My adventures in fostering

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serelixyue

Post   » Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:38 am


Love Eli!

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GP_mum
Supporter in '13

Post   » Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:06 pm


So glad Winky has a new friend. Max is super cute and it's great that they get along. Winky is definitely thriving under your care.

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Ibepatience
Supporter in '13

Post   » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:07 pm


So I started putting the word out that I was looking for a spayed older female for Leo. I figure another baby male won't work once his hormones kick in, an adult male would be an issue cause they'd both be struggling for dominance and I just worry about Leo's heart.

Wee Companions just got back a spayed 2 year old female! She was originally found left at a vets office in a small cage with toe males. She was pregnant and after the babies were weaned they tried her with several other females unsuccessfully. She didn't wanna get along with any of them so they had her spayed. She was adopted as a buddy for a male who wasn't getting along with other males. That was March 2013. In December one of the volunteers was skimming through Craigslist and saw an ad for a male and spayed female guinea pig and they recognized them as former WC piggies! They contacted them and got them back (as required by the adoption contract). Unfortunately the male has a cancerous memory tumor so they had him neutered while removing the mass and decided to pair him up with another female who also has cancer and keep them as sanctuary piggies. This leaves Holly as an available spayed female and in desperate need of a stable FOREVER home.

Meet Holly, Leo's new love.

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image by ibepatience, on Flickr

They hit it off instantly and actually snuggle! It's the sweetest thing ever! She is timid but once you hold her she settles in and starts to relax. I love her!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 28, 2014 10:32 pm


Aw, what a lovely match!

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GP_mum
Supporter in '13

Post   » Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:03 am


Holly does look very sweet. Glad they're getting along.

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Ibepatience
Supporter in '13

Post   » Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:22 am


On February 1st I picked up my new fosters Cricket and Pedro. Cricket is a baby cuy and Pedro is an older guy. They were rescued from a shelter at the same time and we decided to try them together. They're working out pretty good so far. Cricket runs in fast forward 24 hours a day. Pedro is pretty calm and tolerates Crickets spazzinesss pretty well. I knew they needed lots of room to run around so I doubled up two 2x3s to make a 2x6! It's massive!!

Here's Cricket, he LOVES to be wrapped up in a towel!
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photo 3.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr
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photo 2.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr

Here's Pedro
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image by ibepatience, on Flickr
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photo 2.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr

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clairey

Post   » Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:03 am


Pedro is gorgeous. I love red pigs.

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AldenM1
Supporter in '21

Post   » Tue Feb 18, 2014 11:37 am


Oo, I do like that all-red look; I've never had one like that. On the other hand, I'm also a sucker for the very pink nose framed by a white stripe and brown/orange cheeks. Cookie has that going on (and Ouiser too, to some extent) and it just makes me want to snorgle her (which is not on the list of approved Cookie-activities, sadly).

That is to say: cute pigs!

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Ibepatience
Supporter in '13

Post   » Wed Feb 19, 2014 11:47 pm


On February 5th I received an email from one of our local shelters asking if we could take a tiny baby piggy that had been brought in as a stray. He had hairloss and scabbing on his back. Cavy Haven is way over our limit so we couldn't take him but Wee Companions said they could.

I pulled him the next day and had to do it as a medical foster since he was technically still on stray hold. I got him home and gave him an ivermectin treatment. He was so tiny, maybe 2 months old!! The first day he didn't seem too awful, I put some Desitin on his wounds and he ate and acted fairly normal. The next day was awful. I guess when the mites are dying they start to move around making them itch terribly. He had tore open all of his wounds by the time I got home from work. We tried wrapping him but he was so small and squirmy it was virtually impossible. We managed to get him kinda wrapped but that seemed to drive him even more crazy so I took it off and put another layer of Desitin on him. That seemed to help. Poor little guy was just miserable. Boy, did he have an appetite though!

Here is what he looked like when I pulled him
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photo 3.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr
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photo 2.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr

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photo 5.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr


and here is what he looked like the second day
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photo 4.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr




I ended up meeting a volunteer from Wee Companions the next morning because I really wanted him in more experienced hands. They have dealt with this a hundred times and are much better at it. I was sad to see him go but knew it was best for him.

I received an update that he is doing much better and is healing nicely!

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GP_mum
Supporter in '13

Post   » Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:30 am


Poor guy, thankfully he's receiving the necessary treatment. I'm sure he'll look wonderful once he's recovered.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:57 am


Oh, that poor little guy!

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Ibepatience
Supporter in '13

Post   » Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:04 am


February 15 I went to the a Riverside shelter to pull a "female" who we suspected based on her intake photo was blind. It turned out she was a he, he was blind and the shelter decided two days prior to trim his incisors. He stopped eating after the trimming but the vet tech told me she thought it was because he couldn't see the food. Seriously??

I took him home, started him on antibiotics, Reglan, Metacam and syringe feedings and arranged to meet a volunteer from Wee Companions the next morning. He didn't poop the entire time I had him and he seemed the most comfortable being held.

Here's Evan. He had terrible cataracts in both eyes.
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photo 5.JPG by ibepatience, on FlickrJ

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photo 3.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr

He had terrible, terrible feet
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photo 4.JPG by ibepatience, on Flickr

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