chesca_27
12-26-2018, 07:48 PM
I realise I haven't been on since August and unfortunately I return on a sad note. Oreo passed away five weeks ago :(. I know he's a guinea pig, not a hamster but I need somewhere to dedicate something to him, because he meant the world to me. He was a week away from being 7 and a half.
A week beforehand (Thursday 15th November), I noticed he wasn't walking properly and his eye looked a bit gunky but it was about 11pm so there wasn't much I could do except make sure he was generally okay. The next morning, he couldn't walk at all - it was like his legs had given in so we phoned the vet and made an appointment for that afternoon. He was diagnosed with severe arthritis on Friday (I didn't know the early symptoms of it and I feel guilty for that but there wasn't anything concerning I noticed until then) and he was prescribed a low dose of metacam for pain relief. He was slowly losing weight and I was handfeeding him a lot. The metacam didn't really help and my main vet had just left for holiday so I was kind of stuck. He gave up on drinking from the bottle early on in the following week (he overdrank a lot usually, but previous kidney testing showed him to be healthy) so I was syringe feeding him water, giving additional lettuce and cucumber as well as baby food and nuggets to try and help in. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been kinder to have him PTS earlier on in the week but I am grateful for the extra few days I could spend with him. He had completely given up on life and there wasn't much I could do except try and keep him comfortable. Sometime before 7:30 am on Thursday 22nd November, he passed away in his sleep. I still don't know who found him, my mum or her fiancé, but apparently he was still slightly warm. I'm not sure what actually caused his death. It could have been old age, dehydration from refusal to drink and diarrhoea, the pain of the arthritis or most likely, the metacam because it can affect kidney function (since Oreo had unknown kidney problems).
I like to think that he waited until he could say goodbye to my dad for the last time (he came to see Oreo the evening before and was even cuddling him!) before he passed, but maybe it was luck. I don't know if I made the right decisions for him, but everything I did for him was out of love. I love Oreo so much and I miss him so much. I say love in the present tense because I still love him, even if he is no longer with me and I will never cease to love him. As a pet owner, I know I'm not meant to have favourites but I had the most amazing bond with him and I love Oreo more than anything else. He had the most amazing temperament, he was always begging for treats and loved being handled. He was so sweet and gentle to Pemba. Oreo was also the most handsome guinea pig - he had beautiful, shiny, chocolate agouti fur and a perfect ginger stripe (or band) around his lower body.
On the Saturday evening, my Dad and I buried him in the front garden of his house, in a holographic gift box, by some trees and bushes, where he won't be disturbed. I haven't got a memorial stone for him yet, but I plan to order one soon. I also want to plant some pretty flowers above his grave in the spring. I wish him and Toffee could have been buried together and reunited, but my mum had the grass replaced with turf in her garden (where Toffee is buried). I hope Toffee and Oreo are playing together again at the Rainbow Bridge and they are with Jasper, protecting him.
Oreo,
My sweet piggie, I hope you rest in peace and play well at The Rainbow Bridge. You were a huge part of my life and I am eternally grateful for that. The time we had together was amazing and life isn't the same without you. Pemba and I miss you so much, as does the rest of our family. I love you so much. I hope you are finally healthy and pain free and I hope I gave you the best life possible. Send my love to Toffee and Jasper.
Lots of love from your owner, Francesca x
This is probably an incoherent mess, but I am overtired and emotional so please excuse me if this is just nonsensical rambling. My point is I miss Oreo a lot and he was the best pet I could ever ask for. I never knew when I got him, how close we would become, how much he would mean to me and how long we would have together. 7 years is a long time, but I wish it was longer. Maybe I'm being too blunt, but it's been 5 weeks since I last saw his beautiful face and I am tired.
Good bye, Oreo, until the day when we meet again. I will love you forever.
A week beforehand (Thursday 15th November), I noticed he wasn't walking properly and his eye looked a bit gunky but it was about 11pm so there wasn't much I could do except make sure he was generally okay. The next morning, he couldn't walk at all - it was like his legs had given in so we phoned the vet and made an appointment for that afternoon. He was diagnosed with severe arthritis on Friday (I didn't know the early symptoms of it and I feel guilty for that but there wasn't anything concerning I noticed until then) and he was prescribed a low dose of metacam for pain relief. He was slowly losing weight and I was handfeeding him a lot. The metacam didn't really help and my main vet had just left for holiday so I was kind of stuck. He gave up on drinking from the bottle early on in the following week (he overdrank a lot usually, but previous kidney testing showed him to be healthy) so I was syringe feeding him water, giving additional lettuce and cucumber as well as baby food and nuggets to try and help in. In hindsight, it probably wouldn't have been kinder to have him PTS earlier on in the week but I am grateful for the extra few days I could spend with him. He had completely given up on life and there wasn't much I could do except try and keep him comfortable. Sometime before 7:30 am on Thursday 22nd November, he passed away in his sleep. I still don't know who found him, my mum or her fiancé, but apparently he was still slightly warm. I'm not sure what actually caused his death. It could have been old age, dehydration from refusal to drink and diarrhoea, the pain of the arthritis or most likely, the metacam because it can affect kidney function (since Oreo had unknown kidney problems).
I like to think that he waited until he could say goodbye to my dad for the last time (he came to see Oreo the evening before and was even cuddling him!) before he passed, but maybe it was luck. I don't know if I made the right decisions for him, but everything I did for him was out of love. I love Oreo so much and I miss him so much. I say love in the present tense because I still love him, even if he is no longer with me and I will never cease to love him. As a pet owner, I know I'm not meant to have favourites but I had the most amazing bond with him and I love Oreo more than anything else. He had the most amazing temperament, he was always begging for treats and loved being handled. He was so sweet and gentle to Pemba. Oreo was also the most handsome guinea pig - he had beautiful, shiny, chocolate agouti fur and a perfect ginger stripe (or band) around his lower body.
On the Saturday evening, my Dad and I buried him in the front garden of his house, in a holographic gift box, by some trees and bushes, where he won't be disturbed. I haven't got a memorial stone for him yet, but I plan to order one soon. I also want to plant some pretty flowers above his grave in the spring. I wish him and Toffee could have been buried together and reunited, but my mum had the grass replaced with turf in her garden (where Toffee is buried). I hope Toffee and Oreo are playing together again at the Rainbow Bridge and they are with Jasper, protecting him.
Oreo,
My sweet piggie, I hope you rest in peace and play well at The Rainbow Bridge. You were a huge part of my life and I am eternally grateful for that. The time we had together was amazing and life isn't the same without you. Pemba and I miss you so much, as does the rest of our family. I love you so much. I hope you are finally healthy and pain free and I hope I gave you the best life possible. Send my love to Toffee and Jasper.
Lots of love from your owner, Francesca x
This is probably an incoherent mess, but I am overtired and emotional so please excuse me if this is just nonsensical rambling. My point is I miss Oreo a lot and he was the best pet I could ever ask for. I never knew when I got him, how close we would become, how much he would mean to me and how long we would have together. 7 years is a long time, but I wish it was longer. Maybe I'm being too blunt, but it's been 5 weeks since I last saw his beautiful face and I am tired.
Good bye, Oreo, until the day when we meet again. I will love you forever.