Sam and Dean

[Renonvsparky]

It is a tough decision to have to make and a hard pill to swallow when it's done. No amount of experience with it softens the blow. What's worse is that I'm not sure if he'll even make it through the night or to his appointment if they can't get him in until afternoon. They usually go quickly once they start going downhill like this.

[PooksiedAnimals]

I've hated every time I've had to make that decision. Euthanasia was the right choice, but it sucked. The fact you struggle with it shows you're caring and compassionate and that it's not a spur-of-the-moment decision. Hugs.

[Renonvsparky]

Dean's appointment was today at 11. I spent the morning holding and loving on him as I always do when my guinea pig is in their final moments. I had put him back in his cage while I got everything ready to take him in and he went right over to the pile of pellets and started eating them. I watched for about 10 minutes as he ate and then he went to his water bottle and drank quite a bit. Once done, he went back to his pellets. He even foraged up a couple of small hay bits. I have decided to postpone his appointment for a day or two.

It just doesn't seem right to put him down while he's still eating and drinking. Granted, it's not much, but it's enough to keep him from suffering the pain of an empty digestive system. It is inevitable that I will have to send to the rainbow bridge, probably in the next day or two, but I'm willing to give him as much time as possible to live.

[Renonvsparky]

Got some parsley for the guinea pigs to give them a break from baby carrots. I gave Dean 2 small stalks of it and he ate them both. He's still nibbling on pellets off and on and sipping his water. Still wants little to do with the hay other than a few small bits here and there and wants nothing to do with his other vegetables. I still have some fresh lettuce in the greenhouse, so I gave him a small leaf to see if he'll eat that. I have carrots still growing in there too so I'm going to try him on the greens from those. I understand that I'm only buying him a little bit of time. I'll do what must be done when the time comes, but it's nice to have him around for a while longer as long as he isn't in pain or suffering.

[Renonvsparky]

No go on the bibb lettuce from the greenhouse, but the carrot greens were a hit with Dean. I have enough of both parsley and carrot greens to make a meal for him. I have plenty of carrots in the greenhouse too. Hopefully he eats them all. He started eating when I put them in his cage. He doesn't care to be watched while he eats, so I left him to it and I'll check on him later. It'll be a while since he eats even slower than he did before.

[Lynx]

Glad he likes the stuff.

As an aside, some years back I tracked down carrot greens as being high in calcium. So is parsley. This is likely not a concern for you at this moment in time but for anyone else who is reading and concerned with calcium, I am mentioning it.

[Renonvsparky]

I didn't see where parsley is particularly high in calcium. It does have a fair amount of nutrients in it, but I wouldn't normally feed it exclusively. I know carrot greens are good only in limited quantities. In Dean's case, we're postponing the inevitable for as long as we can by getting him to eat whatever we can. I'm still offering his normal veggies before putting the parsley and carrot greens. Plus he's eating some pellets. His eyes aren't getting any worse. If anything one of them has stopped running. I'm not going on false hope here. I'm enjoying the last little bit of time I have left with my beloved pet and when it's time, I'm going to let him go in peace.

[Lynx]

As I wrote above, it is not likely a concern for you due to his age and needing him to eat whatever he can.

Info on parsley here:
https://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html

As you will note, high in calcium which is a problem for some guinea pigs - though the calcium phosphorus ratio is reasonable. A general push to less calcium overall may still help guinea pigs with stones issues.

[Renonvsparky]

Ok. I see now. Dean has never had any health issues until now and what he's going through is old age and the near end of his expected life span. Plus he's never been fed anything high in calcium on a regular basis. Therefore, getting a few extra days with him by giving him parsley isn't a concern.

[Renonvsparky]

I've given up trying to figure Dean out. When I made him an appointment to go to the rainbow bridge, he was really looking bad, not eating or drinking anything (see above ). Now, he's drinking his usual amount of water and eating plenty, albeit it's carrot greens , little bits of carrot, and pellets. Occasionally he'll eat the leafy part of parsley and cilantro. He's started nibbling the little bits of hay too. He even gets excited when I come in to feed him and nibbles the cage wires again and his eyes are looking better. It's like he wasn't quite ready to go and decided to straighten up. I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'm going to enjoy him for as long as I can.

[Lynx]

I would too. It may not be long, but I know you will appreciate having him with you.

[Renonvsparky]

I thought his incisors might have been overgrown because of how he was turning his head and picking up the baby carrots with the side of his mouth, but I got a good look at them when he was biting the cage and they looked ok. He doesn't have any trouble picking up his pellets with them or getting his mouth over the nozzle on his water bottle. He grinds his teeth together when I hold him. Not the angry clicking guinea pigs do, grinding them together lightly. I can barely hear it above the constant ringing in my ears. Maybe he's doing that to keep them from overgrowing.

I did have an awful thought . Sammy crossed over on December 21, 2021. I sure hope that Dean doesn't decide to leave us on Sammy's day. Not sure how I'll be able to handle that.