Thomas the Guinea Pig's Eye Surgery

On Sunday night our lovely guinea pig Thomas and his hutch were stolen from our property. On Monday night he was returned to us, but had sustained some traumatic injuries while on his misadventure. We hoped that time and TLC would restore him to health. However, our vet advised us that his eyeball was ruptured and would have to be removed, or he would need to be put down. Due to the cost of the surgery ($800-$1,000) and his advanced age we decided to take him home and care for him until he could be euthanised. However!! This morning we received a very generous offer of financial assistance to help fund surgery for Thomas. We declined this offer- feeling that there was only a slim chance that he would come through such an operation due to his age. Throughout the day other people have made contact with the ODT offering financial help. We are overwhelmed by this generosity and although we declined these offers, we decided to consult further with our vet. She confirmed that, although not without risk, the surgery may well be successful as these operations have been successfully performed before at the clinic. Therefore, we have decided to go ahead with the surgery on Monday, 26 June and humbly invite anyone who would like to contribute to do so via this page. Any amount over the cost of the surgery will be donated to the SPCA.

On behalf of our 4 children and Thomas himself, we thank you for your solidarity and compassion! Nathan and Rachel Pettigrew