Valedictions Furfur
Jan. 28th, 2013 12:55 pmIn April 2010 I encountered a angora guinea pig running along the side of the road after dark. Rescuing said critter, he was named Furfur, after the demonic Earl. In November however it was apparaent that he'd lost a great deal of weight and had developed a malocclusion. We arranged for his back teeth to be ground down and for the past two months we'd kept on a steady diet of things he would and could eat, along with quite a lot of critical care, most of which applied by
caseopaya who did a champion job over the past two months keeping him fed and in company. The poor critter - already very thin - just didn't gain any weight however, and indeed, he started losing it further. He was happy, playful, and very social (and even with our cat), but you can tell that he was hungry and just not getting better.
On Sunday morning we took him to the vet, put him to sleep, and then he received a lethal injection. I feel absolutely terrible about this, but there really was nothing that could be done. Malocclusions are a genetic defect, and short of having Furfur getting his back teeth ground back every couple of months, the problem was going to keep on returning. At this point his quality of life was still very high - but was about to decline and continue to do so. So, valedictions Furfur, a surprisingly chatty, friendly, and playful little foundling guinea pig, which contributed much amusement and pleasure to our household.
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On Sunday morning we took him to the vet, put him to sleep, and then he received a lethal injection. I feel absolutely terrible about this, but there really was nothing that could be done. Malocclusions are a genetic defect, and short of having Furfur getting his back teeth ground back every couple of months, the problem was going to keep on returning. At this point his quality of life was still very high - but was about to decline and continue to do so. So, valedictions Furfur, a surprisingly chatty, friendly, and playful little foundling guinea pig, which contributed much amusement and pleasure to our household.