Pet thread (or: my guinea pig almost died but didnt?)

[Deleted member 5560]

I've drunk approximately [checks bottle] 500ml of vodka and am suffering under a wave of unmedicated anxiety and suicidal depression. Instead of humiliating myself with drunk tweeting, I was thinking about cute fluffy animals and decided to talk about them here to seek a brief reprieve from the unending torture of my own internalised self-hatred!

Recently, my Guinea pig had to undergo an operation and he made it through safely (a tough thing for both an animal as delicate as a cavy and one of his age; he's almost 7 years old!) and the veterinary hospital gave him this frankly adorable certificate (though they spelt his name wrong - it's "Weenie", short for Halloweenie):

If anyone isn't like, more than passingly familiar with cavvies as animals: they're incredibly delicate. They can literally just die from being overstimulated. Like if it's too warm or if there's a noise that's too loud, they can startle themselves so badly their heart will just fail. They're touted as good pets for children, but I cannot stress how much that's not the case. They're high maintenance animals that require very specific care.

The surgery he underwent, while not serious (a minor dental issue), required specialised equipment and an anaesthetic. Cavies are sensitive to anaesthetic and prone to bad reactions, and Weenie's age in particular made him prone to possible complications. Last year I had another pet (an elderly dog who was an Emotional Support Animal for my mental illness) also die while in vet care due to unexpected complications of a liver disease, and so I was riddled with anxiety over this minor procedure and the possibility of repeating history. Having him come through without lingering complications was a major source of emotional and psychological relief to me, but also left me with this unhealthy built up anxiety with no real outlet. So that leads me to... now.

Sorry if I sound verbose and befuddled. Emotion and alcohol, y'know. I'm touch and go with the SH community at large and it's very much a "me" issue. I'm curmudgeonly, distrustful, bitter, and quick to assume bad faith. If I've rubbed anyone the wrong way before; I apologise profusely and admit ready fault to a hostile attitude. But I also know that I'm not the only one out there with like, an overwhelming sense of anxiety -- if not due to mental illness, then just from the current dystopic times. So I guess I just... wanted to share with you a very cute incident of my daily life and sense of overall small joy.

I was in tears, convinced my piggy was gonna die due to past bad experience and my own gloomy outlook. But the result is he's already perky again despite his senior years, and got a cute lil certificate to boot. I want to pass along the unexpected woobie joy of this occasion rather than dwelling on the negative -- if for my own sake only.

God I know I'm rambling. Again, this is largely self-distracting. I guess I just want to share some good news because I feel like a constantly negative and unpleasant person, and also just because... I mean look at him. My brave little man.

Also please, please, please feel free to share your own pet photos/stories. I used to have a pet snake, so weird or exotic pets are also very cool by me! I am strongly against shaming people for keeping traditionally "gross" pets, eg. tarantulas et al. If a creature in this world brings you happiness and comfort, that's what matters. It's traditional "cuteness" value is meaningless.

 

[Generik0]

Although my backyard is like a forest. There is one thing that stands out the most. It is the resting place of 4 of my pets that died this year.

It's a shame where you have to bury most of your pets in 2020 but hey they had an honorable run.

One died as a pup. He never got to see the world. He got sick but treated him well. (died during peak lockdown so no going out)

One kitty died of suffocation. (Gone outside to see it dead under a wood, presumed to be suffocated)

One cat disappeared only to see its rotting body.

One young chick ate by a stray dog. Only some bones and feathers are left.

I buried all of them. They are placed in a corner where they can grow life as much as possible. Shame I did not take pictures from my phone since I never minded taking pictures of them anyway. Im always seeing others playing with their pets. But I always wonder if I can ever play with them again. Lmao got sentimental

 

[BenJepheneT]

Although my backyard is like a forest. There is one thing that stands out the most. It is the resting place of 4 of my pets that died this year.

It's a shame where you have to bury most of your pets in 2020 but hey they had an honorable run.

One died as a pup. He never got to see the world. He got sick but treated him well. (died during peak lockdown so no going out)

One kitty died of suffocation. (Gone outside to see it dead under a wood, presumed to be suffocated)

One cat disappeared only to see its rotting body.

One young chick ate by a stray dog. Only some bones and feathers are left.

I buried all of them. They are placed in a corner where they can grow life as much as possible. Shame I did not take pictures from my phone since I never minded taking pictures of them anyway. Im always seeing others playing with their pets. But I always wonder if I can ever play with them again. Lmao got sentimental

Jesus fucking Christ

 

[Schwab]

Although my backyard is like a forest. There is one thing that stands out the most. It is the resting place of 4 of my pets that died this year.

It's a shame where you have to bury most of your pets in 2020 but hey they had an honorable run.

One died as a pup. He never got to see the world. He got sick but treated him well. (died during peak lockdown so no going out)

One kitty died of suffocation. (Gone outside to see it dead under a wood, presumed to be suffocated)

One cat disappeared only to see its rotting body.

One young chick ate by a stray dog. Only some bones and feathers are left.

I buried all of them. They are placed in a corner where they can grow life as much as possible. Shame I did not take pictures from my phone since I never minded taking pictures of them anyway. Im always seeing others playing with their pets. But I always wonder if I can ever play with them again. Lmao got sentimental

That's um...I'm sorry :/

 

[Maple-Leaf]

Although my backyard is like a forest. There is one thing that stands out the most. It is the resting place of 4 of my pets that died this year.

It's a shame where you have to bury most of your pets in 2020 but hey they had an honorable run.

One died as a pup. He never got to see the world. He got sick but treated him well. (died during peak lockdown so no going out)

One kitty died of suffocation. (Gone outside to see it dead under a wood, presumed to be suffocated)

One cat disappeared only to see its rotting body.

One young chick ate by a stray dog. Only some bones and feathers are left.

I buried all of them. They are placed in a corner where they can grow life as much as possible. Shame I did not take pictures from my phone since I never minded taking pictures of them anyway. Im always seeing others playing with their pets. But I always wonder if I can ever play with them again. Lmao got sentimental

;-;
Jesus. My condolences...

My animals are fine, but my dog's having some stomach problems.

 

[gogo7966]

My family has never had a pet that lived it's full lifespan which includes 6 cats, a dog and 2 dwarf hamsters

 

[Moonpearl]

We have a black standard poodle with an attitude worse than Georgette from "Oliver & Friends". She's our second poodle, closely following our beloved deceased dog, who was the most loving and gentle pupper I've ever known.

But, for our current dog, she's an adorable little torag, and was doubly so as a puppy.

We should have known because, the very first time we went to see her, she tried to eat my shoelaces and then peed deliberately on the cables in the corner of the room.

At home, she demanded constant attention. If she didn't get it, she'd steal something to make you "play" chase with her: your shoe, dirty laundry, clean laundry snagged from the line with impressive jumping skills...
Oh, and she loved being carried. She learned that we'd come and carry her down if she went up the stairs and looked stuck, so she used to run up all the time - especially after we'd just carried her down.

One time, I was left to look after her while my parents went shopping and my siblings were out with friends.
It was going fine until, about an hour or two in, she snuck under the table with all our internet cables and squatted down to pee. While I was rushing to clean it up, she went into the kitchen, squatted in the middle of the floor and peed there.
Clearly, I thought, she's not going to stop - so I opened the door and let her go outside.

Out she went, bounding around, enjoying the grass and the sunshine. I waited for her to go the toilet. Nope, she was done.
At this age, she was too small to be left alone outside, so this meant that I had to catch her and bring her back in. I had no shoes, so I slipped on my dad's slippers, which are too big but are what everyone in our house borrows when they want to go out for only 2 minutes or so.
But little puppies are not so easy to catch in oversized slippers. I tripped, and one shoe went flying about two metres away from me.

The long and short of it is that my sister returned home five minutes later to find me hopping about the garden, shrieking "Give it back!", while our puppy ran literal circles around me with a slipper bigger than her head in her mouth.

 

[K5Rakitan]

I just had a dog and a cat while growing up, and they both died while I was in university.

The dog was super sweet. One day, a baby bird fell out of a nest in our back yard, and she just guarded it and licked it.

 

[Enlyghten]

I've drunk approximately [checks bottle] 500ml of vodka and am suffering under a wave of unmedicated anxiety and suicidal depression. Instead of humiliating myself with drunk tweeting, I was thinking about cute fluffy animals and decided to talk about them here to seek a brief reprieve from the unending torture of my own internalised self-hatred!

My chinchilla died last year. I cried. I'm not even ashamed to say it. And I had to put my dog down last month. Cancer. Also, have to add the obligatory Futurama reference: