MARCH'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--Part 2! Spike

$236.66 raised so far! WE MET OUR GOAL!
Please keep sharing Spike's story, and consider donating!

Meet SPIKE

from CA rescue 

Orange County Cavy Haven!

Because we did such a great job fundraising for Junebug, and there are a number of days left in March, we are going to try to fundraise for a second piggy--Spike!

Spike came into the rescue from an LA shelter in June, 2011.  We were unable to place him due to several ongoing medical issues that took time to resolve.  He had teeth issues, a bad case of fungus that took time to deal with, and an abscess that kept filling up and had to be drained several times.  Finally, we were able to get his medical issues under control and he enjoyed several months of comfort.  

 Now, however, he has started to cry when he urinates and he has to go back in to be evaluated for a possible bladder stone.  Based on his past medical issues, we are going to have him fully evaluated.  The anticipated cost for his visit is $200 (if, as we hope, he does not need surgery).

 Spike is a real trooper and, in spite of all of his medical issues, he continues to adore his foster mom and enjoys his life.  He is a real character and a very special boy.  We are committed to doing our part to make sure he can live as long and happily as possible!

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*To avoid Paypal fees, send a check to:

Orange County Cavy Haven

2900 Madison Ave., Unit D19

Fullerton, CA  92831

with the memo "Junebug" or "SAGP"

*you can also log in to your paypal account, select "Send Money," and type "cavyhaven@earthlink.net" 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. Orange County Cavy Haven thanks you for going to this extra trouble!

MARCH'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--Junebug!

$827.48 raised so far for Junebug! WE MET OUR GOAL!

Please keep donating, and spread her story!

Meet Junebug

from CA Rescue

Orange County Cavy Haven! 

Junebug came to OCCH in June of 2011.  Although she is a cuy (found in the wild in Peru), weighing in at 5 pounds, she is extremely gentle and often comes to events to help educate the public about cuys. 

Junebug needs to get chest x-rays to be diagnosed for heart meds, and we expect that she will be on heart meds for life. Additionally, she has a terrible case of fungus, which her foster mom has been battling diligently with topical treatments, continues to recur. 

Her vet is able to treat the fungus and take care of getting her on proper heart meds but, because we were hit with a string of emergency surgeries, which hit our medical fund hard, Junebug has had to wait to get her treatment.

The estimated total cost for x-rays, and enough medications to get “Buggy” through three months is $325.

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*To avoid Paypal fees, send a check to:

Orange County Cavy Haven

2900 Madison Ave., Unit D19

Fullerton, CA  92831

with the memo "Junebug" or "SAGP"

*you can also log in to your paypal account, select "Send Money," and type "cavyhaven@earthlink.net" 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. Orange County Cavy Haven thanks you for going to this extra trouble!

MARCH'S GUINEA PIG OF THE MONTH--Blizzy!

$396 raised so far! WE MET OUR GOAL AND RECEIVED THE MATCH DONATION!

Total raised: $746!!

Meet Blizzy

from CA Rescue

Orange County Cavy Haven!

Blizzy is a very sweet, four year old guinea pig with a heart condition, and a bladder stone caught in her urethra. Actigall has only made the stone shrink somewhat. The rescue is extremely worried about a snowball effect resulting from the sludge and creating a blockage.

Blizzy can see a different vet than her normal one to attempt to reduce the blockage, but this procedure, including xrays, will cost close to $700.

SAGP has never attempted to raise this amount of money for a guinea pig before, but we have a little help. Blizzy has a guardian angel who is willing to donate $350, provided we raise another $350 to match it.

Can Blizzy count on your help, too?

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*To avoid Paypal fees, send a check to:

Orange County Cavy Haven

9877 Chapman Ave Ste D, PMB #124,

Garden Grove, CA 92841

with the memo "Blizzy" or "SAGP"

*you can also log in to your paypal account, select "Send Money," and type "cavyhaven@earthlink.net" 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. Orange County Cavy Haven thanks you for going to this extra trouble!

URGENT--CT CONNECTION IN DIRE NEED!

I received the following information from CT Connection, a rescue already strapped financially from their recent snow cave-in.

They got a pig in the rescue two weeks ago (Tigger) whose medical bills are going to run close to $1,500 if not more. They've already spent $400. He now needs a CT Scan to see if there's a mass behind his eye, as x-rays didn't work. Depending on this scan, he may need his eye removed.

Please donate what you can. There is no goal set, but I will post our fundraising results. UPDATE: $175 donated so far!

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To avoid paypal fees send checks to:

The Critter Connection, Inc.
PO Box 371
Durham, CT 06422

Make checks payable to "The Critter Connection, Inc." and please specify SAGP or Medical Fund in the Memo line.

$ 11,622.37

UPDATE FOR ROCKY!

So far we've raised $360.17 out of $360! We've reached our goal and then some!

Thanks so much to everyone who has donated and shared Rocky's story.

UPDATE: A very generous donor, moved by The Critter Connection's plight, has offered a $25 matching donation. Please take advantage of this opportunity! UPDATE: Donation MATCHED!

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To avoid paypal fees send checks to:

The Critter Connection, Inc.
PO Box 371
Durham, CT 06422

Make checks payable to "The Critter Connection, Inc." and please specify SAGP or Rocky in the Memo line.

$ 11,447.37

MARCH'S PIGGY OF THE MONTH--Rocky!

Meet Rocky

from CT Rescue

The Critter Connection!

Rocky is a seven year old neutered male who lives in the sanctuary herd, in an enormous 25'x3' cage. Rocky came to the rescue three years ago. He had been a single piggy all of his life, and on top of this, his family lost interest in him.

Rocky is a real character with a mind of his own! He was adopted out three times to excellent homes with friendly buddies over a one year period. Each time he went to his new home he stopped eating. He was checked out thoroughly by different vets, but no medical issues were found.

After the third time this happened, The Critter Connection decided to keep Rocky in the rescue as a sanctuary pig, so he was neutered. He lives in the sanctuary herd with twelve other old-timers, and is the boss of them all.

Our fundraising goal for Rocky is $360, enough for a three month supply of veggies, pellets, carefresh, and hay.

The Critter Connection is especially in need of this funding, as they are going through a financial crisis. Their garage collapsed from the weight of the snow earlier this year, meaning they lost all of their surplus rescue supplies, bedding, hay, extra cages, and many personal items. The homeowner's insurance covered the personal items, but not the rescue's items. The Critter Connection is working on rebuilding their building and supplies. Any extra help we can offer them during this time is much appreciated.

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To avoid paypal fees send checks to:

The Critter Connection, Inc.
PO Box 371
Durham, CT 06422

Make checks payable to "The Critter Connection, Inc." and please specify SAGP or Rocky in the Memo line.

Update for Ziggy and Brodie!

So far we have raised $379.66 or #254.94! We've reached our goal, way to go!

Brodie says, "Thank you!" (picture courtesy of Webs).

MARCH'S PIGS-Ziggy and Brodie!

Meet Ziggy and Brodie

from UK Rescue

Thistle Cavies!

This year's two pigs are Brodie (11 months) and Ziggy (around two years). You will remember Brodie from last year. He lived with Josh after Yetti died. We could not find a piggy who would accept him after Josh went to the Rainbow Bridge, and we tried many, so we decided to castrate and find him a wife.

Ziggy arrived in terrible condition, mites, lice, very thin, and terrified of all piggies due to being mercilessly bullied by her cage mates. She coud not eat for sheer fear she would be bitten, she was separated from the other piggies and enjoyed life by herself for a while being syringe fed to gain much needed weight. She was only 1 lb 3 ounces. We also discovered Ziggy had a heart problem so she is now on Fortekor and still being syringe fed to ensure she continues to gain, she is now at 1 lb 12 ounces!

We paired her with Brodie and all was well for two days. Then we noticed a small abscess on Brodie's nose, cleaned it up, but by night time he had a huge abscess below his ear. At that point they were separated, Ziggy with the resident girls and Brodie in a hospital cage.

For three weeks now we have battled with Brodie's abscesses, so far the count is 16. He has some sort of infection that is being carried around in his blood and is causing abscesses. He has had two vet visits so far costing #178.35 to lance and clean/flush out the abscesses. Two more are coming up and they will need to be lanced in the very near future.

He is on Baytil and pain relief, syringe feeds daily just to keep him topped up, as well as huge doses of probiotics. We have not managed to definitely isolate the exact bacteria causing the infection but it is thought to be pastuerella. We do not know if we will win the battle for him and have been warned it may break out again at any time in the future.

He is happy, lively, and a complete star when it comes to all the flushing, cleanimg etc. of his wounds. He sits with his head tilted up and we get on with the job, only occasionally does he flinch if we touch a particularly sensitive spot.

So meanwhile these two lonely piggies have to be separated and there is no doubt that Brodie misses Ziggy. We do all we can to keep him happy but we are not piggies! Plus there is the zoonosis side and we have been well warned about this, wearing masks, gloves, etc. We have to keep to very strict hygeine and the big pads for him to sit on while we clean him up cost $14.95 for 12 and we go through 2 a day.

Costs for Brodie per week are: Baytril #9.00, Antibiotic flushing solution #6.00, Chlorahexadine #3.15, Sundries (cotton buds/balls, syringes, probiotics) #3, Critical Care #14.95, Pain Relief #3.00.

Costs for Ziggy per week: Fortekor: #4.90, Critical Care: #14.95.

Total cost per week: #58.95 or $88.79. Total fundraising goal (a three week supply): #176.85 or $266.37

We hope that Ziggy and Brodie can live together again but Brodie does not have a quick fix illness. But as long as he is happy, lively and enjoying life we will keep him on with meds, syringe feedings, and flushings, and hope that there is a happy ending for both of these loveable pigs.

To donate in US dollars:

To donate in Sterling Pounds:

FINAL UPDATE FOR THISTLE CAVIES

We Reached Our Goal!
Sponsor a Guinea Pig has raised £235.11 or $324.14!

Thank you so much to everyone who has made this month so successful--
What a wonderful way to honor the loss of Yetti.
Though so much is beyond our control,
people are willing to make a difference about what is within our control.


And look at this adorable photo of Josh that Wendi, the director of Thistle Cavies sent me:

Yetti's memoriam post can be found here,
including some adorable photos of him as a baby.

A sad announcement

I am devastated to write to you with some very sad news. Yetti has passed away because of heart issues. I know that with fundraising for special needs pigs this would always be a risk, but I am just so forlorn about this loss. I think any condolences sent to Wendi's way would be much welcome-she is the director of Thistle Cavies where Yetti received such amazing care. Here are some photos of Yetti when he was just six months old.




For those wondering, Josh is coping really well, and the rescue is going to pair him with a friend right away so he doesn't suffer from depression.

Heart issues are incredibly common in pigs-some basic signs of a heart pig are belly pigs, lap pigs, hooters, frequent URIs, crusty eyes, lethargy, and pigs that are easy to pick up. I would really encourage any pig owner to read the following link: GUINEA LYNX-HEART ISSUES: for information about how to treat a pig with potential heart issues.

I'm so sorry to Josh, the rescue, and to all readers of the site for the loss. I know we all grow really attached to these little guys. I'm going to keep you updated with additional news, and please write sponsoraguineapig@gmail.com with any questions. At the moment I am only able to check my internet weekly, so I apologize for any delay in reply.

Edit: here are some more photos of Yetti from when he was a very young boy, with his brothers. Adorable from day one:

MARCH'S PIGS OF THE MONTH-Josh and Yetti!

Meet Josh and Yetti

from the Scottish Rescue

Thistle Cavies!

Josh and Yetti are just two of 15 special needs piggies at Thistle Cavies, and they are the best of buds. Josh is 6.5 years old and has been with the rescue for 3 and a half years. Yetti is a white rex who developed heart problems about 18 months ago, at the same as Josh, who had already suffered from a host of other medical problems.

We'd like to fundraise enough to pay for the expensive dental growth removal (£45.oo or $62.04), six weeks worth of medication: Fortekor (£22.50 or $31.02), Frusemide (£2.20 or $3.03), Rimadyl (£18.30 or $25.23) and Critical Care (£29.29 or $40.38), as well as two additional packages of Critical Care for the boys 2x(£29.29 or $40.38). This is for a total of £175.87 or ~$242.46, using an exchange rate of £1:$1.37864 as of 3/09/2009.

Please see donation links at bottom of entry!

Prior to his heart issues, Josh required extensive surgery for a jawbone abscess shortly after his arrival. An infection had eaten away part of his jawbone and part of his jaw had to be removed, as well as one of his bottom incisors. Despite the most meticulous of care the rescue feared they might lose Josh, and for two months his recovery seemed unsure. But eventually he started putting on weight, and never looked back!

Now his surgery site needs to be maintained with regular procedures, but Josh is the definition of a patient piggy. He is a calm sweetheart who loves being syringefed, despite his mouth issues. He is also a super cuddle piggy who just snuggles into you as soon as he's picked up.

Yetti is his best friend, and the two simply can't be separated. Yetti's heart issues make him a candidate for Sponsor a Guinea Pig alone, but with the close bond they have it's doubtful Yetti would let Josh go on without him anyway! We hope to help ease the financial burden of this small, home based rescue by fundraising for part of their care, just as the medications will be easing the physical burden on these small boys' dear hearts.

To donate in US dollars:

To donate in Sterling Pounds: