sakinrolo
New Born Pup
Such a gentle, snuggly, loving little man, Rolo was everything to me and more.
My partner are I adopted this little guy from a shelter in March of 2017. He was already at least three years old, and was very well shaken up in his new surroundings. Living with us was a great guinea pig boar named Badger, who belonged to my partner's family, who we are living with. He honestly took to Rolo right away and they were great friends.
Unfortunately, Badger passed away from a URI after attempts of treatment.
I love this boy so very much. He loved hay more than anything, whether eating or burying himself in it. His favourite vegetable was cucumber, but he was very keen on red and yellow bell peppers (but never touched the green ones). He loved a pea flake treat. He adored the summer, as going out and eating grass was one of his favourite "hobbies" which included many, many popcorns.
He would perch up on his cage, whether wanting food or a gentle head scratch. And oftentimes, especially in the mornings, he would be eager to come out, run up my body, and plop right down on my chest and stay there happily for a great amount of time.
When I was dealing with depressive bouts, he would lick my face and snuggle into my neck. Nearly always, no matter how awful I felt, he would make me feel so much better. I can't even really put into words how much this guy meant to me. I told him I loved him every day.
He was so expressive and so, so sweet.
But suddenly he got ill. I noticed yesterday morning that his breathing was pretty harsh, and he only ate a small nibble of vegetables in the morning, though he was excited for his morning feeding time. He hadn't touched his hay, and wasn't drinking so much. He was still moving around and seemed happy, but I know lack of appetite and breathing abnormalities are no good. As I learnt with Badger, the earlier to catch an illness the better, so I scheduled him a vet appointment that very day (better early than too late).
He was examined, taken in for x-ray as well, and I learnt that he had heart problems and fluid had been building up into his lungs. He was prescribed a diuretic and baytril, and I got some critical care and probiotics. They said his prognosis was 50/50.
He was full of energy once he got home, moving around in his cage/on our bed quite a bit, seeming content.
That evening we started medicating him and feeding him critical care. He took the critical care like a champ, chewing away as I fed him. He moved around the bed a lot after feeding him, laying against my leg or climbing up on my partner, seeming alright and almost... normal.
Eventually he gave me the sign that he's had enough and wants to go home to his cage. He always has done, this, nibbled on a piece of clothing when he knows he wants to pee or something. So I obliged, and put him in his cage where he sniffed around a bit before running into his house and laying down in some hay (normal). I was sitting by the cage petting him inside his house, when I just suddenly felt him stop breathing. My whole body went cold and I called for my partner. We lifted the house out of the cage, and while petting him, he left out his final breath. It is devastating. I've never truly lost a pet of my own. I've been crying endlessly through the night.
And now I can't help but to have questions going through my head:
What if taking him to the vet stressed him out so much that his heart failed?
How did he go from so alright, somewhat active, walking around his cage to just dying suddenly? Did I somehow kill him with the critical care?
If I left him with us on the bed, though he wanted to return to his cage, would he have held on a bit longer?
I feel like I should have done so much better, I feel like there was something I could do that would have saved him... I just don't know what. It's heartbreaking.
Nonetheless... I miss you so much Rolo and I hope you're in a beautiful place with plenty of hay, cucumber, and snuggles. I hope that someday I'll meet you again. I hope you know how much you mean to me, and how much I love you.
My sweet, loving, beautiful boy, I love you and I'll never forget you.
My partner are I adopted this little guy from a shelter in March of 2017. He was already at least three years old, and was very well shaken up in his new surroundings. Living with us was a great guinea pig boar named Badger, who belonged to my partner's family, who we are living with. He honestly took to Rolo right away and they were great friends.
Unfortunately, Badger passed away from a URI after attempts of treatment.
I love this boy so very much. He loved hay more than anything, whether eating or burying himself in it. His favourite vegetable was cucumber, but he was very keen on red and yellow bell peppers (but never touched the green ones). He loved a pea flake treat. He adored the summer, as going out and eating grass was one of his favourite "hobbies" which included many, many popcorns.
He would perch up on his cage, whether wanting food or a gentle head scratch. And oftentimes, especially in the mornings, he would be eager to come out, run up my body, and plop right down on my chest and stay there happily for a great amount of time.
When I was dealing with depressive bouts, he would lick my face and snuggle into my neck. Nearly always, no matter how awful I felt, he would make me feel so much better. I can't even really put into words how much this guy meant to me. I told him I loved him every day.
He was so expressive and so, so sweet.
But suddenly he got ill. I noticed yesterday morning that his breathing was pretty harsh, and he only ate a small nibble of vegetables in the morning, though he was excited for his morning feeding time. He hadn't touched his hay, and wasn't drinking so much. He was still moving around and seemed happy, but I know lack of appetite and breathing abnormalities are no good. As I learnt with Badger, the earlier to catch an illness the better, so I scheduled him a vet appointment that very day (better early than too late).
He was examined, taken in for x-ray as well, and I learnt that he had heart problems and fluid had been building up into his lungs. He was prescribed a diuretic and baytril, and I got some critical care and probiotics. They said his prognosis was 50/50.
He was full of energy once he got home, moving around in his cage/on our bed quite a bit, seeming content.
That evening we started medicating him and feeding him critical care. He took the critical care like a champ, chewing away as I fed him. He moved around the bed a lot after feeding him, laying against my leg or climbing up on my partner, seeming alright and almost... normal.
Eventually he gave me the sign that he's had enough and wants to go home to his cage. He always has done, this, nibbled on a piece of clothing when he knows he wants to pee or something. So I obliged, and put him in his cage where he sniffed around a bit before running into his house and laying down in some hay (normal). I was sitting by the cage petting him inside his house, when I just suddenly felt him stop breathing. My whole body went cold and I called for my partner. We lifted the house out of the cage, and while petting him, he left out his final breath. It is devastating. I've never truly lost a pet of my own. I've been crying endlessly through the night.
And now I can't help but to have questions going through my head:
What if taking him to the vet stressed him out so much that his heart failed?
How did he go from so alright, somewhat active, walking around his cage to just dying suddenly? Did I somehow kill him with the critical care?
If I left him with us on the bed, though he wanted to return to his cage, would he have held on a bit longer?
I feel like I should have done so much better, I feel like there was something I could do that would have saved him... I just don't know what. It's heartbreaking.
Nonetheless... I miss you so much Rolo and I hope you're in a beautiful place with plenty of hay, cucumber, and snuggles. I hope that someday I'll meet you again. I hope you know how much you mean to me, and how much I love you.
My sweet, loving, beautiful boy, I love you and I'll never forget you.
Sleep well Rolo x
Rolo was beautiful xx
