Our new dog killed one of my grand pigs 3 days ago and i'm still distraught, HELP

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Nanny_Pig

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It's so sad and the worst first post ever imaginable, I guess i'm hurting so much i need to get the story of my grand pigs out, maybe it will help with the healing process, maybe not!

I'll start from the beginning, After visiting my sister and holding her guineas my daughter fell in love and had been asking for one of her own since. So once i decided I'd decided the time was right i started looking to rehome one, when i found and advert and enquired we went that evening (21/6/11) to collect him. When we arrived at the house there was a big dog barking in another room and the boyfriend of the owner said he was about two, very friendly and that he was dealing with me as his girlfriend was too upset as they were only giving him away because of the dog. He was a cute, i believe Abyssinian white boar with the biggest black eyes I've ever seen. I asked what his name was and he said 'Moonie' i thought it was a great name as he did indeed look like the moon. We took him home in his little cage and were in love instantly. Once i realised his cage had a massive break in the corner i realised he must of been pulled/knocked off the table by the big dog. So i began researching C&C cages and built him a huge one (dubbed Moonie Mansion).

Then on 7/1/12 we drove miles to collect another boar this time it was a baby and initially i was a little disappointed that it was another white one, until i saw him ofc. There he was a smooth coated white albino, instantly we fell in love with the poor little fellow, who as a little baby was all alone in a tiny pet carrier in a feed shed on a horse yard, it was freezing cold and he had a gooey eye, we were so worried he would die looking so small and still. We named him Sunny and over the next few days he perked right up, it took him a while to get used us and to living in a massive C&C cage. Then as he grew he'd get excited and run up and down and round and round the cage, such fun to watch. He grew so big much bigger than Moonie and full of character. They would squabble sometimes, but never fought. And loved grazing in the garden together. Sunny more so fast and active and dexterous, he even liked his chin stroked and would gently nibble and lick your finger, Moonie on the other hand as loveable as he is, he didn't like chin strokes and would rather bite your finger if you put it near his mouth. But he was more of the tame one, he'd come to me when i called him in the garden, he'd come over and investigate if i was sunbathing or eating, off Sunny would follow if there was food involved.

I've been so proud to say that every day i would put them outside to roam as they liked, then bring them in at bed time (as long as it wasn't pouring with rain or freezing cold) on days they didn't go out i'd fetch the scissors and cut them a heap of grass) Although i have an elderly cat and a Jack Russell and often my mum would bring his daughter over and they'd killed rats before, i taught them to leave them and accept them as family and they ignore them.

Last june me and my kids and pets moved into a rented house with my boyfriend his daughter their 2 labradors and 5 rats(long story with my B/Fs 2 daughters getting boys and girl rats each and hey presto 4 became 12, then the girls split the sexes and one kept the girls the other the boys,(who lives with us) Anyway, the labradors were curious at first but mature and understood just once that 'leave it' was enough, intact the labradors are quite scared of the piggies and rats and run away if they go near them!

Well we moved into our own house last christmas (dec 12), and our family of harmonious pets was perfect, every day my partner takes all the dogs jogging before he goes to work, once everyones gone to work and school, i have a shower eat breakfast and i get my little garndpigs and put them outside. (due to our family being bigger and the house smaller we had to stop using the C&C cage (so used the grids as a fence for piggies in garden) we bought Moonie and sunny a two tear 120cm long cage for my daughters birthday this august, and gave my partners eldest daughter the 3 tier 100cm they'd had since last year, as it was just too tall to clean out and the piggies never went up the top much.

Our little sunny boy was always sticking his nose under the grids and butting them up and escaping, i'd find him hiding under the chopped wood for the chiminea amongst the spider webs to my dismay. it was his little quirk my grand piggie Houdini. Moonie rarely bothered getting out unless it was to follow sunny for the thrill. as he kept escaping i got worried he'd get hurt so fenced of a little area buy the washing line so they'd have a patch about 10ft sq to graze, i didn't cut the grass there so they'd have lots of long grass. Sunny hadn't escaped for quite a while and no more trying to coax him out at night with carrots and lettuce. (i'm so sorry if this is long but its how it comes into my head)

Recently we would joke about our dogs (the labradors) we had a black one and a yellow one, we would say how getting a chocolate one would complete the set. Jokes turned into reality and we decided to rehome one in need as it would be more rewarding than buying one from a breeder. Last saturday (15/9) we were beaming as we were going to collect a chocolate labrador it was a 8 hour drive there and back, the lab is nearly 2 excitable and quite boisterous but he does listen to commands. i dont think he can quite believe from being an sonly dog who is stuck indoors most of the time with no company, to a lively home with other dogs and lots of attention and walks.

My daughter started senior school this term and as a result i'm still trying to get her to realise getting ready for school is the priority or she'll miss the bus, but on monday she can downstairs with Moonie & Sunny in their basket to put them out before school, i told her to leave them and that ill put them out because she had to leave for the bus.
(this is where is gets darker and i'm welling up now)

She left for school and i put Moonie & Sunny out to graze, AS me and my partner ate breakfast the new dog went out to look and we told him to leave it and to come away, and he did, and just carried on playing with his rope in the garden, he came in and went back out a few times ignoring the piggies as they ate grass behind there C&C grid wall. After breakfast my partner when up for his shower and i made us a coffee as i always do, i called the dogs and they went up the stairs before me including the new one, who has followed us since he came home and never leaves us. I put down the coffee and my partner called to me, i pooped my head into the bathroom as he was reminding me to call the vet to make a date to get the new dog castrated. i turned around and notice him gone, i called him as it wasn't like him, and he didn't come, i called again because he normally scoots to your side, it was early quite and something in my bones panicked me i run down the stairs calling him constantly.
I run outside and all i could hear was my sunny boy squeezing and making vibrating noises, the dog was in the grazing area with sunny he picked him up, and i screamed at him to drop him, and he did instantly and i picked him up but Sunny had stopped moving and was floppy, I screamed the street down with my cries, and screamed at the dog to get in the living room and closed the door, i rushed to my daughters room and lay him on the bed, i tried mouth to mouth and blew air into him thinking that surely its just shock and that i can bring him back, i tired pressing on his chest as if beats then blowing more air into him, i was shaking like a leaf and crying and calling his name, but i wasn't sure about guinea pig resus and thought i could be causing more damage to him and his little body so i stopped. I had to let him go because i didn't know what to do. i cradled him in my arms and went out to get moonie(i knew he was ok when i picked up sunny from the dog because he was hiding in there tunnel)

i bought moonie up and placed them both on the bed, moonie just stood there as i sobbed over sunny stroking him for 15 minutes hoping he'd wake up, but of course he didn't and i put them both in the cage incase moonie needed to realised what had happened. i was beside myself and in pieces i was hoping that i'd go in later to find him awake once again 10 minutes later he was still dead. not a drop of blood just lifeless, i decided to wrap him in a pillow case like a baby on his side and but him in one of the little cage toilets, it would always make me laugh when i'd go in in the morning to wake my daughter and see him stretched out asleep in one. i put him in it and then put him in her bathroom, so she could see him one last time. My partner stayed at home with me and didn't go to work because i couldn't stop crying, he held me for hours as i sobbed.

i couldn't eat or drink and just felt sick, the thought of what had happened and having to act like everything was fine when she came home because she had not done some homework, i had planned that i would have her work ready when she came in so we could quickly get it over with then i would tell her. How heartless i felt that i was going to do that, but my daughters had a lot of problems at school and i didn't wan't her work to suffer (plus i doubt a teacher would ever think the death of a pet is a good enough excuse to not do your homework), i knew it was going to break her heart too, and just counting down the time to home time killed me. i fell asleep crying in bed in the afternoon( i felt so cold and depressed) and woke up in time to have a shower and get dressed. then all i had to do was wait, i checked on sunny boy and he'd started to go stiff and his beautiful red eyes had turned more grey. i tired to close them but they wouldn't close.
 
What a horrible situation, am so sorry. Hope you are all ok and his little friend too. Please don't blame the dog as he was doing what comes naturally (not that you have said you are of course).
 
Part 2 as its to big


we kept the dogs upstairs because i thought it would be awful for her to be petting and hugging him minutes before finding out he'd killed one of 'her boys' anxiously i waited and heard the front door go, instantly i red died myself for the quick homework talk but it was my partners daughter alone because mine had missed the bus, so i waited for her to come on the next bus, when she got home she dithered about chatting and making food and tea, i was so frustrated waiting for her to eat boiling hot noodles and to drink her tea. it felt like a lifetime, even then after eating it was painstakingly slow go on the homework, she had to write about herself, further more i knew the guinea pigs would be mentioned in it, as they are her life and she loves them to bits.

once shed finished i said get you stuff because we need to go to your room for a chat, she said oh no its about my work..i said no lets just go, i took a toilet roll and told her to sit on the bed. i said as i burst into tears, something really bad happened today, P****r got sunny this morning and he died, she screamed no not my sunny boy, this is the worst day of my life, where is he?, and her little face face was filled with tears, i hugged her and told her how i'd hugged him, and wrapped him, and put him in the piggy loo where he liked to sleep, incase she wanted to see him. she said she wanted to see him, i went to get him and i warned her gently that he'd started to go a bit stiff and his eyes had changed colour, she took him out sobbing calling 'my baby' 'my sunny boy' 'i can't believe it', she took him downstairs to show and tell partners daughter, then took him over the park to be in the sun for the last time, i had to send my partner out to get her because i was such a mess, and i didn't want her showing any kids there her dead sunny boy and scarring them for life, he came back in tears himself.

When she came in i said we'd need to give him a little funeral and bury him under the cherry tree that he naughtily nibbled when we first planted them, i was hoping the marks were still there and they were, as if he'd carved his little 'sunny was ere' mark, we had a shoe box and put him in it still wrapped in the pillowcase, she wrote a little message on the inside of the lid and drew a picture of him, she put a piece of their fleece bedding under his head as pillow, picked some grass and placed it in the box. my partner tirelessly dug and scooped to make the hole big enough, it took quite a while and we all stayed and watched, it was freezing but worth it for sunny boy, daughter kept the box open stroking sunny the whole time. the first attempt we thought the hole wasn't deep enough so had to take him out and dig deeper, i think daughter was relieved a bit and opened the box to stroke him again, finally it was big enough and she kissed him and said goodbye my little pig pig before losing the lid and placing him in the ground, she wanted to fill it back with dirt herself and she did, i had to instruct her to press it down at the sides and such because we didn't want any air it or it would collapse. we pressed the dirt down hard and tight then laid the grass back over the top, she took her windmill from the corner of the pigs run and placed it beside where he's buried.we were all crying like babys for our beloved sunny, she asked us if we would buy a little stone pig to put there we agreed that would be nice.



I know it was fast but we had been to the pet store on sunday the day before sunnys death, to buy the new dog a bowl and new water bottles for the piggies and ratties, when we saw a little piggie in the adoption cage, at the time my partners daughter said how it looked like sunny, except it had grey ears. well remembering this and my daughter with a big hole in her heart and him not being there in the morning, we decided to secretly go to the store as it was open till 8, and we had about an hour before closing, we went and enquired about the coloured ones but they were girls and not available yet, and the one that looked like sunny was a boisterous boy of 4-5 months, he was running around his cage flipping things as if he was sunny, we decided we'd take him as he deserved a chance. we got home and partners daughter said that my daughter didn't want another that looked like sunny. so as i gave her the box(knowing she would most definitely love him) i said i heard you didn't want one like sunny, this one does but he's got grey ears, he's cared and very shy. she opened it and saw this skittish little fellow trying to hide and said he's really fast like a rocket, and there we have it Rocket is his name, we've separate the two tiers on the cage for the forceable future. and letting rocket get used to home life. I'm so sad that sunny had to die to make us build a properly enclosed run, and until we do no piggies will be going outside.





i had to write this because i'm so bereaved for the loss of my grandpig sunny, and that i feel so guiltily, why didn't i shut the door?, why daughter bring them down before school and why did i put them out before getting dressed? could i have saved him with resuscitation if i knew how to? i'm trying to forgive the dog as he is not been int he family as long as the other to learn about our smaller pets, he's still a pup and playful, but every time i try i just see him in the piggy side with sunny weeking and vibrating telling him to leave him alone, maybe calling for his nanny pig to save him. I'm a mess and constantly crying, everything reminds me of it, coffee in the morning reminds me of the moments before it happened, being in the kitchen looking out of the glass door and seeing the C&C grids, everything... and I'm just so sad, full of guilt and in bits.

My partner looks at me and he can see how sad i am and that I'm trying not to be, he hugs me and kisses me on the head and that starts me crying too. i think it's worse for me as i heard sunny, and i couldn't save him. how long will this grief last?

I'm Nanny Pig and i love and loved my little grand pigs, i'm actually finding it impossible to function, HELP!
sorry for such a long post, tears all the way though it so sorry for any typos that may have missed through blurred vision
 
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Sorry to read this. Absolutely tragic accident to have happened, please do not be too hard on yourself over this. Here is a link to the blue cross http://www.bluecross.org.uk/1742/Pet-loss.html they offer a pet brevement loss telephone line. You can conatct them on Contact the Pet Bereavement Support Service on 0800 096 6606

*massive hugs*
 
I'm so very sorry, am in tears reading this - can feel your emotion :(
Sadly, this is not the first thread on here that a dog has killed a piggy so please do not beat yourself up - accidents do happen to the most caring of people.
Nothing will bring Sunny back but he had a lovely life with you and Moonie and hope you can find the tiniest bit of comfort knowing that.
Sending hugs to you all x
 
thank you for you kind words, and the advice, its good to see a bereavemt line and that people understand how heartbreaking it really is to lose a pet, and we will lose them all one day, but i never expected it to be that way and it guts me terribly ;(
i don't blame the dog, i'm just full of the usual if's, what's and why's, like the fact sunny was so good at escaping and hiding and the one time he needed to he didn't.
On another note its been really hard trying to find a piggy statue made from clay/resin thats nice, i have scanned the internet and found 2 one has awful looking eyes and the other i'm not too keen on because it has writing, i'd prefer one thats just a stone/plain pig and not painted as enamel would wear off over time.
 
Oh Nanny Pig *big hugs* your story brought tears to my eyes - we have a dog and piggies and I could only image how I would feel should something happen to either of them, as others have said it's not the dogs fault nor is it yours accidents happen. Try not to think of the 'what ifs' and think about the happy times.

It sounds like he had the most wonderful life with you and he brought you all so much joy so please try and think of those ideas.

I don't know if this helps but when I lost my hamsters I looked up animal memorials and some made specially for them - it was only written plaques I had done which are placed in their flower pots but a lot of the places I looked at did personalised stones which would include a picture?
 
I'm so very sorry this happened to you. Though my guinea pig didn't die under such circumstances I know the feeling of grief and guilt over a piggies death and the 'what ifs' that your mind goes through.

From your story you did all you could for the poor little guy and it sounds like to me he might have died through more of shock than from anything more painful as there was no blood. I'm sure he's watching from above as an angel and can see how much you care and miss him.

Your story is extremely sad and I'm sitting here crying but please don't feel too guilty. *huggles* RIP little Sunny.
 
I am so sorry to hear of your loss, I know how hard it is having lost my beloved lurcher of 13 years in may, followed by my coronet piggie lupin in june and just 4 weeks ago my silver whom lived with the herd (as a neutered boar), its so hard to explain to people who have not had pets how hard it is to deal with the loss of your pets, thankfully on here you are not alone and we all completely understand how devastating it is. For that I send you lots of hugs and suggest you do phone the blue cross line, I think you need to talk to someone about everything.

But I thought I would also add, you are in shock over having witnessed a dogs prey drive, a very dark side of any breed of dog, but something that having been in the world of greyhounds and lurchers for 13 years I know how much of a shock it can be to people who do not expect it. Labradors like to hold things in their mouths, normally used as gundogs to retrieve on shoots, some have been known to catch rabbits and kill. However it is likely that sunnys death was quite quick and nothing you did could have saved him or helped him, the dog was following a very deep seated instinct and please dont feel that you have failed any of your pets as the dog simply didnt not completely understand the pigs were off limits, something that can take years to understand with come dogs.

I speak with a lot of experience, I had guinea pigs before with my lurcher and she would have killed them given the chance, it was a risk to have them again several years later and without the use of a completely enclosed barn and run that the previous ones had, but because I knew the full capabilities of a lurcher and she was an ex working lurcher so in her previous home she did catch rabbits for real I put in steps to ensure that the two never met and worked very hard to make sure she understood they were completely off limits. Having been with her by then for several years she took over a year to understand this rule but I never trusted her. Having lost her I have now started again with a young lurcher who is also learning the fundamental rule that the pigs room is completely off limits.

And dont think that I am beyond mistakes, just a week into life with skittle I didnt shut the stair gate on the pigs room and was at the far end filling up the boys water bottle and just felt the need to look round and saw skittle inside the doorway, in a happy voice I just quickly asked him to back out and he thankfully did but had he not just been intrigued and had I made a deal about things I do think he could have changed in an instant and I could have lost one or more of my guys. I was lucky and I now make sure shut the gate when inside, the door is closed when nobody is about or at night, yet I know and completely understand the nature of my beast, I very nearly got caught out.

Accidents happen, this was an accident and much as my words cannot bring sunny back, I hope that I can help you to understand that it was not your fault, nor the dogs, nor your daughters, nor anybodys fault, it was an accident and part of grieving is blame and confusion or wanting to know if there was something you could have done differently, there wasnt, so take comfort in that. Sending lots of hugs xx
 
I'm so very sorry for your loss, I am in tears now having read about it. I can completely understand how distraught you are. Please give yourself time to grieve for your little Sunny, it will take along time before you dissolve each time you think of him.

Lots of hugs to all of you, Sarah
 
Such a sad story :(

It was just an accident. You sound like such a caring mum, it's clear that you have a lot of love to give. Hope that your pain heals with time xx


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I guess things could be getting better, although slightly for instance i didn't cry myself to sleep last night. My morning routine saddens me so much, i can't eat breakfast and it will be a long time if ever before i can even eat the cereal i ate on that morning.
I won't go upstairs in the morning with coffee, i make it and as soon as i pick up the cup, it reminds me of going upstairs on that day, i just feel sick. I've written a poem for him as although it's made me cry everyday changing it and making it better or reminding myself, i think its good in a way to help get it all out. once theres a plaque/ornament on his little grave it will be more closure. I'm just nursing a constant throbbing headache, ibuprofen isn't working and i just feel so worn out. I have so much i need to do but can't get motivated, i think my parnters a bit peed at the state of the house, i.e. housework, laundry and shopping hasn't been done, etc. Maybe doing it will occupy my thoughts and pull me through.
My daughter is quite happy she's at school all day and comes home to see Moonie and Rocket, i said we'll put all our pain for Sunny into energy of getting Rocket tame and to show him not to be scared (we cut some grass for him last night, he refused it for a while but then once he tried it he loved it, each mouthful he collected more and more, probably his first taste) we have classic fm on in the bedroom to get him used to noise and peoples voices, he is so timid that al of a sudden he will just dart to the back corner of the cage bless him, the reason he was being rehomed was his behaviour which sounds to be more like his behaviour was due to lack of handling etc.
So it's good that everyone else is feeling more normal, but i know they don't have the flash backs and still hear the noises that i did, which is what cuts me up more than anything. i'll post my poem in the poems bit. unfortunately i can't upload pictures in the forum, so pic of sunny with the poem will have to wait, until i work it out.
 
This is saddest story I've read in a long time, you must be devastated. I am really feel it for you at this vey sad time. My thoughts are with you. R.I.P. Sunny
 
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