Helping All Little Things

10/24/2026

Betsy is going down to Sweet Meadow tomorrow since she is running low on pellets too and someone offered to unload my batch for me since I'm still a bit under the weather. I'm so so grateful for this wonderful community!

Pellets are $22 for 40lbs if anyone wants ton sponsors a bag! We could use about $125 more to cover all the bags we need!

10/24/2026

One of the coolest parts of joining a 16 year old rescue is getting to learn all sorts of stories about all sorts of animal that have passed through. Today I stumbled upon Bella, who apparently had a sling that allowed her to eat. - Emelia

BELLA IS EATING PELLETS WITHOUT HER CHIN SLING ON!!! I'm so happy I could cry!!!! I was too afraid of scaring her so I didn't get a great picture but holy cow! Amazing!!!

10/24/2026

Just a little Vaida popcorn to bring joy to your morning.

10/23/2026

We have a couple ads running this week in hope of getting our print and sticker shop seen! If you see them around, please take a few second to heart the post, comment, share and check out the link! It helps us get a lot further with the $9 I am sending Facebook lol.

https://www.patreon.com/cw/helpingalllittlethingsrescue

Also, Betsy will be grabbing a ton of pellets for us soon, and we always buy in bulk since it’s cheaper. So if you’d like to buy a HALT sticker, print, or just donate, all of those thinks would be amazing for us!

10/23/2026

I just adore everything fall. Do you all have any fall plans for yourself or your critters?

10/23/2026

Sweet little Autumn has gained 25 grams this week. Weight gain is slow but steady with her. She's over a year old and the size of a 3 month old baby. Now that she's in less pain, she is gobbling food down!

10/22/2026

Normally one of us goes down to Sweet Meadow and will fill our car with hundreds of pounds of pellets because the bulk rate is amazing when you pick up directly. Won't lie, I am super duper tired still and unloading several hundred pounds of pellets doesn't sound like a good time. If anyone could be so kind as to send us some from our 📃📃to hold us over a few weeks until I can get back into a groove, that would be so helpful!

⛓️‍💥⬇️

10/22/2026

We were able to do the necropsy for Beaker yesterday thanks to so many of you!

We found that his mass was thyroid cancer vs a benign mass that would trigger hyperthyroidism. The cancer invaded 4 areas including the para thyroid. There was also a ruptured vessel that caused all of that blood around the mass.

In theory, had this been caught early enough surgery could have been attempted but that particular sugery is considered a higher risk surgery. If the mass had been benign, it could have been managed with medication. Thyroid issues are very underdiagnosed so being aware of the symptoms and early intervention are very important.

Key Symptoms

Increased thirst/urination
Increased appetite while also losing weight
Increased energy/restlessness/having trouble sleeping or being still for periods at a time
A lump under the chin
Rapid breathing/Increased heart rate
Changes to skin and fur

How to diagnose

If you bring your piggie to the vet with these symptoms your vet will most likely do bloodwork and a physical exam intially. They will run a standard cbc because kidney disease can look similar and then add on a thyroid panel. The thyroid panel is often a separate cost and typically a bit spendy which most likely deters people from opting for it (hence the underdiagnosis).

Below is an example of plain red blood cells vs the sample we took from Beaker's mass. Red blood cells are lighter and a bit more uniform in shape. The cancer cells are the ones that are darker and vary greatly in shape.

10/22/2026

Zavian's appt yesterday was ok ish. He has a big ol gas bubble that was causing discomfort but he's been eating and drinking perfectly fine. In fact he gained a whopping 400 grams since his last appt in June.

We always do full body x rays so we can look at every part of the animal and we did see that his knees have some pretty extreme osteodystophy. He was diagnosed with osteodystophy at 5 weeks old. I noticed as soon as he came to us that he was already bunny hopping so he was likely (and sadly) born with it. Thankfully the osteodystophy around his jaw has not advanced much.

I wish the satin boom would end. So many people do not recognize the subtle signs of pain and it kind of breaks my brain to think how many are out there hurting.

10/22/2026

Apologies for not being on yesterday I slept through 3 alarms and had to roll out of bed, grab the piggies and leave. I took a nap in my car in between appts and as soon as i got home and got everyone settled, I zonked out again. But to avoid getting sick a 3rd, I just let the sleep happen.

Anyway, sadly all 3 girls have some level of pain. Morrigan's is a bit less. Gold Dust has some pretty advanced arthritis in her back legs vs osteodystophy (at only a year-ish old) and she was in a MOOD after her exam. Poor Vaida has significant osteodystophy around her jaw and back legs at only 5 months old. Everyone is feeling more relaxed on their pain meds but its a shame that we have to manage pain at such young ages.

Thank you everyone who contributed to make yesterday's appt possible. We appreciate you all so so much!