"Few religions are definite about the size of Heaven, but on the planet Earth the Book of Revelation (ch. XXI, v.16) gives it as a cube 12,000 furlongs on a side. This is somewhat less than 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubic feet. Even allowing that the Heavenly Host and other essential services take up at least two thirds of this space, this leaves about one million cubic feet of space for each human occupant ... This is such a generous amount of space that it suggests that room has also been provided for some alien races or -- a happy thought -- that pets are allowed. -- Terry Pratchett
This is the hardest part of running a rescue.
Animals have shorter lives than people. Even in the best of worlds, their time ends before ours, and it never gets easier to say goodbye.
This page is dedicated to those creatures who touched our lives, be it ever so briefly. We are honored to have known you, and we hope to see you on the other side.
Riker
April 2005 - November 6 2005
Riker was one of the Jacksonville 48, a group of young pigs who came to us in June 2005, dumped by a single irresponsible breeder. He was a tame pig with beautiful unusual coloring. In September he started to lose weight, and was found to have two huge bladder stones, probably caused by a very poor diet before he came to us. These were removed, in a long, expensive, and difficult surgical procedure. It took a long time to slowly nurse him back to health. In late Riker started to lose weight again, and it was found that he had already re-developed stones. We did not feel that he would survive a second surgery, and that the kindest thing we could do was to let him go.
He never had much of a chance at a decent life, but we loved him while we could.
Chuck
1998-October 11 2005
This is by far the hardest memorium I have ever had to write.
Darin and I lost our first ever guinea pig, Chuck, on October 11 2005.
We got Chuck the Friday before Easter, 2000. I was over at a friend's house, and one of them had this ambulant mophead in a cage. She was a special ed teacher, and this was her class pet, home for the Easter holiday. I hadn't ever had a guinea pig and had certainly never seen a peruvian. For a while I didn't believe that it was a real animal. I enthused for so long, that finally Heather said "I'm going away this weekend, would you like to take care of him over the holiday?" Of course I said yes. I asked what she knew about him, she only knew that he was about 2 years old.
I didn't know anything about guinea pigs, but it only took a few minutes of research to see that he wasn't being fed right (seed mix and no hay, and just carrots as veggies). I must have bought $40 of supplies that night. His cage was filthy, with cedar, so I replaced that and scrubbed it. I didn't find the good cavy care websites right away, so I didn't know about cage size, so I didn't do anything yet about the 18"x18" zinc thing he was in. I let him run all over and he wheeked for veggies and I was totally in love.
I was annoyed with my friend for not taking better care of him. So Monday rolls around and I determine not to call Heather. Let her call me first if she wants him back. I'm hereby forming the Guinea Pig Liberation Front and Chuck is our first recruit!
Well, in our joy with him, we suddenly realize that a week has gone by, and Heather hasn't called. Then two weeks go by, then three. I go over to my friends' house several times and even run into Heather, and she DOESN'T MENTION CHUCK. So we just keep quiet. It becomes a huge joke in our social circle that I stole Chuck without her knowing. (It ends up being close to 3 years before she ever mentions him again, and when she finally asks me about him, everyone in the room collapses in laughter. Unperturbed, she just says "well, I knew you loved hm and you'd spend more time with him than me, so I was happy for you to keep him!")
Over the next year, we get him a "bigger" cage (a 24"x24"X6" rubbermaid container made for storing wreaths - still too small!) and start feeding more veggies. He learned to enjoy floor time, racing around his box wheeking like a little freight train. In late 2001 I moved out on my own and Chuck came with me - I immediately took in some pigs from the local shelter and started to think about doing rescue. Chuck was still alone, because he was still intact and I still believed (erroneously) that intact boars would fight. However, he proved that this wasn't the case. I came home one day to find one of my other boars, Spanky, had gotten out of his container. I looked around and couldn't find him, and finally found that he'd gotten OUT of his cage and INTO Chuck's! They were both sitting there looking at me quite happily. They became buddies and stayed together till Spanky's death in late 2003.
When I bought my house in early 2003, I started my rescue work for serious. I sent Chuck & Spanky back to live with Darin as pets rather than risking their health by keeping them with the rescue pigs. We started using our first C&C cages then - Chuck and Spanky started with a 2x4 and eventually went up to a 2x6. When Spanky died, we got Chuck another friend, Junior, who sadly died just a few months ago. It's hard to believe that Chuck outlived them all. Chuck was so loving with both his cagemates - he would gently nibble their ears in greeting. When Spanky was so sick in the hospital, we took Chuck to visit and he started wheeking at Spanky as soon as he came in the room. He also grew to recognize his daddy - last Christmas I was taking care of Chuck while Darin was with his family, and Darin called and left me a voice message. When I played it, Chuck started wheeking frantically at hearing Darin's voice!
In the last year, Chuck lost both of his lower teeth, only one of which regrew. He also started to develop recurring subdermal lumps (just benign cysts). For a while we were getting these removed, but this year he has been losing weight and we had been hesitant to put him under anesthesia again. Last week he went in for one of his regular 3 month checkups and the vet decided that the missing tooth was going to have to be removed, and since he needed a trim on the matching tooth and had a couple lumps, we'd just have everything out at once.
Monday night I went to visit Chuck at Darin's. I guess I expected that he might not make it through the anesthesia. I was really suddenly struck by his age - he was bony, stiff, and covered in drool from his pepper - much different from the fat, sassy pig he had been. He still gave me a purr when I scritched him, though, and yesterday morning when Darin dropped him off at the vet, Chuck purred when Darin reached in to scritch him goodbye.
When the vets tried to intubate Chuck they couldn't get the tube to flow correctly into the trachea. A quick oral endoscopy revealed that Chuck had a large vascular tumor right above the start of the trachea. It was also ulcerated - the vet said it looked "like a jelly donut". He called to let us know that it was unlikely that he could remove the tumor without extensive damage, that it would severely impede Chuck's ability to breathe and eat, and that this had probably been causing him pain and contributing to the weight loss. Darin made the decision to go ahead and euthanize while he was masked down, so he died peacefully, just never woke up. It was about 2pm on October 11.
We love you, little buggy. Forgive us for our slow learning curve, for making you the "guinea pig" in all our husbandry experiments, and thank you for all the happy memories, and for all the piggies you inspired us to save.
Fozzy
2002 - October 3 2005
Fozzy was a pig rescued by the now-defunct People for Pigs rescue. When they disbanded, their pigs were taken under the wing of ACR&S. FOzzy and his son Grizzly were with the last of their pigs to be adopted, but finally in June 2004, Fozzy and Grizzly found their forever home with the Brown family.
Fozzy's death was sudden and unexpected. He was absolutely adored by his young owner, Ahven. He was a snuggler and would come to her for a nose scratch. She misses him terribly, as does everyone who knew him.
Here he is shown here with his son Grizzly (on the left).
Gussie
June 10, 2003 - August 28 2005
Gussie is just the the second loss we have had of a pig who was born in the rescue. His pregnant mother was one of the Marshmallows, a group of 30+ inbred albino guinea pigs, surrendered by a person who couldn't tell boys from girls. The last group was surrendered June 3, 2003, and Gussie was born just a few days later.
He was adopted once, in late 2003, but his adopter had to return him due to family issues. During this adoption his ear was torn by his brother. After his return, he remained in the rescue, patient and loving, but unadopted, for another year. He finally found his forever home with the Allen family and Coco pig in April 2005, just four months before he died.
You are sorely missed by all who loved you, Gussie.
Greyly
2000 - August 9 2005
Greyly was a beloved piggy who was with us for only a short time before he passed over the Rainbow Bridge. His adopted mom, Cyndi, gave him the best days of his life, and in return he showered her and everyone he met with his unstopable affection. He survived dental problems and cancer, but finally succumbed to the combined effects of his illnesses and his age. He is sorely missed.
Brownie
2000 - July 30 2005
Brownie came to us in 2004 from an outdoor home where she had lived, more or less ignored, for four years. She had advanced uterine cancer and although she lived another 14 months after her surgeries, it had already metastizied and spread to other organs. We did the best we could to make her comfortable and happy in the time we had with her, and she is shown below with he cagemate, Karma, whom she loved and was loved by until the end.
#13
April 2005 - July 10 2005
This poor piggy suffered an unseen and untreatable condition called cecal torsion. Very similar to colic in a horse, his bowels twisted for an unknown reason and were unable to be repaired before the organs started to necrotize. We had him for less than a month and are so sorry there is nothing we could do to prevent or treat this. At least he lived a short time in comfort and plenty.
Sarah
2003 - July 8 2005
Sarah pig came to us in an owner dump with 5 other piggies - someone who "no longer had time" for them. She was adopted into a wonderful and loving home but a freak respiratory illness took her after only a few months. We, her cagemate Freddy, and her adopted dads Craig and Jeff are so glad we were able to share in her life, if only for a little while.
Smudge
2001 - July 4 2005
Smudge was an older pig rescued from an Atlanta shelter and adopted by a wonderful couple in Durham. He was funny and friendly and died of unknown causes, unexpectedly. He is missed by his mom Shub and cagemate Dusty, as well as by all the people who helped him travel up to us.
Junior
June 14, 2002 - July 2 2005
Junior was the first pig born in our rescue. He was part of a large rescue of red-eye white pigs who were bred and dumped by an irresponsible owner. He was adopted in 2003 by one of our directors. Never very tame, he was nonetheless adored by his cagemate Chuck - it was so cute to see Chuck nibble on Junior's ear! He died completely unexpectedly and we miss him terribly.
Deacon
2003 - June 27 2005
Deacon was rescued from the Wake County Shelter. His time with us was tumultuous. He was adopted once and returned with a horrible upper respiratory infection. It took weeks to cure him, and shortly after he found his forever home, he was found to have pancreatic cancer. After a long battle he finally passed over the Bridge. His loss has been heartbreaking to everyone who helped with his rescue and especially to his adopted mom Amanda and his pig pal Brownie. Here is a wonderful memorial that was made for him by all of his friends, and below is a little knitted doll made in his likeness!
We miss you little buddy.
Pig
2002 - June 5 2005
One of the loveliest pigs we have every known, Pig came into our rescue in 2003 and was immediately adopted by one of our directors. Unbeknownst to us, she developed a deep-tissue cancer that was undetectable by Xray or physical exam. She died suddenly from a heart attack secondary to the cancer. She was never an affectionate pig but very active and fun to watch, and fond of bossing around her cagemate Baxter. She is deeply missed.
Tortellini
2003 - June 3 2005
This poor little bunny came into our rescue from another group in 2004. She hadn't been handled much and was incredibly aggressive towards other bunnies and even people, earning her the nickname "The Terror". However it was soon evident that this was completely undeserved! She was adopted by mom Betty and bunny pal Pavel and showed herself to be a sweet, loving rabbit who was full of joy. She succumbed to a kidney infection only a few months after her adoption.
Rest in peace, dear heart.
Piglig
2001-May 2, 2005
Written by adoptive Mom Brandilynn
"Piglig, a good boy with a big heart and a friendly breathy wheek and waddle up to anybody he would he would meet. His atypical guinea pig disposition helped people see that all guinea pigs just do not run away and act fearful. He loved his people and Lime flavored Tostitos (so you couldnt eat them near him). A good boy who probably hurt more than he let on for longer than we knew, and always had a snuggle for everyone. Enjoy your new painfree body and all your piggie friends on the bridge Piglig. We love you and will think upon the wonderfulness of you a lot, until we get to see you again."
Everyone at ACR&S, GL, and the Pigloo is sorry to lose this wonderful piggy from our lives.
Goose
2001-April 25, 2005
Written by adoptive mom Celia
"Our dear little Goose passed away this afternoon. He has been unwell for a while, having problems with loose teeth and loosing weight. Xrays showed that he was ridden with arthritis. Poor little boy went down hill quickly this last week but his family did all they could to make him comfortable."
He is already greatly missed by his adoptive family, his brother Sonic (below left), and all of us at ACR&S.
Bunbun
8/04 - 1/05
Written by ACR&S foster mom and rescuer Cindy B.
"Bunbun came from nasty conditions in a pet store, I stopped in just to see what brand hay was sold and there he was in a dirty cage under a parrot cage. I knew that he needed to be loved and cared for, but not trying to encourage pets being sold in stores, I had to get him.
"I went the next day and bought him and headed to Dr. Griffin, an exotic vet, Bun stayed at the vet's the rest of the day while the assistants tried to comb out the mats. He was a 4 month old English angora bunny that was completely matted, his soft hair was white with gray and white patches, his ear tassels were a soft gray.
"Susan with All Creatures Rescue educated me quickly on proper bunny care.
"What a delight to sit on the floor and watch Bun run all over. I would lay on the floor and he thought I was a big toy, he would jump over me and then just jump so high, I laughed the entire time he was out playing, he seemed to know that he was cute.
"Bun was combed every day, with his mats getting cut out his hair filled a large baggie and as time went by new softer hair was growing out.
"I never expected a bunny to such a pal and a wonderful buddy, he enjoyed sitting with you and to follow me everywhere. He liter trained himself, I followed Susan's advice, and no matter how long we played out of his cage he never made a mistake, but went right to the liter box when he returned to his cage.
"One day, I found him dead and just freaked, called Susan told her and sat just not believing what happened, I still can't.
"As fate will happen, a potbellied pig vet, Dr Kristie, also a pathologist just happened to be coming to my house on pig business, she agreed to take him back for a necropsy. One thing showed that his stomach was in the wrong place which could have caused other problems, something that couldn't been noticed. If only I could have known.
"Bunbun was cremated and is forever home with me. Bunbun came into my life on 12/7 and left 1/7, in such a short time he has forever touched my heart and as happy as he was I touched his heart, too. And until we meet again at Rainbow Bridge........I Love you Bunbun....he'll be there."
Jack AKA Charles
Jack was a shelter dog whom I got involved while helping at an adoptathon in July 2004. He just had that certain something that made me notice him. He was immediately trusting and sought comfort in my companionship. However, he had been in the shelter since early June, and I was told that he was due to be euthanized if he couldn't find a foster home. Countless people came forth to help (namely SG and DK who poured countless hours into this dog) but none of us really had the time or experience needed to give him the consistant, thorough training that he really needed. Two adoptive homes were found but both returned him within a day, claiming he was "too much to handle".
Jack was loving and attentive with those of us who knew him well, but to other eyes he appeared intractable and potentially dangerous. But he was not a bad dog, nor was he untrainable. He was simply a dog whose behavior did not match up to the expectations humans and our society have for our companion animals.
Jack ran out of time on October 8, 2004. He was euthanized at the shelter just around 1:30pm. He went quietly and obediently, with the total trust that was typical of him.
Perhaps his epitaph should be the last song we heard as I drove him to the shelter:
Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done -
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more.- Kansas
I'm sorry we failed you, Jack. You really were a Good Dog.
Stan
Stan was surrendered to us in June 2003 when his owner could no longer keep him. Since arriving here, he has been nothing but a joy to us. He is quiet and snuggly and just an all-around great pig. Shortly after arrival, he bonded to Cupid, another male piggy in our rescue.
The boys have always been a little hormonal, and we decided to have them both neutered to reduce their mating fights. Unfortunately Stan didn't make it. He was always a small pig, and we suspect that he wasn't able to metabolize the drugs used. The day after the surgery he stopped eating and on May 9 he died.
This has been a horribly hard loss to deal with, for a number of reasons. It's hard not to feel like we did something wrong, but we know that we can only do as much as we are given the capability to do. At least he was cared for and loved far longer than he would have been had he ended up in a pet store or kill shelter.
Stan was the most beautful, loving piggy we've had, and he had an adoptor all lined up, so a great many people mourned his passing.
Forgive us, Stan. We all miss you.
Little Man
Little Man is a sad story showing the worst effects of ignorant and carelessness pet owners.
IAR received a call on their animal crisis hotline on March 27, from a woman who was having a baby "tomorrow" and needed to rehome a female guinea pig immediately. She said she had really bad allergies so can't leave the GP in the house, as she "sheds too much". Wanted someone else who will "love her like I do." So it was all the old excuses, a new baby coming, and allergies. IAR was really worried for the safety of the piggy, as they asked her "who is feeding and caring for the GP when you go off to have your baby?", and the answer was unclear. IAR passed the message to us, and a phone call to the owner's brother immediately got me worried - a very bad part of town, no idea if the pig had food, and she was left out on the porch because the owner didn't want her in the house.
One of our volunteers (DKMS) raced up to the location, only to find the worst. The guinea pig was in a 10 gallon aquarium full of cedar chips. There was some half rotten apple and iceberg lettuce in the cage, along with some pellets of what may have been cat food. There were no poops, implying that the cage had either just been cleaned or that the pig was desperately ill (as we later found). The family who handed her over was the worst sort of poor - vulgar, uneducated, and insensible to the suffering of the little animal. They thought it was a female and told us she was named Precious.
When we lifted the pig to get her off the cedar into the carrier, we couldn't believe what we felt. Under that long fur she was skin and bones. Her eyes were sunken and her rear end dry and crusted, indicative of dehydration. We got her home and she tried drinking, unsuccessfully, and licked some carrot, but each movement seemed exhausting. Every time she tried to move she flopped over in pain and weakness. We got about 3cc of Oxbow critical care into her, and took off for the emergency vet.
Honestly when we got there I thought they would have to put her down, but the doctor said that she wasn't showing hind end paralysis (which would be indicative of scurvy) and that despite her emaciation she wasn't actually dying. We also found out she was a he! They gave him a vitamin C injection, subcu fluids, and tube feeding. He weighed 400 g, where he should weigh over 800. We talked about whether trying to save him would cause him more pain, because if we were only prolonging his suffering I wasn't willing to put him through that. Finally we opted to at least keep him in ICU overnight.
He made it through the night, so another volunteer agreed to foster him, and had him on an intensive feeding regimine (tube feeding crushed and liquified Oxbow pellets every 2-3 hours). She named him Little Man, and over the next two days he seemed to grow stronger. He even wheeked at her one day when she came in to feed him!
Unfortunately he was too far gone, and at about 12:30 on April 2 we lost him. His lunch feeding was uneventful, but when he went back in the cage he just fell over and died. We really thought he would make it since he'd hung on for so long. He had even started to eat on his own, and had nibbled on some shredded pieces of kale overnight.
We buried him out at Mason Farm with our other lost ones. There's a stream, and sunlight slanting through the trees, and sweet clover, and we can visit him whenever we want. Poor, sweet, little guy. I'm so sorry your life was so short and painful. I just hope you knew, at the end, that you were safe and loved.
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Lily
Lilybun had been surrended to our vet, Dr Ward, in early 2003. She had been attacked by a dog and left for dead - when she came in her wounds were infested with maggots. Dr Ward and his staff spent countless hours cleaning and treating her, and finally she had recovered to the point that you could hardly feel the scars under her fur. We brought her home January 12, 2004, to live in the Sanctuary with Roo, and they immediately fell in love.
On January 25th Lily refused to eat dinner. Refusal to eat is a symptom of serious illness in a bunny and we were immediately concerned. We dropper-fed her some Critical Care but the next morning she still refused food and had started to look uncomfortable. Within a few hours it was evident she was in pain so we rushed her to the emergency vet. They diagnosed her with ileus, or GI stasis, and advised her that IV fluids and force feeding would bring her around. However, less than an hour after we got home, she simply lay down and died. She left us January 26, 2004.
A necropsy revealed that Lily had a torsion of the liver. The liver had turned on its axis and become twisted, and finally started to necrose, poisoning Lily's blood. This is an absolutely undiagnosable and silent killer. There are no signs, and it is almost invisible on X-ray, even to an experienced vet who reviewed the radiographs knowing what to look for. Like Lily, a rabbit with a torsed liver will live with it, possibly for months, and then deteriorate and die within a day. It is also inoperable and always fatal, and there is no known cause.
Lily was with us for only two short weeks but in that time she brought so much joy into all our lives. She was affectionate and trusting despite her tragic past, and would head-butt you or nibble your pant leg to get a head scratch. She will not be forgotten.
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Goodbye, Spanky
On September 19, 2003 we lost a dear friend. Spanky was adopted from the APS about a year ago. Three weeks ago he was found to have a large bladder stone. A three hour surgery was not successful in removing it, so he had a bladderostomy to allow his bladder to drain while he recuperated enough for a second, longer surgery to finally remove the stone. Spanky was very sick and weak, but recuperating, when on September 18 he developed a cough that was probably due to aspiration pneumonia. After a night in intensive care, he continued to deteriorate, so we finally had to let him go.
Spanky was a sweet, funny pig who was devoted to his cagemate Chuck. He is very much missed. We love you, Spanky.
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