Pinball has passed

Dear Pinball has passed. We greatly appreciate your outpouring of support and love.

More details will be posted as they become available.

Emergency Update

Pinball is very sick. It is possible he may not make it through the month. Please keep him and All Creatures Rescue & Sanctuary in your thoughts and prayers.

For now, donations will still go toward his care and All Creatures Rescue and Sanctuary. This is a time when he needs funding more than ever.

More details to follow. Update: Please read about Pinball's new developments here.

So far we have raised $298 for Pinball. We all greatly appreciate the outpouring of love and donations.

Update: Please consider sending a gift donation. If you'd like, you can make your donation a gift to the caretaker's of Pinball! ACR&S would surely appreciate the cards.

JANUARY'S PIG OF THE MONTH-Pinball!

Meet Pinball

from NC rescue

All Creatures Rescue and Sanctuary!

For Pinball's full story, please visit this All Creature's Rescue and Sanctuary blog entry.

Pinball was originally advertised on Craigslist as having a malocllussion (teeth) problem. ACR&S contacted the poster and offered a vet referral, but the poster was unable to afford the treatment. She wanted to sign over Pinball to the rescue. The rescue agreed, because "while tooth problems can initially be costly to treat, usually they can be controlled once they get back to zero (so to speak)."

When Pinball arrived at the rescue, he looked close to death. He obviously had a tooth problem (as "he was drooling uncontrollably and had wads of spit caked against his left cheek") , but his eye was in trouble too. He also had a head tilt and cried when his ears were touched (for those who are lucky enough to not have heard a guinea pig cry, it's one of the worst sounds imaginable).

The eye infection, which the surrenderer had tried to treat, had spread to the ear canals, and the ear infection caused the head tilt. The pain from the infection made Pinball stop eating, and once his teeth overgrew he was unable to all together. "The eye continued to worsen. The infection robbed him of most of his vision, and all of his hearing."

"In short, Pinball...is blind, deaf, has bad teeth, a head tilt, and can't walk straight because of a simple eye infection that was likely started by an innocuous hay poke."

Pinball's first visit to the vet showed extensive bone loss, meaning he had been having problems eating for a long time (the problem was also likely exacerbated by a poor quality pellet). The vet trimmed the points on his molers (some even larger than a pencil lead). The eye problems had begun by an injury, which left improperly treated, became an infection. The doctor treated the eye (for more details, visit the original blog post) but it never got entirely better.

Pinball may have to lose the eye, which is one of the things we are fundraising for (rest assured, if the operation is not neccessary, Pinball has tons of other medical demands!) . "Had the initial problem been addressed when it occurred, Pinball likely would have had to endure 2-3 weeks of eyedrops and a recheck and would be perfectly healthy right now. Instead, over a year, he developed an infection that literally has made him special needs for the rest of his life."

Pinball has found some joy in life. He loves parsley, cuddle cups, and his critical care. He is a fighter for his health, and an overall wonderful pig.

We're hoping to fundraise $250 for Pinball's care: $150 dollars for the potential eye removal (if not needed, it can fund two teeth trims), $60 for antibiotics (oral and optical), and $40 for two months of pain killers.

Or to avoid Pay Pal fees, send a check to:

ACR&S
PO Box 1231
Apex, NC 27502
(919) 249-7758