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"The question is not whether animals can
reason or whether they can talk...the question is, can they suffer?"
- Jeremy Bentham, 18th century English philosopher (paraphrased)
Pudsey
Update 1-04-04
We continued Pudsey on the
Cyprofloxacin, which did not cure the infection, but did maintain it to the
point that the socket did not build up infection causing pain, in fact we
were able to take him off the Rimadyl without him becoming 'fluffed up in
pain'.
After talking to several people who had first hand experience of using
Zithromax as an antibiotic in Guinea Pigs, we decided to go ahead and use
this on Pudsey. In vitro this does not show-up as being effective for
pseudomonas, but our vet had successfully used it to cure a bunny with the
same bacterial infection.
We cautiously used it for 10 days, pumping him full of probiotic to restore
the good bacteria in his tummy. He went for a check-up last Friday, and
although not completely gone, the discharge is now clear and much reduced.
Pudsey is now off all antibiotics for the first time since he has arrived at
the rescue back in June of last year. We are applying topical ophthalmic
Neosporin, which may have some benefit; he still gets his orange juice twice
daily with probiotic, because he loves it so much.
Our next and final option is to have the eye socket corterized by laser,
which we will schedule in the next week or two, after the full effects of
the Zithromax are realized.
Darwin
Update 1-04-04
Darwin is a complete
success story. After the treatment with revolution, intensive bathing with
Sebolux, an antiseborrheic shampoo which removes the scaling, and a course
of griseofulvesin for the fungal infection he has made a complete recovery.
He was neutered on December 16th and has taken up residence next to his
future bride, Brownie.
We are hopeful that a lady from San Antonio, will be driving up to the
rescue in the next couple of weeks to adopt them both.
Bramley
Update 1-04-04
Little Bramley is not our latest
acquisition, but the last piggy to be found 'dumped' outside by thoughtless,
irresponsible and uncaring individuals. The Wednesday following
Thanksgiving, we received a call from a concerned lady in Grand Prairie, who
had spotted the little piggy in the yard of an empty house. We discussed
tactics for catching the piggy, which she and her husband tried the
following day. Unfortunately she was unable to get the evasive Bramley. That
night temperatures went below freezing, with the forecast being worse for
the following night, so we arranged to meet Susan the following day. Armed
with boxes, tubes and a fishing net, we managed to coax her into the net
which we removed her from quickly to avoid any injury.
We got her warm, fed her hay and an apple slice and drove her home. Her
breathing was raspy and her nose had a thick discharge, we started her on
Baytril then got her to the vet the next day for a culture. Of course, the
bacteria cultured pseudomonas, we dread that so much, being a bacteria that
is very resistant to antibiotic treatment.
We continued the baytril and added nebulization of Amikacin twice per day.
This treatment continues, she is much better and the discharge has almost
cleared up, she has put on weight and is no longer fearful of people.
We are thankful that someone cared enough to call, and realized that she
would not survive left outside. Bramley is just a baby, probably no more
than 2 months old when she was dumped, she is one of the lucky ones.
Mabel Bean has found a winner in
the October 2003 Camera Crazy Cavy Contest
First place went to "Daisy Dayzie and Walter Piggie of
Guinea" who are proudly owned by Athena Lewis.
They are presented on the new guinea pig sticker set
offered by Mabel
Bean and Company. 50 cents for every set purchased will be donated
to the rescue.
A big Thank You to every one who entered and to
Mabel Bean for hosting the competition.
The rain and the cold did not keep us
away from the Fort Worth Vegetarian Fair on Saturday. We had a good time
mingling with like-minded vegetarian folk. Thank you to those people who
came out to support us despite the inclement weather.
Darwin
Update 11-02-03
Darwin has been improving slowly. He is
off the pain medication and is eating well on his own. He still requires
bathing every three days which he isn't very impressed with. We got the
results of his skin scrape and that showed that he has a fungal infection on
top of the mange mites. He has lost more hair as you can see in the picture
but the sores have healed and there are tiny tufts of new hair growth.
Darwin came to us
from Flower Mound animal services on Saturday October 18. He was found
beside Grapevine Lake sitting atop of his shavings with his pellets.
Officers said it looked like someone had tipped him out of his cage wood
shavings, pellets, and all. Who ever did this valued the cage more than his
life as they took it with them.
Darwin was in a
terrible state he was caked in dead skin that had formed a hard crust, he
had sores, and lesions caused by scratching, and was obviously in a lot of
pain. We treated him with revolution, and provided around the clock care
with critical care, fluids, and pain medication until our vet could see him
on Tuesday. She confirmed our initial diagnosis of
Mange mites. He was treated with injectable invermectin and was bathed
to remove some of the excess of dead skin cells. He is still in a great deal
of discomfort, and cries out in pain while scratching. He scratched himself
so severely that we wrapped his body in vetwrap to prevent further damage.
It is very hard to comfort him, as the only place that we can touch him
without hurting him is the bridge of his nose, which he likes to have
rubbed. His current treatment includes baths every 3 days, and pain
medication 3 times a day. It is hard to believe that any human being would
deliberately desert an animal that was so obviously in need of help.
Thank you to everyone that came out and
supported us at the Paws and Wheels Fall Event. We met many other local
rescues including
BlueBunnies where we met Domino
Many thanks to Albertson's for their
support.
Update on Pudsey
Update (Pudsey) 9-25-03
Pudsey went back to the
vets last Thursday for a check-up, progress has not been as good as we had
hoped. He had lost some of the weight he had gained, the socket was still
filled with puss and had to be re-opened to allow for drainage. We think
because of the pressure build up he was suffering from pain, so he has been
put on Rimadyl to alleviate some of that.
At home he seems happy,
he has learnt to rattle the bars along with his brother, he loves floor time
and was even eyeing up one of the girl pigs the other day.
08-18-03
Pudsey is still undergoing treatment for his abscessed
eye. Following removal of the eye, the socket has remained infected despite
treatments with systemic and topical antibiotics. The bacteria that are
causing the infection were cultured as pseudomonas last week, which is very
resistant to most antibiotics.
Sunday he started a course of cyprofloxacin +
Tobramycin, which has to be squeezed into the now open socket.
Pudsey is still in good spirits and has gained weight;
he is a very brave little guy and puts up with a lot.
Pudsey a Piggie in Need, for any of you from England, you will be
familiar with Pudsey Bear, a big yellow teddy with a bandage over one eye,
the symbol for the Children in Need Fundraiser. On Sunday June 22nd, we
acquired Pudsey Pig after having received a call from Burleson Petsmart
requesting that we come and pick up a couple of pigs that had been dumped at
their store. When we got there, we found that the one little piggy had an
abscessed and ulcerated eye, the poor little guy had been in pain for a long
while and the eye was to the point that it was exuding puss down the side of
his face. We rushed him to the Emergency Hospital, where they checked him
over and we discussed how best to extract the eye. Due to him having been in
this condition for some time, it was decided to put him on antibiotics and
pain killers and get him to our piggy expert, Dr Giannopolous.
Pudsey before surgery Pudsey after surgery
Pudsey had his eye removed this past Tuesday and is doing really well, he
has just started to talk, he is active and is eating well. He continues with
his antibiotics and pain killers and is growing accustomed to his
surroundings. It is quite possible his eye could have been saved, if he had
received medical attention when the eye was first noticed as having been
infected, what is certain, the length of time this piggy suffered could have
been prevented from prompt medical attention. It is important to understand
that Guinea Pigs are just as likely to require medical attention, as cats
and dogs. If you are not prepared to take the piggy to the vets or do not
have the finances to spare on medical treatment, then do not bring a Guinea
Pig into your home. You have a choice in the matter, they do not.
Pudsey enjoying his orange juice
Update on Mr. Nibbles
Mr. Nibbles has fully recovered from his mite infestation, as you can see
his hair has already grown back. Treatment comprised of 2 topically applied
doses of revolution, 30 days apart. His sister Gidget, who was also
afflicted with mites, was given a clean bill of health and adopted this past
weekend (see adopted)
Mr. Nibbles was rescued from animal control after being
dumped with his sister (Gidget) and their dad (Spot). Both baby piggies, we
learned, were taken from their mother when about 1 week of age and were
severely infested with Mange / Sellnick
MITES Trixacarus caviae,
this condition is life threatening if not treated due to
dehydration and abstinence from food due to severe pain
Texas Rustlers and the Round Grove
Church Youth Group joined forces to organize the first Car Wash Event for
both groups on Sunday June 1, 2003.
Even though it was extremely hot and we
were a little under staffed we managed to raise $109 and sold 4 cuddly
cavies.
A really big THANK YOU to Pastor Byron
Wells for hosting the event, Lisa Mathis for organizing it and feeding us
all, her husband Mike and daughter Jordan who mucked in and especially to
Fred Crable (Youth Sponsor) Sara Grobowsky, Dan Homeyer and Cody Belcher
(Youth Members) and last but not least to Micia Thorn from Texas Rustlers.
Nebulizer Update
Thank you to everyone who has donated to Max’s
nebulizer fund. I would like to announce that both Texas Rustler locations
are now fully equipped with nebulizers. I would also like to thank
Judi Lainer from the Metropolitan Guinea
Pig Rescue in Springfield, Va. who gave us the information we needed to buy
and set up the units.
Here is one of the units ready for use.
It is a Devilbliss pulmo-aide Model #5650D. To make the unit suitable for
use on small animals I attached The mouthpiece to a Rubbermaid storage
container. For detailed instructions please see
http://homepage.mac.com/nalyne/nebulizer/PhotoAlbum30.html
A good time was had by all at the “Paws and wheels
adoptathon” in Lewisville on 3 may. A big thank you to everyone who donated
time to man the Texas Rustlers Stand.
Remembering Lilly
Lilly was a very brave and affectionate guinea pig. She
came to our rescue last summer with chronic breathing problems caused by
being kept on toxic bedding. Her previous owners bedded her on cedar and
pine. Lilly passed away on 3/28/03.
Rest in Peace
Meet Max
Max Died 1-22-03
He came to us August 30th 2002 from a local animal shelter who had found
him washed up beside a creek. He was incredibly lucky to survive. He did
however suffer constant respiratory problems and chronic sinusitis and our
vet tried unsuccessfully with 5 different antibiotics to get him well. On
1-22-03 he took a turn for the worse and developed a chronic ear infection
and was so sick we had to put him to sleep. He was such a cheerful little
chap, He loved to run around, eat tomatoes and hide out in paper lunch
sacks. That was the one of the hardest things we have ever had to do and we
feel so sad that we couldn't save him as he was a real trooper. Rest in
peace little guy we will love and remember you always.
We are saving to buy a small animal nebulizer to help all piggies that
come through our doors. It will help to treat piggies with hypothermia,
upper respiratory problems, heart failure, and asthma.
Wellington Place Rescue
Wellington Place Apartment Rescue took place July 11th through July 17th, 2005. A group of Guinea Pigs had been abandoned at the complex, several had already been killed.
Monday
We were contacted on 7-11-05 by Deborah, who’s Mother-in-law Josie, lives at
Wellington Place Apartments; they had been out walking the day before and had
seen a group of Guinea Pigs eating grass in the middle of the complex. The
Guinea Pigs were observed to be living in a closet on the patio of one of the
apartments, coming out at dawn and dusk to eat the grass. Josie, in talking to
other residents, thought they had been there at least a week.
We asked Deborah to see if Josie could ask permission from the people of the
apartment for us to gain access to their patio area during the day, if so we
would go over there the following day
Tuesday
Deborah called to say that it was ok for us to enter the patio area of the
apartment to rescue the piggies, in fact, the residents were happy for us to
remove the Guinea Pigs. She also stated that 1 of the Guinea Pigs had been
killed the night before by one of the complex’s residents
It was imperative we took quick action to prevent further tragedies, so I
contacted Sarita who agreed to meet me out there that afternoon. It was 3.00pm
when we got there, probably almost 100°, we were dressed in work attire but had
come prepared with nets, carriers and a cube playpen.
Deborah and Josie met us also and led us to where the piggies were, Sarita saw
one under the patio but it quickly ran to the closet. We entered the patio by
not so gracefully scaling the fence (even with the help of a step ladder), we
placed the playpen around the doorway then opened the door, hoping to find a
herd of piggies waiting to be rescued. Unfortunately only 2 babies, we scooped
them up and put them safely in the carrier.
We had a look around the grassy area but didn’t see any signs of more piggies,
the maintenance guy told us that another one had been killed, making a total of
2 fatalities. Then a group of children told us they had spotted one to the front
of the building, so we started back to get the nets, at the same time a lady
shouts from a second storey balcony that there was another one running under a
patio. Sarita caught the little guy under the patio quite quickly, then we went
onto the front of the building where the children had spotted the other one.
This guy was a little more evasive, but he eventually ran into the net (and
poked his head all the way through a hole) we got him safely out though, with no
injuries and put him in the carrier with the rest.
We took another look around under the patios and behind the bushes but couldn’t
find any more, everyone said they would look out for them, so we departed, very
hot but happy we had rescued 4.
Wednesday
Deborah called to say she and Josie had caught 2 more, they had purchased a fine
minnow net and managed to catch them with it. This time they had been on the
opposite side of the complex and the maintenance guy had alerted them to their
whereabouts. Deborah met Tammy with the piggies and picked up a cage and
supplies in case she found more.
Thursday
Deborah e-mailed to say that she and Josie had been out walking when one ran
down the alleyway in front of them, they caught him also and took him home.
Unfortunately yet another piggy had been killed, this time with a large rock by
an adult resident.
We started organizing to meet up again as a group so we could sweep the complex
and hopefully find any others out there, we knew there were parents that had not
been rescued, all the ones caught so far were babies 3 weeks to 8 weeks old,
probably 3 different litters, so we were missing 3 mums and a dad at least. They
thought 1 of the 3 killed was an adult and there was a black and white one that
many people had seen that was unaccounted for.
Friday
None rescued today
Saturday
None rescued today
Sunday
7.00 am we met at the complex, Sarita, Shirley, Deborah, Josie and myself, we
scoured the complex over and over again, the place where the 2 on Thursday were
caught had put out rat poison, we think she had also called Deborah’s phone
threatening us to keep off her property.
Deborah and Josie had put up posters in case anyone found one, so they could
call us, or if they had taken one in and decided to not keep it, rather than
putting it back outside we wanted them to have an easy alternative.
We spent 2 hours searching for the remaining piggies, plenty of stories of how
large the group had been, where they were living, what might have happened to
them, but no one had seen any for a couple of days.
We were all pretty despondent when we got ready to leave, Tammy and Mike joined
us for one last look around, and it’s not that we needed any more piggies at the
rescue, but we hated to think that we had left one behind.
Deborah and Josie are going to keep looking and they have the word out, so we
will hopefully be called if anyone finds any more.
It was a great effort by everyone involved, and thankfully Deborah and Josie
were compassionate enough to want to help these guys. Thanks to everyone who
helped throughout the week and those that offered to. Hopefully we won’t have to
do anything like this again, but if we do we know we can pull together to
accomplish it. Perhaps if we had been able to get out there sooner, we could
have done more, but as everyone always reminds me, ‘we can’t save them all’ but
you know what, we ‘can darn well try’.
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