UK's loneliest degu finds love
A downhearted degu has found a new soulmate after an appeal to find the lonely rodent a match.
Three-year-old Greg sadly lost his best friend Charlie shortly after arriving at our Burford rehoming centre in Oxfordshire in November, plunging him into depression.
His elderly pal’s teeth were growing in all different directions, leaving him in terrible pain and struggling to eat. Vets had no other choice but to put Charlie to sleep to stop him suffering.
Degus are sociable creatures who need the company of their own kind, so our team quickly tried to match Greg with another degu to enjoy sand baths with.
But while he loved both degus he was coupled up with, the feeling wasn’t mutual. So, with a bromance for Greg off the cards, he was neutered in the hope of matching him with a lady friend.
Blue Cross launched a Valentine’s Day appeal to find him love – and the stars aligned when Jordan Hubbard and Natalie Curry came across Greg’s quest for happiness.
“We were looking for a new partner for our degu Sophie as she lost her partner last year to old age and had become depressed,” said Natalie, from Cheltenham.
“They’re social animals who need to be kept with their own kind and my partner and I wanted to find her a new companion, but it’s not something we wanted to rush as we wanted to be sure to find the perfect match for her.”
Jordan’s mum, who had spotted the appeal on Facebook, shared a link to Greg’s story on the Blue Cross website – and the rest is history.
Natalie continued: “As we were reading through the article, we couldn’t believe it; it sounded like a perfect match! Their stories are almost identical, they both lost their cage mates due to old age, they’re both lonely, they’re both the same age, and they’re both very submissive.
“We decided within 24 hours of reading Greg’s article that we would like to take him on.”
And so, after three months in Blue Cross care, Greg went to start his new life with Sophie.
“Since having Greg with us, he and our lone female, Sophie, are very much in love! It couldn’t have worked out any more perfectly than it did," added Natalie.
Hannah Wiltshire, Rehoming Manager at Blue Cross Burford, said: “We’re so happy to have helped Greg to find his perfect match.
“Degus, like many small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs, really don’t cope well on their own, and we had noticed Greg was very subdued after losing his companion, so we’re delighted to have found him a new love and to see him and Sophie getting on so well together.”
