A sick chin - not mine!

[AmandaDi]

Yesterday I got a phone call from someone who got my number from my vet clinic... she is chin sitting for a friend and she has one chin of her own. Well on Sun the mom had 2 babies (this is the same day the friend left). On Tues the mom died! This girl is hand feeding and seems to be doing everything right (Yes I questioned her!). Well she called me because the dad had been acting strange since Thur. She said he was just really calm and not moving around a lot. She knew chins could get depressed so she wondered if that was it. As we spoke over the phone I really didn't think it was depression behavior. She asked if I would come over to look at the chin to see if it needed to go to the vet. I got there and it was obvious, he was dying... He wasn't acting as if he was in pain, his breathing wasnt laboured yet, but having watched chins go from sick to dead, I knew it was coming. I did everything I could think of to try to diagnose something, and I came up empty. Belly felt fine, ears were cool, teeth looked fine, eyes were clear, nose was clear, didn't hear anything abnormal in his breathing. He appeared a little dehydrated so I told her to get some fluids in him and to try a pinch of kyro syrup to add some flavor and give a tiny boost to his sugar level. She said as soon as her hubby got home she'd go buy what she needed. It was just after 5 by then and I told her she'd never make it to the vet in time to be seen and the ER would likely only be able to do SubQ fluids. I told her I could do it but my stuff was at home. I really didn't want her to spend the $100 to just walk in the door at the vet only for the chin to die... I knew it was going to happen. Well she brought the chin to my house about an hr later and I did some fluids and while for a brief moment he showed more energy than I had seen, it was still obvious that he would die. I figured it would be sometime that night. I tried to be positive and told her to go to the vet Monday if he made it that long. She called me last night, prob 1.5 hrs after she left here and he had just passed.

I feel so bad for this girl! And the girl she was sitting for! The chin was on Oxbow pellets and had hay, she seemed to be caring for them just fine. I truely question the owner though as she told the girl sitting for her that the mom probably died bc she was stressed out by being 3 weeks overdue! We all know they aren't overdue, we just calculate wrong. *I* question the death of two chins (this owner had them for 3 years) dying in the same week. The owner did not want Necros done. The babies were adorable, but I personally think something was 'not right' with them either. They didn't walk right... almost looked hunched over... just not right... so I question the genetic history as well! The sitter said all she knew was that her friend got the chins in Maine. So who knows... This poor girl feels so responsible! I have a feeling the owner is going to think *I* killed her boy as she called and her husband told her they were here and I was giving him a 'shot', hopefully it was clarified that it was just sub-q fluids! I KNOW I didn't do anything wrong and I know that chin was going to die... I wanted the sitter to know she did everything she could without spending the fortune at the ER knowing her 'friend' wouldn't pay her back.

Well, that was long winded... but a sad story if you ask me!

 

[CJR]

Wow that's really sad. I have a question though.

What makes you doubt the owner so much? You really seem to not like the chin's owner, but I don't really sense an apparent reason. Chins are finicky critters, that was the first thing I learned (before I even had a chin). I don't know much about chins, but you just seem to have an animosity towards the owner.

 

[AmandaDi]

I dont even know the owners, so there is no real animosity there. I actually just reread my post and I dont see how it appeared that I had any animosity or that I didn't like the owner... like I said, I dont even know who they are. I was going off of what the sitter told me. I question their *breeding knowledge* is all, as any good breeder would. They were feeding good feed and the chin parents were with them for 3 years, so I dont question their ability to care for them at all. I questioned the background of the parents bc I dont think the babies looked normal. I have nothing against the owner or the sitter.

 

[CJR]

I think you were just upset and it translated as animosity. That could be it. I hate the internet sometimes, it makes stuff so hard to read.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

she didnt make it sound like she hates the owner at all...she just stated that they OBVIOUSLY didnt seem to know exactly the correct facts

 

[Parkerspetchins]

Wow, poor chinnies and sitter and owner! That is really sad. I hope the babies make it. You were kind to help her even if it didn't turn out well.

 

[Cuddlebug]

Wow! I had a pair die 2 days apart once. The female died due to pregnancy complications. The male just died 2 days later. No reason was found on the necropsy. all my other chins were fine and no one else even got sick. sometimes things like that just happen.