A Fun Place for Watermelon!

"We are sweet
our life's complete
and we are very happy.
but nothing can compete
with watermelon."
~ original Haiku by Bhindi

~*~

Yum-Yum: The Good, The Beautiful, The Heartbreaking...

 

Today the first of two big boxes
full of Custom Cavy Floors arrived
from Jen's Custom Crafts (see on
Blogs We Read) and they are so
amazing that I WANT A BIG ONE
TO PUT ON MY OWN BED!

THANK YOU ALL WHO DONATED
TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, THEY
ARE BEYOND AMESOME!

Yum-Yum is the first recipient of a brand new, large
Habitat area with his floors newly installed and he  absolutely loves it!

Since he is now living on soft, plush, cushy, moisture-wicking pastel pink & blue pads instead of dark
litter made of recycled paper, I was able to see his pee for the first time, because his snuggle blanket is too colorful to see the little "Hi, Mom!" surprises he leaves. Today the vet told me to continue with his antibiotics for the bladder stone and Urinary Tract Infection, but to take him off his pain meds.

He loves his new home so much the first order of business, of course, was to pee in it, on the pastel pink floor.

To my horror, all that he left was blood. Not pink blood, not some blood, not dark red blood, but blood.

He is too old for the stone to be removed yet I would not choose that option anyway for its high mortality rate under anesthesia.

My understanding is these stones can be excruciatingly painful (our semi-feral rescue cat Sami had one, too, but it was safely removed, she was young at the time, and she is a cat.)

So...friends. There is no cure. And the antibiotics only appear to be keeping him eating, drinking, and comfortable. But the outcome of bladder stones in guinea pigs usually results in fatality.

All of you who generously donated enough for all the guinea pigs to live this comfortably: you have given my boy,  our oldest surviving Pirate, the most comfortable hospice care possible and I cannot express my gratitude through the tears.

We transition once more from Sanctuary to Hospice, as we did at the beginning of the year.

Yum-Yum will be "sheltering in place" adjacent to my bed so I can reach in and pet him frequently, even on days I cannot get out of bed. My bed is low, on a futon, so Yum-Yum's new home is easy to reach into.

Jen did an absolutely astonishing job 
with your donations, and there has never been 
greater need than now to receive them!

So, yes: we enter fall and winter much the same 
way we entered the New Year. Except that now I
will also "Shelter-in-Place" and not go to
the Hospital. We shall remain together this time 
because we've discovered tragically what
 happens when we do not, cannot.

Thank you for letting me keep you up to date with
my profound gratitude, noting that you and Jen's timing could not have been more perfect!
And the cage liners she made us with your love
and her own, for she has become a friend,
are simply magnificent; each made individually
by hand, from you to us. 
Thank you, Jen. Thank you, readers.
~*~

MANY of you have made other donations, quite generous ones.  We are fully stocked now thanks to you and require nothing more than the most you can offer up and this we do unashamedly request: 
your prayers and love.
These we desperately need now more than ever.

Chana