Visit SAGP at Our New Location! http://sagpoctober2013.mydagsite.com/
(Cane and Tater snuggle up)
Please forward on their story, or consider donating!
We will be fundraising for one month of care for both of the boys, $125 each, $250 total. These costs include Baytril, Metacam, their daily vitamin C supplement, and x-rays.
Our goal is to fundraise $275 dollars:
X-rays-$100 Food (Baby foods, Critical Care & Pedialyte) $50, Teeth/Medications-$100, Fleece-$25
Read on to see why these guys are worth it!
Bandit and Silverado came to Wee Companions through a series of fortunate events. It all started with an ad that had a picture of two sad looking guineas in a terrible living situation. A wonderful woman from LA took one look at the picture and declared that she had to rescue these boys. "Bandit looks just like one of my own guineas, so I just couldn't get them off my mind." So, she quickly began to ask if there were any rescues that would be willing to help her in this. Wee Companions of San Diego gladly stepped up to the challenge and agreed to help with whatever these boys might need.
She, wisely, took a fellow guinea friend with her, and off they went to save the boys. "There was nothing in their cage to stand on except wire and nothing to eat but an old carrot and cheapy cat food! Plus, they were outside in the heat and smog! We wouldn't have left them there for anything!" But they were free! And yet that is only the beginning.
Once Bandit and Silverado were out of the cage, they went with their rescuers to spend the night before coming down to Wee Companions. The ladies had a long vigil that night, watching over the boys, "Silverado just kept falling asleep, as if he was crashing! So, we actually called him Crash to start with! We were so concerned that he wouldn't make the night." But he did! And he and Bandit took the long road down in San Diego, where they met up with Wee Companions and a volunteer named Julie.
"I didn't know what to expect. Those boys were such a mess even after everything the ladies had done for them." After close observation, one could see that their digestion tracts were severely hampered. Bandit had fleas, mites, and fungus, broken toes, and trouble eating. Silverado had mites, fungus, and was very weak and thin. But they loved each other and Bandit kept crawling over to sit over Silverado's little body to help keep him warm.
Thus began the long road of true recovery for these special boys. But, the story doesn't end there either. The boys began to heal and gain strength. Bandit's hair began to grow out and Silverado seemed to have more strength, but other things seemed to be amiss. "I came into the sick room one morning to pass out veggies. As I rounded the corner, I happened to drop the vegetable bag and make a huge ruckus! Bandit ran for his life, but Silverado just sat there, as if nothing had happened. When I walked up clapping my hands he still didn't move. Even when I reached my hand out toward him, he didn't respond. Only after I touched him, did he move, and boy did he jump!" observed Julie.
Sadly, not only was Silverado deaf, he was also blind. After closer inspection and conferring with a variety of guinea experts, it was realized that Silverado had more medical issues, and is considered a very rare Lethal white guinea. A rep. from OOCH describes a Lethal white as, "Having no pigment in their skin. They are missing a specific gene, so that makes them much weaker and smaller than other guinea pig. Also, Lethal whites are often blind, deaf, and have continued dental and health issues the rest of their lives."
Julie smiles as she remembers, "Poor Silverado. With all of the needed blood work and X-rays we didn't know how we were/are going to cover all of his expenses. Now, they have special housing for Bandit's sore feet and so that Silverado doesn't get lost. But, it's okay because they are so worth it!"
Now, Bandit the long haired peruvian and Silverado his Lethal white side kick really did ride into the west and hopefully, it will be a long, glorious ride into a beautiful Californina sunset.
Read more about Bandit and Silverado here.
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