I've woke up this morning to find one of my Piggies, Ben, has died in the night...I'm absolutely devastated...he was a rescue from balieys_mum...and he'd been with me less then a year and was only nearly three.

He had a bad eye when he came to us but it cleared up when we bathed it, so when it flared up again the other day I thought I'd try and get rid of it the same way, and take him to the vets next week if it wasn't any better, but now I feel like such a bad mum, because I feel like I coul've prevented his death if I would've taken him to the vets straight away...

R.I.P Ben, I may not have had a long with you as I would have liked, but I love you so much! Wait for me at the bridge:(

Don't be so hard on yourself.

I doubt a eye problem could have killed him anyway.

It was probably something else or just sudden.

Is 3 years old a good age for a guinea pig????

:(

my sympathies to you though - it's always very sad to lose a much loved pet

aww, little mermaid, am so sorry to hear about ben, i doubt it was the eye infection what caused it.

Run free at the bridge ben x x

Thanks:)

Three years isn't a stunning age for a Pig, I know it's unlikely to be anything at all to do with his eye, but you can't help but feel a bit guilty can you?

Anyway, here he is! He's the one at the back getting "defluffed" by his mummy:)
Will, Jack and Ben (http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n199/darkdisturbed1/BeingFussed.jpg)

Aww i'm really sorry, night night Ben x

sorry to hear about ben- dont be hard on yourself, it was just his time to go.

Sorry to hear about Ben, how can something so small get under our skin the way they do? but they do don't they :sad:
I'm sure there would have been nothing that you could have done, with small animals they often show no sign of illness till it's too late to help them, and piggies are notorious for giving up on life very easily, as Katkin says it was just his time, some animals are only loaned to us for a short time to love...you did your job well :)

some animals are only loaned to us for a short time to love...you did your job well :)

Thanks everyone, you're all making me feel less guilty-Moonbird, that^^^ made me cry lots, but in a good way(if you see what i mean:)) Thanks so much for those words, they were lovely...:love:

I'm a bit emotional tonight, and I've found this very upsetting.

Hope you're feeling better soon LM. :)

Awww...I'm sorry to hear that. Guinea Pigs are such sweeties. Take Care xx

Thanks everyone, you're all making me feel less guilty-Moonbird, that^^^ made me cry lots, but in a good way(if you see what i mean:)) Thanks so much for those words, they were lovely...:love:

Unfortunately, guilt seems to be an integral part of pet ownership.

I happened to have a conversation with a friend this afternoon, who was beating herself up for not having one of her boxer dogs put down sooner than she did. The vet was trying various treatments, but none of them helped, so poor lass had to be put down anyway. But one of the treatments might have helped give her a few more months/years of happy life, so my friend really had nothing to feel guilty about. If she'd had the boxer put down straightaway, she'd probably be beating herself up for not at least trying some of the treatments!

All we can do is love them and do our best - Ben was a rescue, so you gave him a new lease of life, which he might not have had without you.

Popcorn free Ben.

Don't feel guilty, it sounds like there wasn't anything you could have done.