Page 5 | to feel so terribly sad :(

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 04/06/2011 14:48

I'd padlock it more because I'd be worried about waking up and finding that it was in my bed with the DC or that it had 'run away' and was hiding out of reach behind the fridge/under the floorboards/behind the washing machine.

Shineon I was always taught that dogs are not dolls to be carried around by adults or children. That's what I've taught mine.

thegruffalosma · 04/06/2011 14:49

I had 2 dwarf hamsters that died the same night. They weren't ill but were very old. Found them curled up together in the morning .

BertieBotts · 04/06/2011 14:52

I can see why the OP didn't call the vet. A 40 minute walk in a carrier would likely have been more distressing for the animal than dying quietly at home in her arms. The vet might have done a home call out, though, for future reference.

Northernlurker · 04/06/2011 14:54

I very much doubt that the OP's son got the first guinea pig out, squeezed it to death then put it back then decided to do exactly the same thing this morning. I suspect both pigs died from natural causes. The child doing 'rough' handling is a red herring.

I am apalled by some of the attitudes on here. The OP was upset. She had explained appropriately what should and shouldn't be done to her son - what more do you want? I have a four year old. She is not old enough to be held responsible for her actions.

AmazingBouncingFerret · 04/06/2011 15:01

I remember when I was about 12 a friends little brother who was about 5 once attempted to skin a goldfish alive.

That is worrying behaviour, in a completely different league to cuddling your guinea pigs to death.

Last I heard of the boy he was in prison for assault.

chocolatespiders · 04/06/2011 15:06

I am with Northern... probably natural causes.

This is a horrible thread to read.. some of the comments are very very harsh

Chummybud1 · 04/06/2011 15:52

I can't believe that people on here would make this poor op feel worse by suggesting her son is a serial killer in the making, and as for suggesting the child should not have been able to get his hands on them, then fair enough , well truly I wish I was as perfect as you all. When you can all sit there knowing honestly that you have never made a child rearing or pet rearing mistake, or that your own kids never got into something they shouldnt have, then you can take the high ground. The wee boy may or may not have squeezed his pet to hard, well it's done. The wee boy should be readiness before it becomes a big issue in his life. He is not able to live with this guilt so must be relieved of it. His mum should say they were already sick, get him a knew pet and teach him properly to care for it.

pigletmania · 04/06/2011 17:05

Bucharest there is no evidence he killed the first GP, it was found lying in the cage, you cannot accuse someone on flimsy evidence, and there is no hard evidence he killed the second one either, lets not go about making wild accusations with very little evidence.

Bucharest · 04/06/2011 17:42

The OP herself in her first post says:

"Yesterday got home from work to find that our other guinea pig had been found mysteriously dead in her cage when my husband got up in the morning.

Now I know why."

She seems to believe her son did it, and given that she found him handling the other one roughly, shortly before it died, then it would appear the child was responsible, allbeit inadvertently.

As I said before, I don't agree either with the "ooooh get thee to a shrink, it's a mini Ted Bundy" posts. It's the posters on the first page saying that, not me. But unfortunately, given the OP found the child with GP2, I'd say it was hardly a coincidence.

I asked dp's brother (a vet) (in an attempt to clear my name and he said that unfortunately, since the advent of zhu zhu pets, a lot of hamstery type animals are being treated as toys by children (which is understandable enough) because they simply don't "get" the difference.

Bucharest · 04/06/2011 17:46

Have just re-read the first 3 pages and quite frankly am amazed that my post has caused such offence given some of the shite posted there.

InTheNightKitchen · 04/06/2011 17:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

pigletmania · 04/06/2011 17:53

bucharest that might have happened but not 100% certain, it could have died in the night. From now on I think that op will be more careful if they decide to have pets again, and she has learned a very harsh lesson

troisgarcons · 04/06/2011 18:04

My god - there are some neurotic amateur pseudo psychologists inhabiting this thread.

There is a vast difference between deliberate cruelty (ie kicking a puppy to death) and mishandling a small animal.

CBA to scroll back and see who the bubble-wrap mother is who doesn't let her 9yo be unsupervised with small animals .... at that age I had over 20 guinea pigs, they were MINE, I bred them and showed them all the way through my teens. My choice, my job to feed and clean them out, come hell or high weather (mainly on the grounds my Mum decided they were rats with no tails and wouldn't go near them). they were all loves, petted and NEVER mistreated - ooh! let me think! Thats because I was shown how to handle them and belonged to breeders clubs.

As someone else pointed out - they aren't terribly hardy little creatures; they are fussy with foods, can't stand draughts or wet, pick up a snuffle very easily - if one gets 'it' your whole stock tends to also get 'it' ('it' being a cold etc).

Very sorry for your loss OP, I don't normally come onto animal threads but I wholeheartedly empathise with you. 4yo (JMHO) is too young for pet responsibility - and I come from the standpoint of having children of varying ages and been through the whole gamut of small animals!

troisgarcons · 04/06/2011 18:06

My god - there are some neurotic amateur pseudo psychologists inhabiting this thread.

There is a vast difference between deliberate cruelty (ie kicking a puppy to death) and mishandling a small animal.

CBA to scroll back and see who the bubble-wrap mother is who doesn't let her 9yo be unsupervised with small animals .... at that age I had over 20 guinea pigs, they were MINE, I bred them and showed them all the way through my teens. My choice, my job to feed and clean them out, come hell or high weather (mainly on the grounds my Mum decided they were rats with no tails and wouldn't go near them). they were all loves, petted and NEVER mistreated - ooh! let me think! Thats because I was shown how to handle them and belonged to breeders clubs.

As someone else pointed out - they aren't terribly hardy little creatures; they are fussy with foods, can't stand draughts or wet, pick up a snuffle very easily - if one gets 'it' your whole stock tends to also get 'it' ('it' being a cold etc).

Very sorry for your loss OP, I don't normally come onto animal threads but I wholeheartedly empathise with you. 4yo (JMHO) is too young for pet responsibility - and I come from the standpoint of having children of varying ages and been through the whole gamut of small animals!

wigglybeezer · 04/06/2011 18:09

i don't think it would be that easy for a four year old to catch and pick up a guinea pig, its quite a knack. i reckon he was only able to pick it up and play roughly with it because it was poorly anyway. Have had guinea pigs in the past so have experience of their tendancy to go downhill fast.

Nuttychic · 04/06/2011 18:13

OP as a little girl I did this exact thing. I literally hugged my guinea pigs to death. Mum says one had died a few days earlier and she found me hugging my guinea pig, only to realise it was dead as I was squeezing to hard.

Im sorry but accidents happen as a 4 year old, (I was 3) your DS just could not know how hard was to hard, to squeeze.

Im so sorry for your loss and please give your ds a extra hug as I am sure he is feeling awful as well x

SarahLundsredJumper · 04/06/2011 18:13

Agree with thatwiggly some of mine were really tricky to catch-its their nature .
Have you aked your DS what happened OP ?
I really feel for you btw they are lovely little things.

alistron1 · 04/06/2011 18:13

Do you know what? My aunt kept guineas when I was a kid and they did sometimes suffer inexplicable mass deaths. They are v.delicate creatures. I'd bet that your sons handling was coincidental.

I recommend a hamster TBH, they are hardy (if you get a Syrian breed) and if you hand rear 'em really enjoy being handled.

The fact that both your guineas have died (sorry by the way, must be really sad) indicates something more than your sons handling.

ChinnyReckon · 04/06/2011 18:17

Gosh, OP, you've been given quite a hard time and I'm not sure why. Sorry it happened and sorry you were upset. All you can do is what've done - explain thing to your son, then move on. There is nothing else you can do. Hope you're feeling better and can have a nice evening.

fifi25 · 04/06/2011 18:18

troise im the 'bubble wrap mother' who doesnt let her dd's handle the rabbits unsupervised. Mainly as one of them bit her badly when she handled it incorrectly.

Nor do i leave the 3 kids unsupervised with my 2 dogs.

fifi25 · 04/06/2011 18:25

and BTW its wasnt a small furry animal - it was a huge rabbit who have a nasty kick and can give and can bite

fifi25 · 04/06/2011 18:26

*and can bite

Divster · 04/06/2011 18:27

Maybe it was an illness that killed them both, gp's do feel very floppy to the point of broken when newly dead

PaddingtonStare · 04/06/2011 18:48

"a bit hmm at the criticism of OP for not taking a half-dead guinea pig to the vet and presumably paying £60 to have it put to sleep. it's a guinea pig ffs. and no, this would not be my attitude if my DC had a broken back, however I would expect that there would be more options than euthenasia on offer for a child."

No, that's right, ITNK, why waste a few quid when you can commit an immoral, not to mention illegal act of cruelty and knowingly leave an animal to suffer for the next 30 minutes before he dies.

Why should it matter, "it's a guinea pig FFS", only a guinea pig.

onceamai · 04/06/2011 18:53

Oh FGS.

OP give your lad a big hug and take him out for the day tomorrow - he's probably really upset.

On Monday pop to the vet and explain what happened (do you still have the bodies?). It is more than likely that both GP's were ill and died of natural causes.

Scrub out the cage (take Vets advice in case there was anything lurgy like relating to the GPs), have a really good chat to ds about kindness to animals and set some ground rules for the future and chat about guinea pigs and animals and see if you get any further info from ds - what was the gp doing before he took him out of the cage - did the gp look poorly, etc.

Get a padlock for the cage and go and get two more guinea pigs.

In the very unlikely event that ds is caught in the act of being cruel to the new gp's then may be, just may be he might need to have a little chat with a health professional. Let him think he's to blame now and you have a recipe for disaster in the context of trust and unconditional love and he jolly well will need professional help in the future.

Good luck OP. It was more than likely one of those things - not your fault, not DS's fault and lessons to be learned from it. Say a prayer for the guineas and move on.