Thursday, March 1, 2012

INCA

It is with great sadness that we report that Inca, our five year old Abyssinian Guinea Pig has succumbed to the ravages of pituitary disease.

It was noted by his caretakers that he was “not acting right” and that he was losing weight.  Our vet immediately prescribed a course of antibiotics and other supportive therapies.  However, nothing helped and even though he continued to eat he also continued to lose weight.  Even though it was a difficult decision for all involved but we felt that the only fair answer for Inca was humane euthanasia, rather than let him suffer the effects of starvation.

As with many small mammals it is often difficult, if not impossible to pinpoint the cause of an ailment when symptoms are non-specific.  It's almost impossible to diagnose these types of ailments short of an autopsy (called a necropsy in animals). 
 
Inca will be sorely missed by staff and volunteers, as well as the general public (especially the children).  Inca was one of the few animals at WBS that could be touched by our guests, and as such he met thousands of children in his lifetime as part of our outreach programs for the younger set.




No comments:

Post a Comment