my sweet fiona is gone

[KushyWushums]

Im so very sorry for your loss, I hope you can find another piggy to love as much as you did fiona.

[Love pigs]

You bred them end of story. I am sorry for only the pig. Not you. And why ask for self sypothy when your the cause? Pitty.

[4h pigs]

This is 4h pigs mother. I just want to thank the majority of you for being so rude to a 9 year old. Do you feel good about yourselves? Why dont you learn the back story before accusing a CHILD of killing her pet. She's so upset now. Thank you all.

For the record, we ADOPTED Fiona first. Then ADOPTED Shrek as a baby and the RESCUE told us he was a SHE so we put them together. We didn't BREED Fiona, it was accidental because even RESCUES screw up sexing on young ones. So, as soon as we started to guess that she was pregnant, we took her to a cavy savvy vet for confirmation. We seperated her and Shrek and made the whole cage larger and made the coroplast sides taller. Then, we put her on Oxbows Proformance and increased her greens, added Vit C drops to her water. We did everything right, and researched as much as we could. The outcome was horrible, and my daughter and I were devistated.

Then my NINE YEAR OLD comes here for support and gets yelled at by people who think they are God's gift to pigs or something. Well, we won't be coming back here. Thank you for crushing a young one's spirit, and turning her AWAY from something she loves. Instead of being welcoming and educating, you are rude, abbrasive, and harsh to someone willing to learn, and someone dealing with a loss that was IN NO WAY HER FAULT. Instead of being sympathetic, you were downright MEAN.

Please remove us from your mailing lists, as we will not be returning to post here again.

[Foggycreek]

Perhaps you could have monitored her internet viewing and posting and responded right away, setting us straight.

The internet is not a place to let your child blindly go, even a seemingly benign guinea pig board. Who knows what evil lurks here?

[4h pigs]

She was posting on here with my approval. I do not let my children run wild on the internet. I only stepped in and posted when I finally saw how upset this was all making her.

[Foggycreek]

Okay, I read this over. For one thing, how can we know the "back story" if it isn't told to us? Why didn't you step in when this first happened, five days ago?

This is a non-breeding forum. If you re-read your daughter's post, you'll see how it sounds like she/you bred the female. Even when she came back on and tried to explain, it still sounds like you bred her.

There's no way we could have known this was a child posting. It's not like we intentionally went out to hurt a kid's feelings.

[Caro90]

I do believe that when the original message was read, you may have thought they bred them on purpose, but it is also clear to me that this is a child. By the second message, it became obvious that is was not intentional and she clearly indicates that she is young and in 4H. I feel badly that this child was upset and I hope her mother knows that there are other piggie owners and mothers who understand why she is upset. I also want to make it clear that intentional breeding is not correct either. Sorry for your loss and hope your daughter is ok. My daughter is 8 and would be very upset too.

[Cuy Mom]

I'm so sorry!!! Don't feel bad, take good care of Shrek and the babies; as you did with Fiona.
Regards,
Annie D

[4h pigs]

The thing I dont understand with some of you is the whole "intentional breeding isn't right..." take on things. Ok, so you realize that without purposeful and intentional breeding, and some experimentation, and trial and error breedings...there would be NO more pigs, none of the fancy breeds some of you adore like shelties, coronets, abbys...etc. Someone had to experiment with breeding to get those breeds.

You talk down to a child who wants to better a breed and yes, experiment with colors, and so on. You talk down to people who buy guineas from pet stores. You talk down to anyone who doesn't 'rescue' their pigs, and would never consider letting them do what they are meant to do....continue their species! You deny them this, which is fine. But if you realize that pigs live no longer than 7 or 8 years, without someone like me or my daughter, or other breeders, there would be NO MORE PIGS within a few years.

I personally see nothing wrong with letting guineas do what they are made to do, if it is done correctly and controlled. If they get the best vet care, the best food, the best cage, etc. If you know that you beloved guinea will only be with you a few short years, why not continue her line so you can remember her always? Breeding and raising animals for 4H is not backyard breeding. It is sellective breeding, controlled breeding, and done to better a quality or breed.

It seems your main argument for not breeding guinea pigs is that its hard on the sow. I dont see this is a good enough reason to not breed. My son, who is 8 by the way, breeds and raises Nigerian Dwarf goats for 4H. Is breeding goats cruel? Over the years, we've lost a few does to pregnancy or birthing complications, had several difficult births, even lost some brand new babies, but if he'd stopped, he wouldn't have bettered his breeding stock resulting in the healthy young he gets now, wouldn't have the ribbons and championship winnings he has today, or the waiting list he has for people waiting for kids from him. I just dont see anything wrong with letting animals do what they are programmed to do, if done correctly. I've known several HUMAN women to have problems with pregnancy or birth...does that mean they shouldn't try to have young?

I'm not saying just anyone should throw a male and female pig together and let them go at it. But, if they have researched breeding, can provide the best of the best when it comes to care, have a direct goal in mind, and can provide homes for the young, I just dont see the wrong in it. Further breeding done by people like my daughter and other educated breeders, is the only way that any of you will have any piggies years from now, when yours have gone.

[piggienut]

To 4h pigs' Mom,

I am sooo sorry that your daughter was talked down to on this forum. You must console her and let her know that not all of us on here are like that. In fact, I have been somewhat talked down to on here myself, mostly because I am unable to afford more than one piggy, and people think I am psychologically harming Petey for not giving her a companion. Tell your little girl that she did the best she could knowing what she knew, and even if Fiona's death was caused by a mistake that she made, that's no reason for people to verbally (or electronically) bash her. Not only is that disrespectful of your child, but it also takes away from the main point, and that should be feeling sad because one of God's noblest creatures went home to play on Rainbow Bridge. Tell her it's ok to be sad, but take comfort in the fact that Shrek is still with her, and if she decides to get another female piggy, then she's learned a lesson in how to care for them. I made the decision when Petey was very young not to breed her, and not to have her around male guinea pigs for specifically that reason. Most of all, let her know that Fiona is well taken care of now, in a place where she can play and be happy forever. Blessings to you both. And to those of you who would bash a child, my sympathies.