JC's Story - Support JC's recovery by donating to her cause!

Meet JC one of the latest surrenders to ACS Brisbane Shelter. JC arrived at the shelter on the 20th of February 2009 along with 6 other guinea pigs. JC's background story is not uncommon although it may seem so. Backgrounds like JC's often remain hidden until the owner of the animals or a member of the public speak out and asks for help.

On the morning of February 19th 2009 ACS Brisbane Shelter Manager 'Jessica' received a call from a lady who wanted to surrender all her guinea pigs to ACS. The lady previously had gone to the RSPCA desperately needing to surrender her guinea pigs although was told on the spot that all would be euthanized due to some having current minor to severe medical conditions. The lady cringed at the thought of her guinea pigs being put to sleep (for reasons that  the RSPCA had decided at the time) and luckily the RSPCA gave the lady a second option...to contact ACS.

'When I received the phone call from the lady she was quite upset and would have loved to of kept her guinea pigs but with serious rental issues and not being able to cater for their medical needs financially in particular, the lady needed to do what was best for her guinea pigs and surrender them to a place where they would get the medical attention they needed. The lady had actually previously taken her guinea pigs to the vet although sadly with bills piling up it just wasn't an option anymore. The lady's awareness of the conditions her guinea pigs were in was good despite everything else I was soon to hear and see regarding these guinea pigs. The lady did do the right thing by contacting us. Something many who are in similar boats, can be in denial of'. Said Jessica.

The lady told ACS that she had 6 female guinea pigs and one male and that some may be pregnant as they were all living together in the base of a large bird aviary. The baby guinea pigs born in the past were sold to the ladies local pet shop. The lady also mentioned that she had relatives who had 100's of guinea pigs but that the guinea pigs were often kept in poor conditions and that she remained distant as a result of this.

'Sadly when speaking with the lady on the phone I found out that she had tried to treat her guinea pigs conditions with some very common and very misleading products which infact DON'T WORK. She had bought mite washes and the 'mite and mange spray' commonly found on the market and sadly neither of these did anything to treat her guinea pigs conditions. Internal mites simply cannot be treated with these external products but sadly frequently in particular the 'mite and mange spray' widely available and sold to the public for the treatment of 'mange' in the guinea pigs, quite simply does not work', said Jessica.

On the 20th February the guinea pigs were surrendered to the ACS Brisbane Shelter. After hearing that overnight one of the ladies guinea pigs had lost an entire litter of babies Jessica knew that the guinea pigs needed to be surrendered asap. Their was a transport issue but  within the hour Jessica had done some ringing around and had a wonderful volunteer organised to pick-up and deliver the guinea pigs the shelter.

On arrival to the shelter all the guinea pigs received Revolution treatment for mange infestation and also Ivomec administered. It became quickly apparent that it wasn't just mites these guinea pigs were battling but that they all had minor to moderate Fungal conditions swell which needed to be treated separately to the mange. Five of the seven guinea pigs were either not showing obvious mite infestation or only had minor infestation. One of the adult female guinea pigs arrived pregnant and with a blind eye on one side and also a fungal condition on her rump and one of the adult boars are had moderate mange infestation.

JC!

'Then I noticed JC and almost cried I felt so so sorry for the poor angel. Mind you nothing surprises or shocks me nowadays and believe it or not I have actually seen guinea pigs in an even worse state before. But it's never any easier as each guinea pig is individual. Each and every guinea pig has their own soul and personality and each piggy deals with illness different. Some guinea pigs have fighting spirits while others simply just don't have any fight in them. JC I believe is an example of a piggy who does have the will to live and fight her illness.

When I spoke with the lady on the phone she actually wanted to keep JC and called her her 'special' old girl but she had also told me that she was by far in the worst condition of all her guinea pigs. By luck when our volunteer arrived to pick the guinea pigs up, the lady changed her mind. I have no doubt in my mind JC would have died within the month had the lady not done the right thing by her and I am so thankful that she changed her mind and put JC's health before her love for her.

Darling JC was scared and sitting in a small cardboard box. I noticed right away that she was definitely in a shocking state. JC has a fungal condition spread right across her body and it is worst around her face and lower neck area. Fungal conditions are highly contagious and also difficult to treat and the condition couldn't had affected a more tricky place treatment wise. JC also has severe mange mite infestation. She has caused some deep wounds to herself and has hairless on 70% of her body. Now on top of this if this wasn't horrible enough JC has also had one of her back legs amputated. We are unsure of how recent this is but her amputated leg looks sore and possibly infected. JC may also possibly be pregnant.

JC has an incredible fighting spirit I could see it in her eyes the second she arrived. She just looks up at you as if to say 'I'm in a lot of pain but I want to live. Will you help me get through this?'. JC has a long road to recovery ahead of her but she has every chance of a full recovery if she responds well to her treatment here at ACS.

Before treatment photos of JC

(Click on images below to enlarge)

During early treatment photos of JC

(Note-the red is Betadine not blood).

 JC Update May 12th 2009.

With lots of dedication and hard work JC is now almost completely recovered. JC has only a minor fungal condition left on her right ear and a tiny patch around her eye. ' Working with JC has been an amazing journey and is perfect example of what the work we do here at ACS is all about. Their is nothing more fulfilling in my job than to be able to help a guinea pig like JC,  in such a poor state, and to be able to not only help her to recover but to see her find her spirit and see the world in a brighter light', said ACS Brisbane Shelter Manager, Jessica. JC has made an incredible turnaround she has a fighting spirit and due to her circumstances she will remain at ACS as a permanent resident.

JC is one of the lucky ones. Many guinea pigs live in similar situations to JC although many don't receive treatment and die horrible painful deaths as a result. Those who truly care and love their animals would never deny them medical care or treatment or an appropriate environment to live in. Something the previous owner of these guinea pigs did have...she cared enough to help them in the only way she could and that was by asking for help when she could not help them herself.

We would like to send a massive thank you to all those who generously sponsored JC. A special thank you to Sandee who was JC's regular sponsor who had been keeping a special folder of JC's progress as she followed her along her journey to recovery.

Update photos of JC (click on images below to enlarge).