• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

My Roo has passed away I'm devastated

Adrianne88

Adrianne88

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 7, 2014
Messages
401
Reaction score
499
Points
380
Location
USA, Arizona
My Roo suddenly passed away tonight. I'm sick and heartbroken. I posted last about Moo, her leg was injured and shes thankfully doing better now, unfortunately her cage mate and best friend has suddenly passed away. Completely unexpected out of nowhere. I feel broken inside I failed in some way. She has been fine, shes been drinking eating, nothing to cause major concern. She did cut back a snack and has been sleeping a bit more for the last week but still looked normal to me. Shes a bigger girl, around 3 pounds. Shes just always been bigger. I noticed her belly was slightly big but nothing to set me off. Honestly looked like she gained a bit of weight. Never showed signs of pain. Today she ate normally, drank normally. After dinner she hid in her hideaway didnt come out, 3 hours went by and I was about to just visit with her like normal. I reached in to get her and she felt lifeless. Something was wrong I immediately knew it. I picked her up she was limp. Breathing was incredibly shallow. I immediately just started crying like panicking. Her body was limp but she tried to pick her head up but couldn't. I called the emergency vet rushed her down there and they said she had a large tumor in her stomach they could very much feel. I thought GI stasis they said no absolutely not its a tumor and unfortunately she's trying to pass away. Asked if I wanted to do CPR I said no. They said no matter what they gave her a 10 percent survival rate. So we opted for euatania. They gave her pain medicine first. She passed away after that. They didnt even have to euthanize her. She was gasping for air trying to take breaths. When this first started I tried to breathe for her from some knowledge I have gained and she just didnt respond. Shes gone and I dont understand what happened. How could I have missed this?! I'm a bad owner. I feel so awful about myself right now. I am heartbroken and traumatized seeing her laying on her back with her belly so big. I swear she was not like this 3 hours ago. And now shes gone 😭 Moo is alone and smelling the bed Roo passed away in. I'm here feeling like an absolute failure. They said she had an aggressive tumor but how do they know?
 
Thats me and my Roo😭 she had such big feet so I called her Roo plus she liked to kick. Please tell me what I did wrong. I am going to miss her so much 💔
 

Attachments

  • FB_IMG_1759900977692.webp
    FB_IMG_1759900977692.webp
    31.8 KB · Views: 3
  • Screenshot_20251008_001256_Gallery.webp
    Screenshot_20251008_001256_Gallery.webp
    24.7 KB · Views: 2
Firstly you have done nothing wrong please believe that 💐
 
I obviously don't know what happened as I'm no expert at all but what I can tell is how much you clearly love Moo and Roo 💕
 
It'll be impossible to know her cause of death without a post-mortem, but sometimes these situations develop far quicker than we can process.

That you noticed and got her to emergency medical care promptly shows you loved her, and you made the choice to make her passing as comfortable as possible.

It's a darned hard call, but sometimes we have to accept we can't achieve a perfect outcome and have to do our very best with what we have. Hugs to you and your pigs.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss of a very special girl. Take care of yourself and Moo ❤️
 
Very sad. You had such a lovely bond with piggy Roo. Sadly it's not easy to know when something serious is going on with them. She was so beautiful and had such an intelligent face. Rest easy at the bridge little Roo 🌈
 
I'm so sorry, whatever it was it sounds like she was ready to go either way 😞
RIP sweet Roo 🌈❤️
 
I’m so sorry. You’ve done nothing wrong. Please don’t feel any guilt. As soon as you noticed something was wrong you took her to the vets. That’s all any of us could do. She passed knowing she was loved. Sending you hugs.

Popcorn high over the bridge gorgeous Roo.
 
I'm so sorry that you lost Roo. You've done nothing wrong here. If it's any consolation, I lost a pig in similar circumstances... she had actually seen a vet fairly recently for another issue and had a good going over then and her abdomen felt fine. A few weeks later she was lethargic and was drooling and we went to the vet and she had a large abdominal mass that was big enough to compress her digestive tract and make it impossible for her to swallow. The tumor grew to that size in just a couple weeks. My vet has said to me several times that cancer is very aggressive in small animals because they have such high metabolisms. So what I'm saying is that it's certainly not your fault you didn't notice anything, abdominal masses can go from undetectable to large problems in a matter of a couple weeks.

((HUGS)) and be kind to yourself while you grieve.
 
Thank you all so much for your kind words. It means so much to me and having people that understand how hard it is to lose a furbaby helps. Ive just experienced so much loss in the last year and a half my heart genuinely aches. I miss Roo terribly. Moo seems to be okay she's eating and acting normal, although she did leave a carrot by Roos cabin today😞 I miss hearing the 2 of them talking back and fourth all day. She was so beautiful gentle and soft. I gave her kisses daily, I said goodnight I love you every night because they are my babies. I lost my mom last year, then a month later my dog I had for 17 years passed away and now Roo is gone. Ill be okay but right now my heart really hurts.
 

Attachments

  • 20220628_133505.webp
    20220628_133505.webp
    34.5 KB · Views: 2
  • IMG_20220601_174453_911.webp
    IMG_20220601_174453_911.webp
    35.9 KB · Views: 1
Freela said:
I am so sorry you experienced something so similar. Thats exactly what the vet told me. She said the tumor may have literally grown in a matter of days. And with her masking the signs is was something I didnt know she had. But I still blame myself. I should've taken her in just for a check up with my other piggy last month. Her sister moo recently injured her paw. She's fully recovered now but if I had taken Roo to that appointment maybe they wouldve seen the tumor then. Instead I didn't take her because she appeared happy and healthy. She was always just a bigger guinea pig for a female anyway. She always hovered around 2.8-3.1 pounds. When Moo hurt her paw she gave clear signs she didnt feel good. But roo really didnt until it was literally too late. I got there and they immediately said shes trying to pass away. But I am forever traumatized seeing her trying to take more breaths. And the flinching she was doing. She didnt do it a lot but I saw it. She looked so peaceful but I just dont know if I can forgive myself. I just wanna hold her. 💔
Click to expand...
 
((HUGS.)) I know how hard it is. And we're so insulated from seeing people and animals die, for the most part, that we aren't used to seeing what it looks like naturally. Honestly, though, for most of my pets by the time they pass I think they were largely out of it, and it was harder for me than for them. Please try not to blame yourself. Even if you'd gone for that checkup, the likelihood that the tumor would have been treatable was probably very slim. Roo got to live out all her happy days and then passed away quickly... it's a shock for you, but it's probably the best possible scenario for her. I find that guinea pigs just seem to live their lives like normal right up until the last couple hours... it's hard for us, but probably nice for them.
 
I’m so sorry you have lost beautiful Roo so soon after your other girls 😞 (((hugs))) but please be assured that you have done nothing wrong. Sadly life can be cruel but you have given all your piggies including Roo a lovely life.

She is popcorning at the rainbow bridge with her friends

Sleep tight Roo x
 
So sorry that you have lost gorgeous Roo.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.
Holding you in my heart ♥️
 
Roo - what a gorgeous piggy! I'm sorry she was called over Rainbow Bridge. Sleep tight Roo.

I most always felt guilty in one way or another when my guineas died but feeling guilty does not mean being guilty. The information on this forum has helped me realise that. I hope in time it helps you too and continues to help if you waver in your feelings again.

It's hard too when you've had other recent losses, as you have. It all compounds and devastation at a guinea death is just as real as at a human death. Even though non-pet people may not understand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top