Saving Tiny Tim ...
Paralyzed Guinea Pig Finds New Home
An abandoned, paralyzed guinea pig became a family's belated Christmas present. "Everybody
is attached to him," said Dutch of the "personable little fellow", a white, furry critter found in a plastic basket at the
library early one January morning.
"At that point - not being too far after Christmas - I decided to dub him Tiny Tim, Dutch said, "and my wife, Jo, and
I decided to bring him home and make him ours."
He said the librarian stopped them to ask if they had noticed the guinea pig in the hallway entrance. No one at the library
knew the whereabouts of the animal's owner, he said, but Tiny Tim apparently was discarded on a 35-degree night, hence the
folded up quilt inside the basket.
"He was shivering cold, as well as scared," Dutch said. "I noticed he didn't have the use of his hind legs."
Dutch said the couple's granddaughter, who visits frequently, feeds Tiny Tim and helps with his physical therapy.
Jo elaborated on Tim's rehabilitation program.
"We work his little legs by putting him in our hands," Jo said. "If you tickle him on the sides, he'll kick his legs
out."
She said they aren't sure if Tim's legs were damaged physically or by something else, so she searched online and read
that a Vitamin C deficiency can cause the appearance of paralysis. After big doses of Vitamin C and lots of tender, loving
care, she said Tim is getting stronger but still drags his back legs.
"We still have our hopes up", Jo said.
Tim is her first guinea pig, she said, and a delight to hold and behold. He also talks a lot, she said, via purring sounds
and squeaks.
"He's just a lovable little critter", Jo said. "He's got long hair and it kind of goes in every possible direction. He
needs a little more bathing than others."
To keep him squeaking and squeaky clean, she said, they wash Tim regularly and even treated him to a bath by a pet groomer
recently.
Vicki, a volunteer at animal shelter, said she was with Dutch and Jo the day Tim was found. They had assembled at the
library for a fundraising campaign for the shelter.
"It was a pretty cold morning and there was a towel on some animal. Somebody had left behind some food, like an apple
or something," Vickie said.
Tim has come a long way from the day he was found, Vickie said, and she has seen the difference a nurturing home can
make in one life, however small.
"Tiny Tim is very happy now," she said.
Doug Waters, News Publishing LLC, © February 11, 2006
Portions of original article used with written permission
