Marigold
2019 – January 19, 2024
As we prepared for the cold snap, Kindred Volunteer Karen Atkinson offered to foster Marigold and Poppy. This turned out to be a really good decision as the Office/Volunteer Room actually became bitter cold even with several heaters going 24/7. Guinea Pigs require a minimum of 15′ C at all times.
Karen set up a really nice spot for them in her house.
This Thursday, Karen noticed a change in Marigold’s breathing and we chatted back and forth about the need for a possible vet visit. Vet visits for Guineas are very stressful and many times you either get a vet who doesn’t know Guinea Pig care or there is little they can do.
All Creatures Animal Hospital was recommended for Guinea Pigs, so Karen did take Marigold in Friday. Dr. Anderson found Marigold’s lymph nodes swollen and suspected cancer 🙁 Oh no. Cancer is always our worse fears. Karen consulted me and I decided that we would not intercede and would monitor her quality of life closely.
It was a complete shock when Marigold passed away Friday night!
Marigold was around 4 1/2 years old. For comparison that is 70 years old in human years.
I am so glad we said yes to a grandma in 2020 that asked us to take her granddaughter’s three little pigs who were being neglected (see story below). Marigold had the best care at Kindred Farm that included fresh bedding every day and two salads a day. We found out that her very favourite vegetable was green peppers. And she spent all her days with her very best friends, Poppy and Dandelion.
These precious little ones are so often treated as commodities bought on a whim for children. They are complex, delicate and loving beings each with their own unique personalities. Kindred is 100% behind the banning of selling Guinea Pigs at pet stores. There are too many who are in need of loving homes at our animal shelters and rescues. We love our little pigs, each with own very unique personality. We completely and utterly miss their little happy squeals and squeaks that greeted us each day.
Now we are worried about little Poppy who is left behind without her two friends. Guinea Pigs are very social and need companionship but it will be very difficult to integrate a new Guinea pig as a friend for Poppy. Kindred Volunteer, Janice Cresswell heard about a blind bunny in need of a home. I gave this some thought as a companion for Poppy, but the bunny will outlive Poppy and then will be alone.
The best solution right now is to foster Poppy out to a caring home that will be able to give her lots of attention and care. We would like this to happen asap as Poppy is in a separate room in Karen’s home because she has a dog and cat.
As always, Kindred pays for any costs associated with fostering including vet care.
Here is their story from the grandmother
The three little Guinea Pigs were purchased from a pet store by my grand daughters mother. After a bad separation from her husband. The mother thought that it would help her daughter and her siblings focus on the pets and not be so distraught over having to move out of the home and away from their father.
The Guinea Pigs were born and purchased together and have never been apart from each other. They were named by each child. The names are Coco, Rosie and Raven. When the pets were purchased the kids agreed that they all would help out with the chores of keeping the pets clean and healthy. Only after a few weeks, the other two kids had no interest in the pets and left the
care to my granddaughter that showed the most love for them.
The little girl was 10 when the pigs were bought and she kept them in a cage
in her room, taking them out once in awhile to play with them. She would go away ever second weekend to visit her father from Friday-Sunday the whole time the pigs would be left unattended. She had a hard time
keeping up with the cleaning of the cage and so the pigs would go far to long without a clean environment to live. The mothers rent was going to increase and so she had to move. The new home is a bit bigger and the mother
was going to put the pets in the basement so they would have more room. She didn’t think it was going to be a problem taking the pets with them but found out while moving some items on the weekend that she was not
allowed to have pets in the new home. The mother tried to take the pets back to the store that they were purchased at but the store would not take them because they were too big now.
The SPCA would most likely put them down and were not accepting any more pets at this time. My granddaughter heard that if we tried to sell them online that it was very possible they might be used as food for snakes. She was so upset of the fact that she could not keep them any longer and feared they would killed or harmed.
I started looking on the internet and also talked to a co-worker and told her my story. I asked her what she thought about Kindred Farm. She told me that she used to volunteer there and how great of a place it was.
Kindred Farm was close by my home and seemed to be a perfect place to take these poor pets. I showed my granddaughter the web page and the pictures of the animals being loved and taken good care of there.
That was how we were able to settle her down and convince her to let me take the pets from her without too much more trauma.
I am so very grateful that I was able to take them to a place where the people didn’t judge me and understood my situation being a loving Nana who was trying hard to find a good place for these poor little animals and calm my granddaughter.
The stress that all the family was going thru was so intense and now we are able to settle down knowing that the pets
are in good care and will have a better life.
I can’t thank Kindred Farm enough for there understanding and compassion in this situation.
