Rescued Guinea Pig With Broken Bones Gets Cute Wheelchair That Helps Her Walk Again

Guinea pigs are cute, no two ways about it. In fact, it is this very cuteness that makes all of us sad when we hear about a guinea pig in distress. This is the story of two guinea pigs that were seemingly abandoned by their owners – but were luckily adopted by folks from the Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary in Stockton, California.

According to ABC News, one of the guinea pigs – a female named “Estella” was found with her hind legs broken. She was accompanied by her companion, a male guinea pig that has been named “Pip.” Both the animals were found abandoned by the side of a road in early spring by authorities from the Calveras County Animal Services. The duo were then taken into the shelter of Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, which specializes in taking care of abandoned and injured animals.

According to Christine Morrissey, manager of Harvest Home, Estella and her guinea pig husband were handed over to them by the Calveras County Animal Services themselves since the sanctuary was better equipped to take care of animals in distress. She also added that Estella was found with broken bones. Her lower back was severely injured and her hind legs were not functional. Upon examination, it became clear that Estella would not be able to use her hind legs again.

Christine says the following.

“We’re a sanctuary that saves the lives of special needs animals like Estella, who a local veterinarian here confirmed she had permanent paralysis of her lower body. There was nothing we could do to reverse the damage, but we wanted to do something to help her with daily exercise and enrichment aside from pain medication.”

In order to help Estella, the sanctuary came up with the idea of designing a custom made wheelchair for the animal so that she can move around freely without having to drag her entire body using her front legs. According to Christine, Estella “had her back legs kicked out to the side and had to use all her upper body strength to move around.”

They hosted a fundraiser event for the cause and managed to raise enough money for a custom made wheelchair to be built for her. A few days ago, the wheelchair was delivered to them and now, Estella is seen moving around freely in her cute little wheelchair.

Christine revealed that little Estella is quite adept at using the wheelchair and described her to be a little titan. She also added that the wheelchair would let her forget about her past trauma. Meanwhile, help for Estella also came from her “guinea pig husband” Pip, who according to Morrissey has played a vital role in the rehabilitation process. The adorable couple are always seen together, sharing their food. In fact, Morissey believes the couple works as a team.

“Their companionship is a very huge part of why she’s still alive and happy despite everything. They’re together all of the time. They love sharing strawberries and grapes together.”

Estella and Pip have become permanent members of the Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary and will live out the rest of their lives in the care of the sanctuary. In the meantime, just look at the adorable pictures of Estella and her guinea pig husband. Don’t they make a cute couple? There are more pictures of the couple on the official Facebook page of the sanctuary.

[Image Via Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary]