A family is grieving after two guinea pigs purchased from Pets at Home died within a week, raising concerns about a Strep outbreak.
Coco died after only three weeks, and Oreo passed away a few days after. Sam thinks they had Streptococcus, also known as Strep. Pets at Home had a Strep outbreak last week and stopped selling guinea pigs because of it.
The family loved Coco and Oreo and bought them in late December. Coco stopped eating, had a runny nose, and trouble breathing. They took her to Vets for Pets, a vet owned by Pets at Home, but Coco died within days.
A vet report showed Coco’s issues, noting she stopped eating and struggled to breathe. Vets gave her antibiotics, but Strep symptoms include nasal discharge, loss of appetite, difficult breathing, and potential swelling.
Sam bought Fudge to keep Oreo company, and her daughters loved Fudge a lot. One morning, Fudge had a nosebleed and died an hour later with blood coming from her nose. They initially thought straw was stuck in her nose.
Sam immediately took Fudge to Pets at Home to understand what happened. She was upset that two guinea pigs died within one week and put Fudge on the vet’s desk, telling them it was her second dead guinea pig.
The vet said it was not their problem, blaming it on weak animals and claiming the family was unlucky. She claimed guinea pigs do not always look sick.
There is no vet report about Fudge, but Sam provided a photo of the dead animal showing blood came out of her nose and mouth.
Pets at Home cannot confirm Strep caused the deaths, although Strep can cause pneumonia in guinea pigs or sudden death, sometimes without any visible signs.
Sam felt she was treated badly, like she was returning faulty items, when they suggested she get another guinea pig. This felt disgraceful because her daughters were upset.
The family had also bought Pepper to keep Oreo company. Currently, Oreo and Pepper are alive and seem healthy. Sam thinks Oreo carried Strep but showed no signs.
Sam returned to Pets at Home a week later to buy a run, but all the guinea pig cages were empty. A worker told her they were awaiting a new shipment, but Sam felt something was wrong.
Later she learned about the Strep outbreak and suspected it was what her guinea pigs had. Sam felt Pets at Home saw them as objects, and finding sick guinea pigs was very upsetting.
Her daughters loved these pets who should have lasted for years. Now the children are constantly checking on them, fearing they will find them dead, especially after spending over two hundred dollars, not including the cage.
Pepper and Oreo now seem healthy.
A Pets at Home spokesperson is in contact with Sam and acknowledges that losing a pet is hard. While they cannot confirm Strep caused the deaths, they refunded the costs for Coco and Fudge and offered a vet visit for Oreo and Pepper.
They believe they solved the Strep issue, and selling guinea pigs will resume soon, at Pets at Home’s 433 stores.