Saying Goodbye

Maryjames

Maryjames

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
156
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Location
Hampshire, UK
Hello all. I first want to thank you all for your kind support. Pinky crossed the rainbow bridge today. She was 4 and 1/2 years old and was very much a member of my family. She had stopped eating all of a sudden and slowly went downhill after that. I did all I could do for my little girl. She went to 3 vets and a specialist. Had X-rays, pain treatment, gut stimulation medications and still nothing. Her temperature was dropping and she was dying. The cost was over a thousand pounds and in the end it was just her time. She went peacefully and for that I am grateful. I didn't want her to have any pain or go through any difficulty. She was literally fine one minute and not eating the next. I hand fed her critical care for three days, but nothing changed. We decided with the Exotic Vet Specialist that the best course of action for her was to put her down. She was not getting better and she was suffering and I couldn't bear that for my little girl. Guinea pigs are not toys. They are a complex living breathing animal that needs a calm and clean environment in which to thrive. But even giving your guinea pig the best of everything as I did mine, sometimes it's time to say goodbye. I will always remember her and love her. I wish everyone love and health with their guinea pigs. Love them, and keep them but know when it's time to say goodbye and know we will meet again. :( 🌈
 
Oh no I’m so sorry to hear that. You did all you could for her. Sometimes it’s just their time. Popcorn high over the bridge Pinky. ❤️
 
😢 Poor you and Pinky, I’m so sorry to hear this 🥺☹️. Be kind to yourself as you grieve ♥️.
 
Maryjames said:
Hello all. I first want to thank you all for your kind support. Pinky crossed the rainbow bridge today. She was 4 and 1/2 years old and was very much a member of my family. She had stopped eating all of a sudden and slowly went downhill after that. I did all I could do for my little girl. She went to 3 vets and a specialist. Had X-rays, pain treatment, gut stimulation medications and still nothing. Her temperature was dropping and she was dying. The cost was over a thousand pounds and in the end it was just her time. She went peacefully and for that I am grateful. I didn't want her to have any pain or go through any difficulty. She was literally fine one minute and not eating the next. I hand fed her critical care for three days, but nothing changed. We decided with the Exotic Vet Specialist that the best course of action for her was to put her down. She was not getting better and she was suffering and I couldn't bear that for my little girl. Guinea pigs are not toys. They are a complex living breathing animal that needs a calm and clean environment in which to thrive. But even giving your guinea pig the best of everything as I did mine, sometimes it's time to say goodbye. I will always remember her and love her. I wish everyone love and health with their guinea pigs. Love them, and keep them but know when it's time to say goodbye and know we will meet again. :( 🌈
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BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry. It is just so frustrating when piggies downhill without any obvious case and when their much faster metabolism is turning against them so any expensive lab test and - mostly not yet developed rodent specific - meds have not enough time to be deployed; especially not over a banK holiday. Sometimes it is a genetic time bomb when something gives of all of a sudden. You have certainly done the very best you couldand have not failed Pinky in any way. :(

Would it help you a little more knowing that I have lost my own Manon just the same over the bank holiday? She had been living with a local forum friend for the last half year after I broke my hip at the start of a whole medical rollercoaster in a sudden fall and my older husband was unable to cope with 17 piggies without any warning.

Manon was only 4 years old as well and had lost her 3 years old daughter Maelona last August to a sudden death. Maelona had been tucking happily into her afternoon grass but I found her unable to eat at dinner time and she passed away in the early hours of the morning. :(

These are the ones that hurt more because they always leave you feeling you should have picked up on something sooner when in truth you can't because there is quite simply nothing to pick up on.

Please be sad but do not feel bad. You have done everything possible; it was just not to be and there is currently nothing that could be done quickly enough. Once the body is starting to close down, it is a one way road with guinea pigs. It is however usually much tougher when you have to deal with the shock and the pain of the loss at the same time, so please give yourself the time and the space to grieve. :(

Do you have a picture of Pinky? Some of us remember better with an image. You can best attach pictures via the Attach Files button by a post when you write it.

I am sure that Pinky and Manon are currently popcorning together at the Rainbow Bridge, feeling their best again.

PS: I am moving your thread to our new End of Life and Bereavement Support Corner. This ongoing thread is there for you to talk about any issues or pernicious thought loops you can get trapped in for as lonmg as you wish to. We are providing community support and the understanding from others who share your own experience. This also includes help with any questions and solutions for any piggy companions.

If you wish to make use of our new visible space for what we have been doing informally for years now, I would recommend that you bookmark this thread so you can find and pick it up easily.

I am keeping you in my thoughts.
 
I am so sorry that she couldn't be saved as you say though she is now pain free, popcorning happily over The Rainbow Bridge 🌈.
Be kind to yourself as you grieve 💐
 
So very sorry for your loss.
You gave Pinky the best care and filled her life with love.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
 
Wiebke said:
BIG HUGS

I am so very sorry. It is just so frustrating when piggies downhill without any obvious case and when their much faster metabolism is turning against them so any expensive lab test and - mostly not yet developed rodent specific - meds have not enough time to be deployed; especially not over a banK holiday. Sometimes it is a genetic time bomb when something gives of all of a sudden. You have certainly done the very best you couldand have not failed Pinky in any way. :(

Would it help you a little more knowing that I have lost my own Manon just the same over the bank holiday? She had been living with a local forum friend for the last half year after I broke my hip at the start of a whole medical rollercoaster in a sudden fall and my older husband was unable to cope with 17 piggies without any warning.

Manon was only 4 years old as well and had lost her 3 years old daughter Maelona last August to a sudden death. Maelona had been tucking happily into her afternoon grass but I found her unable to eat at dinner time and she passed away in the early hours of the morning. :(

These are the ones that hurt more because they always leave you feeling you should have picked up on something sooner when in truth you can't because there is quite simply nothing to pick up on.

Please be sad but do not feel bad. You have done everything possible; it was just not to be and there is currently nothing that could be done quickly enough. Once the body is starting to close down, it is a one way road with guinea pigs. It is however usually much tougher when you have to deal with the shock and the pain of the loss at the same time, so please give yourself the time and the space to grieve. :(

Do you have a picture of Pinky? Some of us remember better with an image. You can best attach pictures via the Attach Files button by a post when you write it.

I am sure that Pinky and Manon are currently popcorning together at the Rainbow Bridge, feeling their best again.

PS: I am moving your thread to our new End of Life and Bereavement Support Corner. This ongoing thread is there for you to talk about any issues or pernicious thought loops you can get trapped in for as lonmg as you wish to. We are providing community support and the understanding from others who share your own experience. This also includes help with any questions and solutions for any piggy companions.

If you wish to make use of our new visible space for what we have been doing informally for years now, I would recommend that you bookmark this thread so you can find and pick it up easily.

I am keeping you in my thoughts.
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Oh my dear friend. Thank you for your kind and thoughtful email. I'm so sorry for your loss. It is so difficult isn't it. We keep playing things over and over in our heads about did we do the right thing. I loved her so much as I love all of my babies and this sudden downhill path just really knocks me off my feet. I'm sorry to hear about your Manon. Was it the same as Pinky? Not eating? Try as I might I could not get her to eat. I stayed up with her giving her critical care to no avail. Finally the Vet specialist said her temperature is dropping and she is going. I couldn't stand to see her suffer. I know I did the right thing by my Pinky. I gave her the best life and the best medical care so honestly there was nothing else I could do but cry. My Mom always said be kind to people because everyone is carrying a burden of some kind. My dear friend I hope you find solace as well and are coping ok. I'm sure Pinky and Manon are having fun in heaven with all the other guinea pigs that have crossed the rainbow bridge. Thank you again. So appreciate your kindness
 
Merab said:
So very sorry for your loss.
You gave Pinky the best care and filled her life with love.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve
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CTWC said:
I am so sorry that she couldn't be saved as you say though she is now pain free, popcorning happily over The Rainbow Bridge 🌈.
Be kind to yourself as you grieve 💐
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Thank you for your kind words of support. It is so appreciated at this time. 🌈:(💔
 
Maryjames said:
Oh my dear friend. Thank you for your kind and thoughtful email. I'm so sorry for your loss. It is so difficult isn't it. We keep playing things over and over in our heads about did we do the right thing. I loved her so much as I love all of my babies and this sudden downhill path just really knocks me off my feet. I'm sorry to hear about your Manon. Was it the same as Pinky? Not eating? Try as I might I could not get her to eat. I stayed up with her giving her critical care to no avail. Finally the Vet specialist said her temperature is dropping and she is going. I couldn't stand to see her suffer. I know I did the right thing by my Pinky. I gave her the best life and the best medical care so honestly there was nothing else I could do but cry. My Mom always said be kind to people because everyone is carrying a burden of some kind. My dear friend I hope you find solace as well and are coping ok. I'm sure Pinky and Manon are having fun in heaven with all the other guinea pigs that have crossed the rainbow bridge. Thank you again. So appreciate your kindness
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It was the same with a sudden loss of weight/initially gradual but then quickly progressing loss of appetite and increasingly fighting the feed as the body was no longer able to process it.

It is not your fault or anything you could have done better or changed, it is quite simply biology in its starkest form you are up against. The process can be rather terrifying with its speed and you and your vet racing at least two or three steps behind at every stage. :(
It's sadly by far not the first piggy I have lost this way, so after about 70 or so losses going back half a century with all their individual challenges, it is a lot easier for me to cope with all the mind traps as I can spot them and know how to avoid them or get out of them much more quickly.
What never gets any easier is the pain of the loss because every piggy and every bond is unique. But I am able to go through the list of 'Have I done enough?' and if I can answer with 'Yes', then I can leave be. That is why I am able to console others even when I am grieving for a dying or just passed piggy of mine. If I am not feeling up to it, I will quite simply not post on threads I struggle with at the time. ;)

But thank you so much for your own kindness. I fully agree that there can never be too much kindness in the world. I hope that our mutually supportive community can be here for you with their understanding of what you are feeling and thinking and can help you to make this process that bit easier on you. On this forum, we do not just look after the piggies but we do care about the owners as well.

And I hope that knowing that what has happened with Pinky is not something that is that unusual or down to you will help you to get out of the soul-searching 'guilt' trap at the onset of the grieving process that is waiting for all of us because we care and because we are wired as humans to always firstly seek the fault with ourselves, whether that is realistic or not. We wouldn't experience this if we didn't love our pets deeply.
It is more of a matter of understanding that our soul-searching/guilt trip at the onset is bound up mainly with our strong sense of responsibility and not so much with our actual control over the dying process but that it can be intensified by traumatic circumstances. It helps to hear it from others who have gone through what you are currently going through. Once you understand this and can accept it not just intellectually but on an emotional level, you can get out of it.

You may find our human grieving guide helpful as you go through the various stages. Grieving is much more complex, varied and unexpected that you'd think: Human Bereavement: Grieving, Processing and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
 
I am really sorry for your loss. I am currently looking after my guinea whose kidneys are failing and getting ready to say goodbye. I am sending best wishes to all who lost their little family members or dealing with difficult times trying to give them best end 💝
 
Annad said:
I am really sorry for your loss. I am currently looking after my guinea whose kidneys are failing and getting ready to say goodbye. I am sending best wishes to all who lost their little family members or dealing with difficult times trying to give them best end 💝
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Hi and welcome

BIG HUGS

If you wish to, please open your own personalised ongoing support thread, so we can help you through this heart-breaking and difficult time as well.
 
Annad said:
I am really sorry for your loss. I am currently looking after my guinea whose kidneys are failing and getting ready to say goodbye. I am sending best wishes to all who lost their little family members or dealing with difficult times trying to give them best end 💝
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Hugs 🤗
 
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