my chin died last week...

[sadaboutmychin]

i just moved, and it had been 60 degrees the whole time i was here.. i didn't have the ac unit in yet. a few days ago, i started to clean her cage since it was sunny outside and i wanted to dry it outside.. i guess in the process it got really hot and she just got too hot.. i took her to the vet, they cooled her down, gave her fluids. they had her for about 3 hours and they let me take her home. i thought everything was great! the second i saw her, i was a little confused but i thought she was alright because the vet gave her back to me.. when i got home i put the ac unit in right away, got her an ice cube, and left her be.. she laid down and i just thought she was tuckered out from the day.. i wake up the next morning and she's dead. i feel awful. i thought she was tired and she was dying next to me the whole time. i seriously don't know how i'm ever going to get over this. i was so careful at my old place with her, even though we had air conditioning i kept her in the basement.. but i moved here and it was chilly and in the mountains, and i got careless.. she was only 14 months old.. i just don't think i've ever felt so awful in my life.

 

[tunes]

I'm very sorry for your loss, but I'm a little confused. 60 degrees is just fine for a chin without air conditioning, especially in the mountains where it isn't usually as humid. Are you sure she died from the heat?

Also, you mention letting her cage be outside to dry. Was she in it? If that was the case, and she was in direct sunlight, it was probably warmer than 60 degrees.

 

[sadaboutmychin]

no, she was in her playpen while the cage was outside. i was saying that it had been 60 degrees recently so i hadn't put the ac unit in.. but it got hotter that day

 

[Snickers]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Bundalo]

Ugh, so sorry for your loss. We had one rescue pass away from advanced heart disease three weeks after we adopted her, last September, and I still choke up thinking about her. And with our summers, I'm utterly paranoid about our A/C breaking down when we're not home, to the point where I've been turning over the idea of making a mini refrigerated/water cooled cooling tile for our chins. It broke down on us once, but luckily we were home at the time and we rushed them to the wine cellar, which has its own A/C unit.

 

[tcraighenry]

^ I'm the same. In fact I'm going to implement a remote temperature monitoring system . Thankfully my husband works very close to home and by taxi I'm about 10 minutes away.

We have a stand alone back up unit just in case the HVAC fails and I bought some ice packs for coolers + a ton of frozen water bottles.

I'm also considering getting a UPS for the backup!

 

[Brittany]

I'm sorry for your loss. I was home last year when my AC went out, but that's my biggest fear, not being home if it were to go out again :-(

 

[Chinbutt]

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss, it sounds like you definitely tried to do everything right for her.

I can't imagine going through that with my chins. I love them like they're my kids and they mean absolutely everything to me.

Just remember time heals everything.

 

[Godofgods]

I'm sorry about your chin...