Ursula…

Golden Years…

Tonight (September 19, 2009) the sky will be even brighter on Planet Guinea, the Gorgeous Ursula has gone to be a Star . Now there are two very bright stars with white strips. When you’re looking for Ursula she’s the one with the longer strip of light. She’s always there commanding authority in a silent way, but tends to linger at the back waiting for a later opportunity to come forward. Ursula’s star moves gregariously around the sky  as if making a bid for freedom :)
Ursula’s Humans contacted me in 2004 when they could no longer keep her and her friend. Although I was full up I was in contact with a Human that had a lone Senior pig who was looking for friends and Ursula and friend went to live with them.

Three years later Ursula arrived here again, she was now the lone guinea looking for company; her Humans were moving and as devoted as they were thought it would be in Ursula’s best interests to stay in the Reading area. Ursula was now 6 years old, though a very spritely 6 year old, she went to live with one of my groups.

After finding a broken tooth on Ursula, I noticed her breath was smelly  when I was checking her mouth, although the regrowth of the new tooth was good it hadn’t been growing fast enough (should have been back to normal nearly) and it was wobbly- but not enough to come out.

So Ursula went to visit Jenny who swiftly removed the offending tooth with a pair of rongeurs and not a peep from Ursula :) There was a bit of blood but no pus thankfully. Ursula’s took some Baytril and Probiotics and some Rimadyl for pain relief. Oh, and plenty of Comfort food ;)

Ursula was particularly fussy about food and had days of preferring different foods- nearly always the Phosphorus heavy ones. During her last few months on Planet Guinea I gave her what she wanted, if that was just baby corn all day then baby corn it was. She always ate her dry food although her hay intake had dropped dramatically. In her previous home Ursula was given Yogurt drops, daily and routinely. They were an expected part of her day, so much so that when she came back here for the second time around and nasal gazed at me whenever I came into the shed sooo expectantly I contacted her previous owner about it. This was when I found out about the yogurt drops and we concluded that she was waiting to be given them! Instead she was gently off them with apple, not the best food ever but better than yogurt drops. Apple was to become Ursula’s favourite food, where there was apple there was Ursula :)

Ursula’s Incisor never did grow back, and she was over 8 and a half when she left us, she had minimal dental work done; for the most part filing but occasional trimming was needed. The word minimal and Ursula don’t go together, Urs was BIG in every way, a BIG prescence.

Ursula also came along to Piggy PMs up until the age of 7 to show off her 3 Incisors and just how efficiently could eat with them :) Ursula is also a calendar girl for Guinea Pig Welfare.

Ursula’s decision to become a Star can only have a BIG impact… The sky on Planet Guinea is a brighter place now they have you :)

Karen (Missing her Golden Girl, BIGtime :) )

Ursula, Summer 2008