JULY'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--Cletus!

We've raised $870 so far of the $600! WE MET OUR GOAL!
Please forward and continue to share Cletus' story!

Meet Cletus 

from VA rescue

Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue!

Meet Cletus. One of the sweetest old men to come into our rescue in a long time.  He didn’t make his trip here quite the way most guinea pigs do. Cletus was already in a sanctuary program in another rescue when its founder became ill very suddenly. She needed to find a place for her guinea pigs. Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue was able to step in and take all six of them. Two adoptable pairs and two oldsters that the rescue was intending to keep for their natural lives. We will honor their intentions and keep Cletus and Macy as sanctuary pigs. 

Cletus was obviously too old to neuter and had some congestion in his lungs. He was treated and seemed better. He also had a pretty severe impaction problem. His foster mom improved the situation slightly by giving him probiotics and cleaning him multiple times a day. Then, as they say, the other shoe dropped. Cletus stopped eating very suddenly and stopped coming out of his hide. He was quickly taken to the vet where an x-ray showed a huge stone blocking his urethra.

It was surgery or die for a pig that was too old even to have a much simpler neuter surgery. The tough little guy made it through the surgery but it was a real battle back to health for him. His vet fees so far are $489.85. Ongoing, he will need to be treated for the very advanced arthritis that was also found on the x-rays when his stones were diagnosed and probiotics for his impaction issues. 

As you can tell by his chewed up little ears he didn’t have the easiest time before he got here. We intend to make the rest of his life a guinea pig’s dream.

OUR GOAL IS TO RAISE $600. CAN WE DO IT??

*

To avoid paypal fees send checks to:

Contact me at sponsoraguineapig@gmail.com for an address for checks.

*you can also log in to your paypal account, select "Send Money," and type "MGPRDonations@mgpr.org" in to the "to field." Then select "personal" at the top tab. The default status should be "gift." Leave this as-is. Then enter your gift amount. MGPR thanks you for going to this extra trouble!

JULY'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--George!

We have raised $380 so far! WE MET OUR GOAL!

Meet George 

from

Arizona Piggie Poo Rescue!

 

George was transferred from Wee Companions, a guinea pig shelter in San Diego, on February 8, 2011.  He came with his wife Millie.  George and Millie were at that time 5 year old pigs.  Millie had a malignant tumor in her bladder and it was decided, for this reason, that they both go into a private foster home to live out their remaining days.

When this happens they become what we call “Sanctuary Pigs”.  These are unadoptable pigs due to age, health reasons, or behavior issues that make them unadoptable to the public.

Millie lived for six months before she passed.  George was heartbroken.

It just so happened that one of Piggie Poo’s Directors had two female sanctuary piggies.  Since George was a neutered boar, it was decided to move him to her house and try living with these senior ladies.  He was overjoyed!

He especially loves Tater Tot.  They snuggle together in their hut and Tater will even groom George.  Recently a third older female has joined the herd and he loves her as well.  He is now over 6 years old and is an extremely happy little guy.  He is super spoiled.  George loves his “mommy”, especially when she gives him chin rubs.  

 We are hoping to raise $375 for George's care, which will last him several months. Please help by donating or sharing George's story!

*

*To avoid Paypal fees you can also log in to your paypal account, select "Send Money," and type "info@piggypoo.org" in to the "to field." Then select "personal" at the top tab. The default status should be "gift." Leave this as-is. Then enter your gift amount. Piggie Poo thanks you for going to this extra trouble!

JULY'S PIGS OF THE MONTH--Professor Wendell Thompkins and Albert Butterbean!

Meet Wendell and Albert

from GA Rescue

Atlanta Metro Guinea Pig Rescue!

Wendell (pictured above and in banner) and Albert are two gorgeous guinea pig boys who arrived at AMGPR in late April. They are very sweet, friendly, and super loving. Albert and Wendell are about 3-4 years old and get along together fabulously. They are always at the edge of the cage looking for human interaction. Wendell gives great piggy kisses, and Albert is a snuggle bunny.

They were surrendered by a woman who worked in Atlanta, but lived about an hour away. She took them from a friend who found them dumped at a pet store. While in this woman's home, they lived in a C&C cage and received decent care, but the woman felt she didn't have enough time for them.

These boys are in for quite a treat, as they are being adopted by our very own ... Marsha Weaver! (Marsha recently lost her home and many of her guinea pigs in an Alabama tornado. The month of May was devoted to fundraising for her).

Before being adopted, however, they must be neutered. The cost per neuter is $98.28 each (for a total of 196.56) and then a course of antibiotics of $28.50, for a total of $225.06. I hope we will reach $300, as gas costs are also involved in the transport of these pigs to their forever home.

*

UPDATE FOR JUJUBE

So far we have raised $581.50 out of $287!

Way to go team!

Thank you so much to everyone who forwarded Jujube's story and donated!

8386.83

JULY'S PIG OF THE MONTH-Jujube!

Meet Jujube from

VA rescue

Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue!

Jujube is a very special guinea pig to MGPR. She came into the rescue with her mother and littermates at a few weeks old. It wasn't long before her foster mom noticed she had very strange behavior and wasn't nice to other pigs. Jujube's behavior grew even stranger as she got older and moved to one foster home, then another. Her foster moms all noticed and remarked on how strange she was. Jujube spent most of her time in her cage in a "trance," standing on her toes and hunched up.

Fortunately for Jujube she had observent foster homes and an excellent vet. During her pre-spay appointment her behavior was discussed (as was the unexpected death of Jujube's mother post-spay) and the vet postponed her spay and ran blood tests.

Jujube has been diagnosed with Portosystemic Shunt Syndrome (PSS), caused by an abnormal blood vessel that allows toxins in blood to bypass the liver and flow back through the body without being cleansed. The vet said the "trance" was actually the pain Jujube was in because of the toxins circulating through her system.

The PSS is being medically managed with twice daily doses of Lactulose, which she will be on for the rest of her life. She has made remarkable progress since being diagnosed--the trances have disappeared and she even puts her head down to sleep, which she had never done before!

Unfortunately, Jujube is still quite strange and does not get along with other pigs, so she probably also has inbreeding problems. She has made tremendous progress since treatment began and now, at almost 7 months old, is a completely different guinea pig than she was so recently.

Jujube hasn't been spayed yet but the vet says the procedure is now possible since she is on the Lactulose. MGPR hasn't decided whether to spay her and whether to make her a sanctuary pig or adopt her to a very special home. Jujube is very charming in her own peculiar way and has captured hearts in all her foster homes.

We are hoping to fundraise enough for four months of her care, totaling $287. This includes $47 for a blood test to determine she is ready for her spay, $110 for the pending spay, and $7.50 per week in regular care (carefresh, veggies, hay and pellets), plus $10 for a six month supply of Lactulose (her medicine).

This month $7.50 is again the magic number, paying for one week of Jujube's care. Feeling generous? Why not donate $10, enough for her medicine for six months!

Please contact me at sponsoraguineapig@gmail.com if you would like to make a donation via check. Otherwise, click donate below!

UPDATE FOR BARACK!

We've raised $375 so far-

Thank you so much for everyone who pulled through for our adorable Barack! I am so sorry that I have been so lax in fundraising for this incredibly deserving pig-a new job and a move has made things pretty hectic. Thank you to the contributors and forwarders who made sure that Barack met his goal!

JULY'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--Barack!

Meet Barack
from the WA rescue

Cavy Companions!

Barack is an adorable, presidential pig! He is five to six years old and came to this small, home-based rescue from a local shelter. He had no where else to go. Barack was severely impacted, was missing a front tooth, had overgrown bottom front teeth, and had bumblefoot on all four of his feet-his bumblefoot will never fully heal. Barack was starving because his overgrown molars covered his tongue so he couldn't eat. His nails were growing upward, his fur was matted with feces, and he smelled absolutely horrible.



Barack will need to be cleaned out every day for the rest of his life, and he gets medication daily for the pain in his feet. He must be on fleece 24/7 because of his foot pain. The poor guy has a fused ankle joint, and as a result he will never be able to use this foot normally.

A direct quote from the rescue: "Despite the suffering and neglect he had been through, he is one of the sweetest guinea pigs I've ever taken in. Because no one paid attention to him, he craves being held and will close his eyes while I stroke him. He is very gentle and needs a lot of my time to help him trust that he will be taken care of. It's a miracle that he survived this long."

We are hoping to raise $239 for Barack-enough for one molar and incisor trimming.

Please help us keep this boy's smile picture-perfect!