is? A monster.

Sorry, it just grinds my gears that such disgraceful things walk among us. That poor piggy is suffering and will probably die because of her neglect. Are there any authorities you can contact?
 
There is none to contact, but I think I might offer to take the piggy if they don't want her. She is quite nippy, but maybe that's because she is ill? I am so disappointed in this family. The parents are doctors with the NHS, but they have no sympathy for their own pet creatures. Weird.
 
I think offering to take in the piggy if they find it such a hassle is a very good idea, if they would be willing.
 
That's crazy, I wouldn't trust them to look after anyone in my family if they can be that cruel.

If they do offer, try to get their cage mate(s) too. It's not fair to separate them and they would miss each other terribly. And quite frankly they shouldn't be having any animals of their reaction to an animal in pain is "feed it to the foxes" smh.
 
If you suspect neglect the RSPCA would be worth speaking to. But maybe approach them regarding surrender first.
 
Thanks guys, I'll do my best. It's just a tricky thing as my son and the owner of the other piggies are in the same class and there are only a few children in the school. But I am going to do something to rescue them all.
 
no words! only bad words...
I do hope this person is only someone who enjoys shocking friends with exaggerate nonsenses.
You say these are educated and graduated people and this is even worse. Maybe they work all day long and don't want to deal with the tantrum of a son who wants the toy-guinea pig... hence they bought the pig-toy and who cares of his life... if the pig dies there will be another new one.
What did your son say?
 
OMG I just got goosebumps reading this thread, how appalling to even think like that about your animal let alone say something like that aloud to somebody. I would have been so upset I wouldn't have been able to hand it over but I guess if it's not your animal you have no choice although RSPCA would definitely have got a call. Good on you though for caring enough to take the poor piggy to the vet. It makes me wonder how good a doctor they are if they have such a disregard for a animals life.
 
Kylie80 said:
OMG I just got goosebumps reading this thread, how appalling to even think like that about your animal let alone say something like that aloud to somebody. I would have been so upset I wouldn't have been able to hand it over but I guess if it's not your animal you have no choice although RSPCA would definitely have got a call. Good on you though for caring enough to take the poor piggy to the vet. It makes me wonder how good a doctor they are if they have such a disregard for a animals life.
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elchine1 said:
Thanks guys, I'll do my best. It's just a tricky thing as my son and the owner of the other piggies are in the same class and there are only a few children in the school. But I am going to do something to rescue them all.
Click to expand...

Yea it's very difficult, I don't envy you that's for sure. I hope you can figure something out without making life difficult for yourself and your family. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you all!
 
I thought about it for a while, but the breathing was so bad ( and she is a young animal) so I took her to our vet. 35 pounds it cost. Never mind, it was a real rasping sound. Hopefully it will be sorted, but the owners are not too concerned. I didn't tell them about the cost as they wouldn't pay, but hopefully, I have made a difference by treating her in the meantime....
 
rome_italy said:
no words! only bad words...
I do hope this person is only someone who enjoys shocking friends with exaggerate nonsenses.
You say these are educated and graduated people and this is even worse. Maybe they work all day long and don't want to deal with the tantrum of a son who wants the toy-guinea pig... hence they bought the pig-toy and who cares of his life... if the pig dies there will be another new one.
What did your son say?
Click to expand...
My son is absolutely disgusted as he loves the piggies more than anything and plays with them everyday several times.
Yet he likes his friend, too ( the guinea pig neglectors) difficult,...
 
rome_italy said:
no words! only bad words...
I do hope this person is only someone who enjoys shocking friends with exaggerate nonsenses.
You say these are educated and graduated people and this is even worse. Maybe they work all day long and don't want to deal with the tantrum of a son who wants the toy-guinea pig... hence they bought the pig-toy and who cares of his life... if the pig dies there will be another new one.
What did your son say?
Click to expand...
My son didn't get the whole message as I didn't want him to be exposed to this. He loves the guinea pigs and he would be distraught by putting one down (or out to the foxes) because they are not fully healthy.
 
I imagine your difficulty with your son...
But I would live far from such ignorant "doctors". The worst thing is that they think it is a common procedure to get rid of a rodent; in fact they don't feel ashamed in talking like that. This is awful. I mean: do you want to feed the fox? ok, do it, but keep your idea well hidden! if you have a brain you should know that healthy people would think bad of you...
Do they feel important only because they are wearing a white uniform? (the same one used here by butchers!)
bad people.
 
What a difficult situation, but well done for taking care of the piggies so well while they were with you.
I agree that the best thing would be to see if you can take the piggies (as a pair) off of their hands. Maybe say your son is besotted with them, and before you go and get piggies of your own would they be willing to let you have theirs?

And I appreciate how complex these things can be.
We recently took on a pair of rabbits from a child at my daughter's school.
One of the rabbits arrived in appalling condition, and had clearly been seriously neglected for weeks.
The emergency vet who saw her the day she arrived wanted to file neglect charges against the previous owners.
It was truly heartbreaking, but made even harder by the fact that my daughter had to see this other girl at school everyday.
We spoke a lot about how this sort of thing is never the child's fault, as it is ultimately the parents responsibility to ensure any pet in the home is cared for properly.
I think (hope) my children learnt a valuable lesson - just because a family looks nice on the outside (fancy car, good jobs, etc) it doesn't mean they are good people on the inside.
 
I think that you can safely offer a home for any guinea pig those people do not want to be bothered with by saying that you and especially your son have become fond of them. That will hopefully help keep the situation on socially acceptable level. All the best for saving this poor piggy and hopefully its companion, too!

With that attitude, I am not surprised about a nippy guinea pig, as the handling is likely accordingly. :(
You may find the tips in our piggy whispering guide here interesting and helpful: How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language

Is the snot thick, yellow and green or clear/whiteish? The first points to an untrated respiratory infection, the second more to a sensitivity/allergy to hay dust, pollen or dry air.
 
This is not a good situation to be in I have sympathy for you. I agree with what others are saying and let these horrible :cen::cen: people know that you have become fond of them and would like to keep them. Hopefully they will be pleased to 'get rid' of them and hand them over.
 
Well done for caring, people like you are a treasure. Maybe if you explain the health issues and the extra care they'll need the idiot owners will let you keep them. You should also mention the vet bill too. They should pay as the pigs are currently their responsibility
 
Absolutely disgusting! If they were that callous that they'd "feed it to the foxes", surely they'd be up for surrendering the piggies (hopefully both) to you? Hopefully that was just some sick joke :(
This is exactly why children shouldn't get pets unless the adults are 100% invested in them and willing to take responsibility for the animals. Did they just think the kid would take care of it and they could bin them off when they become an inconvenience? Must be incredibly cold people to not care about something as fluffy and sweet as a piggy!
 
That makes me so mad. Unfortunately the idea that guinea pigs are disposable pets that don't deserve medical care is really common where I am. :( I once had someone suggest I put an ill piggie in the freezer as a kind of free home euthanasia and they were dead serious about it! They owned rabbits and I was too scared to ask if that was actually something they had done in the past because I was horrified at what the answer would be!

I would make sure you tell them that you and your son really enjoyed having the piggies, and that if they ever decide they don't want them, you would be happy to take them from her (even if they are sick and need medical care.) Maybe she will take you up on the offer. Short of involving authorities (depending on the laws where you live), which might be a very obvious tip-off to her who reported, I'm not quite sure what your options are. Poor little pigs. :( Why get pets if you aren't willing to take care of them?
 
Freela said:
I once had someone suggest I put an ill piggie in the freezer as a kind of free home euthanasia and they were dead serious about it!
Click to expand...
Are you serious? :O
I completely sympathise with people whose pets have illnesses/conditions because vets are absolutely not cheap and piggies in particular are not something you can get insurance for. One practice quoted me 52 pounds for a first-time general check up for my two!
But there are so many solutions aside from killing the poor little things - even totally devoted owners of any pets have had to surrender them to rescues so they can get medical treatment that they otherwise couldn't afford. Especially angers me that the people in question here are apparently doctors......surely they of all people can afford this?
 
I completely sympathise with people whose pets have illnesses/conditions because vets are absolutely not cheap and piggies in particular are not something you can get insurance for. One practice quoted me 52 pounds for a first-time general check up for my two!
But there are so many solutions aside from killing the poor little things - even totally devoted owners of any pets have had to surrender them to rescues so they can get medical treatment that they otherwise couldn't afford. Especially angers me that the people in question here are apparently doctors......surely they of all people can afford this?[/QUOTE]

Absolutely! ,
 
Hoping for a positive outcome for all concerned. And well done to you for caring so much to try and help.
 
Thanks for everyones' input. We have already got two piggies, so, I am not too desperate to get more, but I would if needs be. They were just with us for the holidays of the family (3 weeks). I have a feeling that they will get bored of them fairly soon ...and before they "put them out to the fox" I will just acquire /rescue them. The child who is my son's age is actually quite a bit interested in them, so I am hoping I can kindle/foster his interest. The parents are just weird, we cleaned out the piggies' cage before they picked them up as a courtesy and they were saying: " oh we didn't expect that, they don't need cleaning that often". I really am speechless. I am not an absolute pet person, but once I take on a responsibility of an animal, I know I am committed. And they are so cute. what's not to like?
 
Absolutely what is not to like about gp's. They have terrific personalities and the noises they make are just :luv: , the piggy lips, the chooken legs, the cute little faces, the way they lick you when you are 'one of the gang' ........
 
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