I am very upset and hope I can word this quickly and accurately.

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I am very upset and hope I can word this quickly and accurately. I have a pot-bellied pig - female - that I rescued from a nearby farm where she was "dumped" a few years ago by someone. So I really don't have any "history" on her other than the past 2-1/2 years with me. Here's what I DO have: She has NO anus...I don't remember the name of that condition but she has been quite successfully peeing and pooping out of the urethra with no problems at all since I got her, which I'm told is not unusual for a female born with this condition (where the males usually die or are put down when born with it). Anyway, Saturday evening she began oozing puss from her urethra - runny, milky, no smell. By Sunday, it was thick and smelly, still oozing. She was and is still eating fine but doesn't come out of her house for anything BUT to eat. Today her belly became very distended and she is very agressive (was before but more now). I HAVE spoken with several vets over the phone who have all agreed that she most likely has PYOMETRA and she was scheduled for surgery 4 hours away from here on Friday. I felt she was getting worse, called them back and asked to move it tomorrow which they agreed was best and critical. Long story short: I am extremely concerned over comments they made that it may ALREADY be too late, that 1) her uterus may have already burst anyway and will be like "mush" when they get her open, 2) I'm at a loss as to how to deal with her hard, distended belly while trying to coax her up into our truck without stressing her or hurting her because she obviously is in extreme pain, 3) I'm concerned about this 3-4 hour trip being too much or TOO LONG ?? for her??!??, 4) I've been quoted $2000 to $2500 for the entire procedure which includes about 7 days in hospital if she survives the surgery, 6) how do we avoid her biting us while all of this is going on? She's somewhat aggressive when she's feeling good- she's super-aggressive right now, and most of all, 6) I'm petrified that I'm going to LOSE MY PRECIOUS PIG to this terrible thing. Our plan is to leave tomorrow about 5 am (we need to be there by 12 pm). We were going to "herd" her up a ramp with boards on either side of the ramp, put lots and lots of blankets in the back of my Nissan Pathfinder so that she's "cushioned" because we don't have a cage or crate big enough for her. She has NEVER been in a vehicle since I've had her so this is NEW to her. She has begun to limp (just today) which the Vet and I think is due to the weight of the distended belly now, etc. And she is VERY, VERY suspicious and agressive when anyone comes near her belly, which I was warned would happen by one of the vets. So I'm worried that just getting her IN the truck is going to be an hour plus adventure and stressful situation for her. Other info: She was started on antibiotics yesterday, weighs approximately 160, never spayed (again - no history when I rescued her - couldn't even tell until recently whether she was spayed or not), est. age is about 7-8? I have a very old male pb pig also which she has NEVER been around - they have been kept apart since day one - him inside, her outside. He's almost 16. Don't know if she's EVER had a litter.

Optional Information:
Age: 7; Female; Breed: Pot-bellied pig

Already Tried:
Phone consultations with Vets/p>

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Status: Closed Value: $15

Wow...I feel your anxiety about your girl while reading your post and you definatetly have every right to feel this way. After reading all of that..twice :)....I am wondering if you are wondering if you should do the proceedure? Are you asking how to get your girl loaded and transported safely? Am I on the right track here?

**Although a deposit was put down, I, PERSONALLY, don't get paid until you click the Accept button..your deposit remains with Just Answer**

Dreamweaver: I saw your post in tech support...you can answer my questions and add more information by using the reply to info request :)

**Although a deposit was put down, I, PERSONALLY, don't get paid until you click the Accept button..your deposit remains with Just Answer**

Reply to Gina's Post: Gina:

I guess I wasn't really clear after ALL of that, was I? No, I'm not questioning the surgery. She obviously needs some type of surgery. I have no doubt about that. My answer is twofold, I think. I had wanted to get a little more info about what to look for as far as signs of her getting worse or even what her chances of survival might be and how often these things rupture in pigs. BUT I also needed some help with all the LOADING her up on the truck stuff too.

I guess I should have made it more clear what I was looking for. Since this post, there's been a change in her behavior which I was told to look for and which I dreaded. She has stopped eating...kind of. I have been able to get her to eat some dry rice cakes but not her food. Her belly is much bigger and is very hot now. At first she would not move at all and I was petrified that this was the end and she would not make it through the night...she still may not. I know this is a life or death situation. I phoned the vet that we are supposed to take her to today and one of them (the medical one) told me to bring her immediately - that she may not last through the night or even the 4-5 hour trip there. However, as I was frantically trying to get ready to make plans to drop everything and leave, the surgeon himself phoned me and basically said that if we got there at 4 or 5 in the morning there would be no way to run tests, do xrays, sonograms, etc. and he was not comfortable with assuming it was pyometra, cutting open her belly with NO blood work or any tests, possibly finding something different and possibly killing my pig. He was extremely compassionate and I totally understood where he was coming from. So what we have agreed to is for me to use MY judgment, watch her and try to hang in there enough to time her arrival for when they have their labs and xray areas open. He said that of course if I was NOT comfortable with that I should just bring her in right now but once here I would be faced with a choice of allowing him to ASSUME and cut her open OR waiting ANYWAY until 8 am when everything was open and he could find out FOR SURE what is wrong with her and how bad it is. So that's what I'm doing...watching and waiting it out to TIME IT FOR THE LABS AND XRAY AREAS timed for us to make a 5 hour trip. I asked the Medical Vet for some ideas on how to get her in the truck since she is so aggressive right now and in so much pain and she gave me a few ideas although I'm still not so sure about them. So if you have other ideas about how to coax a very ill, approx. 160-pound pot-bellied pig up into an SUV, by all means tell me your thoughts. At this point I'm no longer sure what I'm looking for as an answer to my original question anymore....I'm just too upset to think about it. I feel like I'm going to lose my pig. Her name is Charlotte. So I will leave it to you to take this information and see if it helps to answer your request for more info. And please know that I will be leaving here to make the 5 hour trip with her in about 2-3 hours, if she and we are lucky enough for her to make it through the rest of the night and survive her trip.

Thank you Gina for responding so quickly. I apologize for not responding quickly myself but I have been trying to take care of things here before we go.

Another update: Once when I went to check on her she actually got up, came all the way out of her house, went out into the yard, went potty and walked back into her house. This was about an hour after not seeming to want to move at all...I hope that was a good sign and not me just getting my hopes up? Just a couple more hours here and then a 5 hour drive....I pray that whatever is going on inside that huge belly has NOT ruptured???

*I moved this from the Tech Support category and am posting it as an info request to add it to your question page.

Maureen

Moderator

Moderator

Reply to Tropicalmoe's Post: Thanks Maureen.

Pretty soon it won't matter. I won't be here to read any replies that may come in. I had hoped to get some replies quickly. I only got the one from Gina. And we will be leaving here soon - God willing and won't be returning until the weekend if she lives through this. Thanks again.

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Pot-bellied pig and Pyometra?

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