Gorgeous George
My heart is broken... This little man has gone to rainbow bridge, to frolic and popcorn with the piggy friends he couldn't enjoy in this life. His struggle began to consume him. There was no popcorning for this little man.. He was always too busy fighting to regain his place in the herd as "top pig". This would never be again. I know that he understood I was there to help-- we were a team. We spent our last night together, Friday (08/09/06). He slept next to me on his heatpad and I held him close all night. I awoke in the morning to him sitting up in front of my head, staring at me patiently, as if to say "c'mon Mum! Let's go! There's hay to be eaten around here..."
He always welcomed my efforts to care for him and returned the favour by giving me piggy kisses... Even until his last moments, his eyes were on me. All I could do was hold him and tell him he had done so well. I told him it was OK to go, although that was the very last thing I wanted....
What a resilient animal... I have truly never known another like him. He has undoubtedly changed my life and I will never forget him as long as I live.... We were barely ever apart the last 5 months.. never again my boy. This strange separation is killing me.
George came to us in October 2005 after being surrendered along with 3 other piggies. George has since been castrated and introduced to another piggie for company. After weekly weigh-ins over a period of months we noticed a steady decrease in little George's weight. He has since been removed from his cage mate and placed in quarrantine.
We have had blood tests on Little George, which point to a disruption of the digestive system. Little George is now on antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. George seems happy in himself and is eating fine, despite his weight loss. We have managed to maintain his body weight for the last month using a cocktail of the following dietary supplements by syringe: Vet Ark- Avipro Plus, Protexin Bio-lapis, Vet Ark Critical Care and vitamin C daily.
UPDATE (12/07/06):
George was rushed into to see the specialist vet today, after discovery of a large mass on his groin area that seemed to have developed over night-- literally. After immediate surgery we discovered the mass was a large abcess, located at the very spot George had his castration over NINE months ago.
George is now recovering from his surgery, and seems to be doing wonderfully, given all he has been through. We are happy to finally be able to understand what we hope are the reasons behind his longterm illness. We can only pray that this is not a secondary problem.
Although it is never a welcomed event for an animal to be taken ill, we are so grateful George's infection finally decided to show itself in the form of an abcess, so that we could act fast to remove it and finally give this poor boy some peace.
Photo: abcess site postop, 2 days on from the operation
UPDATE (22/07/06):
"Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"
Unfortunately, two weeks on from his abcess removal surgery, George had not gained his weight back at a rate we would have liked to see given the time. Lance Jepson, an exotics specialist, preformed repeat blood tests, so as to compare them to the initial bloods taken before the abcess removal surgery. We did see a slight increase in all the vitals that had worried us initially with the first blood test, but saw a dramatic change to another area-- Gamma GT. This suggested an acute problem with the Liver. Upon receiving the results of the second blood test Lance and I agreed exploratory surgery was the next step. I packed up little George in his hospital cage once again .
Once George was opened up, Lance had an in depth look at all George's organs and noticed a problem with his intestines and stomach. White sections of tissue were clearly visible. At first glance this could be observed as "Metastatic Calcification," a disorder not uncommon to guinea pigs. Recent studies have disproved the theory that too much vitamin C is harmless in the guinea pig diet. It had previously been thought that the body would excrete this vitamin if given in too high of amounts. That has been shown NOT to be the case! Metastatic Calcification has also been said to be linked to vitamin D3, magnesium and phosphorus inbalance. Pieces of little George's pancrease and liver have been sent off across the UK, to pathology labs and Veterinary Universities for analysis. The results should be back by this Monday (24/07/06).
Photo: surgery site postop, 2 days on from the operation
In the meantime, I am ecstatic to say that George has managed to increase his weight by almost 40 grams since the 19th of July. He is eating like a trooper and dining on some tasty treats to brighten his spirits even more. He is now clocked at 685 grams-- up from a VERY worrying 646 grams sited just last week!
UPDATE (19/08/06):
Great News!! George has continued to gain weight since our last update and is now hovering around the 750g mark! This is a notable improvment, given his dreary prognosis. Unfortunately though, biopsies of his liver and pancrease returned inconclusive from both labs, only serving to confirm the presence of "abnormal tissue". George is keeping in high spirits and has continued to put away his food like a champ. This is a wonderful sign, as it proves that this little man hasn't even begun to give up the fight. George and I spend most nights together curled up on the couch, where he enjoys ear scratchings and general fuss. Please continue to check back for more updates on this little man!
UPDATE (27/08/06):
Further histology stains on the liver and pancrease have returned negative. This is not a surprise as metastatic calcification is not detectable through unaffected tissue samples. I have now prepared tissue samples, preserved in formalin, of the white calcified tissue found in George's faeces. Results of the histology reports on this tissue should be back shortly. Hopefully, we will be able to determine where in the body this tissue is sloughing off from. George is still bright and eating well, though he has started to drop weight again. He is now hovering around 715 grams.
UPDATE (02/09/06):
George was taken to Lance again on 31/08/06. His two upper teeth had started giving him trouble. On the day of his appointment my morning checks on the little man revealed that during the night he had completely broken his tooth off, leaving the other wobbley in the socket. After meeting with Lance we decided that it would be best to wait for the other tooth to fall out naturally, to avoid sedation and unnecessary discomfort through intervention. The tooth has fallen out today, but I am afraid the absense of these two teeth has taken a real toll. His ability to consume his favourite fresh foods has deminished and subsequently he has dropped weight again... His appettite has remained, but his inability to tackle his favourites has made him visibly frustrated. I have now taken to hand feeding tiny bits of the veg, so he can still enjoy. His very delicate digestive track may be affected if he fails to process his food properly due to the dental problems..... Fingers crossed.
UPDATE (06/09/06):
George's teeth are both growing back nicely and he is able to eat his fresh veg again! (still fighting with the carrots though) His weight is now hovering at 650g.
A HUGE THANK YOU GOES TO JANET HUGHES from "Wheekers Online Forum" for her support given towards George's treatment.
