Jasper - RIP

[yodelpig]

Little Jasper came into my new local rescue last week in a lot what of what was supposed to be 7 boys from a hobby breeder of the worst sort.

He was in a very bad state. An apathetic, smelly, dirty bundle of matted fur (even though his previous lady had tried to chop off the worst of it!). TINY for his age and you can feel every single bone in his emasciated body!!! He is not much bigger than my hand - at 7 months old!

Jo (the rescue lady) had noticed him banging into things. He was also not reacting to any noises. One foot looked like it might have bumblefoot - short, the poor boy was showing all the signs of long term systematic neglect! I helped Jo cutting off the remaining mats and giving him a proper once over.

Here he is AFTER his bath and thorough haircut:


The next time I visited Jasper, he'd been to the vets. Sadly he is completley deaf, but has at least a little bit of pigment/vision in his eyes. The good news is that he does NOT have bumblefoot, but he has mites badly under all that wool of his and certainly needs feeding up! But he looked already so much better and very much at home on the pad I'd given Jo on my last visit.


As Jasper was being badly bullied by the other boys once they started settling, Jo put him right next to a tiny, very gentle and quiet mum-of-three and her last remaining daughter (who is already as big as her mummy!)

There has been some interested nose sniffing through the bars!




Here is the rescue website, in case you are interested - it's only about a couple of miles from me.
www.cheylesmoreguineapigrescue.co.uk/home
The facebook page:
www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1611704247007#!/pages/Cheylesmore-Guinea-Pig-Rescue/128818547173443

[jolovespiggies]

He is lovely and you are a star. How can people be so cruel? I would do exactly the same to them, it makes me heart sick. Poor little thing, you will have to learn to piggy lip read!

Lots of love



Jo xxx

[yodelpig]

Update on Jasper:

Since my last visit, Jasper has wheeked for the first time when Jo came into the room.
On the next day, there was some bum wriggling for the lady next door.
Yesterday, he did not only rumblestrut, but was caught gnawing on the bars between the cages!!!

Definitely a sign that little Jasper is waking up! He's still stuffing himself, like all the other boys (at least one of them very skinny as well). Although Jasper is not keen on this funny green stuff called veg that he has never met before. But he is now comfy where he is and much more active. He loves the cuddle cups I made specially for him (I downsized the measurements in order to fit him).

Belmorais was kind enough to sponsor Jasper, who like his hopefully future lady-to-be "Baby Girl" have now become sponsorship resident rescue piggies. They will never be rehomed, but will spend as happy and pampered a life at the rescue as Jo can give them and will receive all the medical care they will need.

If anybody of you would like to join in the fun, please feel free - or if you know somebody who would like getting a rescue sponsorship piggy for a year as a special gift!

I will keep this thread running to keep everybody updated about what is happening with Jasper and Baby Girl.

PS: I am sure that Jo would let the first sponsor of Baby Girl to choose a new name for her!!!


Baby Girl is very precious, too; she became pregnant at just four weeks old and sadly, it has impacted on her growth since she wasn't handed into rescue until the very end of her term. But she's had three healthy, lovely babies at the rescue and has now all the time in the world to recover from her ordeal!

www.cheylesmoreguineapigrescue.co.uk/sponsor-a-piggy

[lonestarpiggies]

Aww, poor Jasper! I'm so glad you and belmorais are helping him! It's so sad to hear some of the bad things piggies go through, but luckily there wonderful, caring people who help. Please keep us updated on Jasper and Baby Girl!

[belmorais]

I simply HAD to do something to help, poor little boy. His sponsorship was my Xmas present to myself, it makes me very happy to support wonderful people like Jo and Yodelpig.

[popcornpiggie]

How sweet of you belmorais to sponsor him. I would love to go to that shelter to see Jasper and Baby Girl and all the other lovely piggies but I live miles and miles away from the UK. But when my family and I take a vacation there, I will tell them that I will not go home until we donate some of our money to them and go visit to see the cute piggies.

I'm sure that Jasper loves his cuddle cup. You are so generous Yodelpig. xx

[yodelpig]

Belmorais is from Holland - everybody can donate through paypal. Jo and I are very grateful to anybody who helps towards the upkeep!

Sponsor piggies in rescues are usually guinea pigs with longterm damage/disabilities/shortened life span or piggies that need regular medical treatment and are therefore not fit to be rehomed or likely to find a normal home. They can however live very happy and fulfilled lives! I hope that through Jasper and his friends, I can show a bit what happens in rescues (the little heartwarming miracles as well as the sad stuff) and give rescue piggies a face and story lines.

Most rescues over here rely completely on fundraising and donations, which is where I come in. It takes courage, physical and mental strength, tact, determination and persistence to run a rescue. I must admit that I would not have the courage to do it! But I have brushed up my sewing skills and can bring in my experience with guinea pigs and forums to help finding new homes and finance the rescue.

Of course, you would be very welcome on your trip to Britain - as long as you think you will be able to walk away WITHOUT a piggy in your suitcase!!!

[popcornpiggie]

Haha. well if a piggy comes up missing, you will know who took her. And there would be some money left in the empty cage. No I wouldnt put a piggy in a suitcase. I would love to adopt one but the poor piggy wouldnt like to be in a cage on the airplane. I dunno, maybe. But I wont be able to get any piggies for a while because my dad is getting a cancer treatment and it will weaken his immune system a lot so he wont be able to be around any of our pets so adding another pet to our family wont be the best idea. But i will definitely donate when I take a vacation there.

[yodelpig]

Best wishes for your Dad!!

Here is an update of Jasper:

He has put on a full 2 ounces of weight in his first week at the rescue and is very comfy in the very first cosies I ever sewed just in time for Christmas! He looks so much better and happier now!

You can now see the cute little black patch around his right eye!

And here are Baby Girl and her eight weeks old daughter Poppy in their own cosy, which was a Christmas gift from somebody else who makes cosies for rescues.

[3piggles]

They are adorable, and I love following their stories. No animal should have to suffer that way, but so many do Glad you and Isabel could help!!! Wonderful Christmas present to them, too!!!

[popcornpiggie]

aaaawwww. they look so cozy. you are so generous.

thanks for the wishes to dad. xx

[weesilvie]

What gorgeous pigs - Jasper is so woolly and the two ladies so shiny! They're ging to have a great life from now on.

[yodelpig]

Jasper will be walking, popcorning mop when his hair grows back!!! He and gentle Baby Girl really make a study in contrast.

[belmorais]

Yes !! I told Jo they will be the Black & White duo

[annancoco]

jasper is lovely

[yodelpig]

When I went to pick up Tani, I took a a couple of quick video clips of Jasper - specially for Belmorais!

The change in him is amazing - three weeks of tlc and plenty of food and this deaf and nearly blind piggy has now "heft" to his body, even though you can still feel his bones, but at least, there is now a tummy and some meat between his ribs!!! He gets plenty of cuddles, too.

Jasper showing off his soft fur and body


Back in his cage - definitely a ladies man!


Please click on the pictures to start the videos and excuse the noise - there were three children and four adults, as a couple of rescue ladies brought some gorgeous new overflow piggies to Jo.

[belmorais]

Aww thanks, I am so happy to see the difference in him and look how curious, checking on Baby Girl !! He looks much healthier and acts like it too!!
Thank you Yodelpig

[3piggles]

He is adorable, and so curious, which is a great sign. Sick or depressed pigs aren't usually curious!!!

[yodelpig]

There have been quite a few developments over the last week at Cheylesmore Rescue.



Jasper has come on so well that he has been declared fit for a neutering operation today. I am happy to say that he has made it through and is back at home!


Sadly, Baby Girl has savagely attacked her little daughter Poppy yet again and had to be separated. It turns out that she only loves humans (who she loves to give piggy kisses to) and is so much happier since she is on her own in her new loft appartment (the unsafe ramp has been removed).

Poppy has now joined two five year old sows, Honey and Bell, who had been separated to time share a small ratty guinea pig cage and a tiny hamster cage, being occasionally swapped over by their previous family. This is the cage Honey arrived in at the rescue:


Upon arrival in Coventry, Honey and Bell were reintroduced and have been living without any problems since then.
Honey and Bell


They have moved in next door to Jasper. Bell has promptly "adopted" him and is spending her day protecting "her" man from the attentions of any rival! Because of that and their advanced age, Jo (the rescue lady) has decided to keep Bell and cuddle monster Honey on as pensioners. Here you can see Bell doing her job! Poppy has settled in well with the two older girls.


We are all keeping our fingers firmly crossed for a good recovery and a bright future when Jasper will be able to join his ladies after the obligatory six weeks wait!

[3piggles]

Adorable pigtures, and so good that Jasper made it through with flying colors. Where is Baby Girl, now? Does she have a place of her own so she gets her cuddles and kisses? That is a great cage. Very well done!!!