Confused And Annoyed

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Pepperdog said:
Maybe you didn't pass their requirements as I phoned them about adopting silver, was called back a few days later, got a yes there and then but still had the home check done later the following week as it was a year since I adopted flash from my local RSPCA who didn't have any single neutered boars to go in the herd. Then a week after that I went to pick him up.

I found Walsall RSPCA to be very friendly and helpful and I don't particularly appreciate you giving such a bad impression of a lovely and well run rescue
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When I first rang the Walsall RSPCA branch about adopting a pig off their website I did speak to a very friendly girl who was keen to do a home visit, she said she would call me back to arrange it and gave me a day she would ring during the evening, I waited for her call but it never came so I kept ringing and got no reply. I left a message several times saying how keen we were still but I never got a call back. There's only so many times your going to try.
 
I completely understand the need to stop unwanted litters through neutering but the point I'm trying to make is that occasionally a situation should be taken into consideration. We have a lovely placid boy who is depressed because he needs a cage mate so surely if a boar comes in who might be suitable the possibility of him being able to live with Cookie should be considered? Isn't that putting an animals welfare first?
 
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Can I please remind all posters that I will have to close down this thread if it descends into a mud slinging operation.

Various rescues have various policies; these have usually come from some very bad experiences - most often at the cost of lives and immense suffering. It is worth keeping that in mind.

@Amysmom, not all cases will always fit, but it is in the discretion of the rescue to decide whether to make an exception or not. This is obviously much easier for a small private rescue than a big organsiation like the RSPCA where this can set a dangerous precedent. If you are not happy with the RSPCA, then you will have to look elsewhere.

Have you at all spoken to the RSPCA Walsall yet about what boars they have in and whether they have a suitable candidate? Rescues are usually very busy places; you may have to try several times with some and be patient.

As to the private rescues I have mentioned, I don't have a car, but I have rehomed from all of them, dated at several of them (including the RSPCA Walsall) and have on occasion gone much further abroad. It is up to you how far you want to go, but it is well worth considering going a bit further afield.
 
Wiebke, thank you for,your advice. I haven't actually spoken with anyone at Walsall RSPCA but I did leave a message, naturally I am going to go by my past experiences with them. I will be ringing our vet after the bank holiday-she knows a lady who rescues Piggys and has around 30 so hopefully she might be able to help us, she also is very keen to see Cookie with a cage mate again too. We hate seeing Cookie not being himself so we don't really want to wait too long. There is a small farm shop nearby who occasionally has baby Piggys and you can return them if things don't work out (we had one from them many many years ago before we knew any better and he lived until he was 8)so that would be our last resort. We just want to see Cookie happy again and living with the friend he deserves to have.
 
I hope everything works out @Amysmom .

I can understand why this is very stressful for you but at least you have some plans progressing.
 
Sometimes you have to look further afield for a compatible pig, I've done an 8 hour round trip for bonding before, and it was definitely the right choice
 
Just a thought but maybe a neutered boar may be a good idea because after Cookie passes on you would have a neutered boar who you could pair up with your girls? Anyway good luck, it can't be easy & if you end up with a baby boy to keep him company you could always get him neutered later on yourself :)
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Just a thought but maybe a neutered boar may be a good idea because after Cookie passes on you would have a neutered boar who you could pair up with your girls? Anyway good luck, it can't be easy & if you end up with a baby boy to keep him company you could always get him neutered later on yourself :)
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I totally agree, a neutered boar would be great because as you say once Cookie passes on the boar that's left could go in with the girls but RSPCA 'rules' are that they don't let boars live together.
 
As stated, the RSPCA Walsall will date any rescue born baby boars with full boars. Please ring and message again to see whether they have a suitable companion. Because they are quite stretched volunteer-wise, they take a bit of time to come back, but they come back to you.

Seeing farm shop piggies in the pregnancy section rather too often for the percentage of members having acquired them, it is not a place I would get a piggy from.
 
Amysmom said:
I totally agree, a neutered boar would be great because as you say once Cookie passes on the boar that's left could go in with the girls but RSPCA 'rules' are that they don't let boars live together.
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They're not "rules", they're rules plain and simple and they have them for a reason, they're not going to spend their much needed funds on neutering unnecessarily so I'm sure it's a decision that the RSPCA haven't taken lightly.

There are plenty of other rescues out there if you have an issue with the RSPCA branches https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/pages/guinea-pig-rescue-locator/
 
I hope everything goes well with you. I had so many issues with rescues so I ended up rehoming privately through a friend of a friend's Mum who rescues a lot of free to good home piggies. It's a very frustrating process.

If you chose to go to a pet shop then please don't feel guilty. Your piggies needs come first after all.

Good luck and please feel free to message me if you ever need to vent or someone to talk to

~ Amy
 
*Nibbles&Nugget* said:
I hope everything goes well with you. I had so many issues with rescues so I ended up rehoming privately through a friend of a friend's Mum who rescues a lot of free to good home piggies. It's a very frustrating process.

If you chose to go to a pet shop then please don't feel guilty. Your piggies needs come first after all.

Good luck and please feel free to message me if you ever need to vent or someone to talk to

~ Amy
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Thank you Amy.
I agree our pigs needs must come first and now the warm weather is here Cookie is yearning to be back outside-he was always an outdoor piggy but we don't want to put him back outside without a buddy. He gets loads of human contact on a daily basis and is such a cheeky boy but of course human contact only isn't enough. He does hear the girls because they are at the other side of the room and we feel so sad for him when he listens to the girls chatting away and he's on his own.
 
Interes
Dashiman said:
I find that a terrible shame, although I do understand the sentiment, particularly with some dogs castration does them no favours on the behaviour front and some owners grown up enough to have an entire male and not let him breed. If they fall on hard times does the RSPCA demand their animals suffer or put them through an unnecessary operation before they will treat them for example a simple ear infection?
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Interesting question that requires an answer.

I would also be interested to know if many pigs in their care don't recover well from being neutered.
 
Amysmom said:
Interes


Interesting question that requires an answer.

I would also be interested to know if many pigs in their care don't recover well from being neutered.
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Yes... I've had clients that needed to go to the RSPCA for emergency treatment for poisoning, the RSPCA said yes, that's fine, as long as we can neuter them. The people refused. Surely if you love your pet that much, neutering is a small price to pay for massively reduced cost treatment in an emergency? The soul reason that the aforementioned person refused, was because they wanted to breed. Says it all really.
 
I understand there are people out there who want to breed their animal and personally i think dogs should be spade/neutered, there was no decision to make when we had our Shih Tzu 9 years ago, when she was the right age she was neutered. My parents however, who always had male dogs never had them done, my dad refused (didnt really know why) but there was no intention to breed them and they never did.

Is it fair though if an animal who came in stressed with an illness as it is had to go through neutering too? Wouldn't that be a lot for an animal to cope with, as an owner with an ill animal you wouldn't want to put it through too much suffering.
 
Amysmom said:
Is it fair though if an animal who came in stressed with an illness as it is had to go through neutering too? Wouldn't that be a lot for an animal to cope with, as an owner with an ill animal you wouldn't want to put it through too much suffering.
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A lot of people do opt for more than one operation at a time, for example, i see alot of people that come in for neutering and get a bit of dental done too while they're at it, or have x-rays and neutering done as it does save money as a large cost of operations is the anaesthetic that they're put under so just paying for one can be a good cost effective way to have your animal neutered.

However it is one of those things where there is some surgical procedures that take enough toll on the animal as it is without chopping their bits off in the process, such as orthopaedics etc. A lot of the time it comes down to whether its safe enough to keep them under a bit longer for the neutering, although it is a quick process :)
 
Amysmom said:
I understand there are people out there who want to breed their animal and personally i think dogs should be spade/neutered, there was no decision to make when we had our Shih Tzu 9 years ago, when she was the right age she was neutered. My parents however, who always had male dogs never had them done, my dad refused (didnt really know why) but there was no intention to breed them and they never did.

Is it fair though if an animal who came in stressed with an illness as it is had to go through neutering too? Wouldn't that be a lot for an animal to cope with, as an owner with an ill animal you wouldn't want to put it through too much suffering.
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I guess if you want greatly reduced cost treatment because you can't afford vets fees and dont have insurance, that's a decision that needs to be made. The alternative is euthanasia
 
I don't plan to ever neuter my boys. Not for any other reason than the fact I do not trust any vets to do it. No matter how good they are, things can still go wrong and I've heard far too many horror stories than to risk their lives. Especially if they are already ill. I just could not put them through that. It's unnecessary as I'll never put them with girl piggies.

Luckily, I have my 'Piggy Bank' vet fund and I know my parents would help if I was in serious need so I will never be forced to make that the decision but my heart really goes out to anyone who does find themselves in that position.

~ Amy
 
*Nibbles&Nugget* said:
I don't plan to ever neuter my boys. Not for any other reason than the fact I do not trust any vets to do it. No matter how good they are, things can still go wrong and I've heard far too many horror stories than to risk their lives. Especially if they are already ill. I just could not put them through that. It's unnecessary as I'll never put them with girl piggies.

Luckily, I have my 'Piggy Bank' vet fund and I know my parents would help if I was in serious need so I will never be forced to make that the decision but my heart really goes out to anyone who does find themselves in that position.

~ Amy
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I totally agree.
RSPCA must loose some pigs through neutering if they neuter on the scale they seem to do.
 
Well I have 5 boys , 3 and a 2 and none of them are neutered, so I don't understand why RSPCA are anti this as mine all live happily together.
All mine are from rescue centres, and introduced to the older boys when they were babys- yes I get the odd squabble but on the whole they live together happily.
 
Actually we (Walsall RSPCA) have had approxiimately 50 piggies neutered over the last 12months and have lost 1. We aren't against boys living together we just do not do adult boar dating or rehome our neutered males to live with other males.
 
JanetH said:
Actually we (Walsall RSPCA) have had approxiimately 50 piggies neutered over the last 12months and have lost 1. We aren't against boys living together we just do not do adult boar dating or rehome our neutered males to live with other males.
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Wow that Is a fantastic sucess rate!
 
The numbers of rescue neutered boars with problems is actually generally extremely low because the neutering vets become very efficient and effective. Neutering clearly enhances the boars' chances of finding a home, especially as the majority of rescue boars are more difficult to bond hormonal teenagers.

By the way, no vet worth their salt will perform an additional procedure on any animal that he perceives at risk!
 
Wiebke said:
The numbers of rescue neutered boars with problems is actually generally extremely low because the neutering vets become very efficient and effective. Neutering clearly enhances the boars' chances of finding a home, especially as the majority of rescue boars are more difficult to bond hormonal teenagers.

By the way, no vet worth their salt will perform an additional procedure on any animal that he perceives at risk!
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We have a very good cavy savy vet and she is very against neutering Cookie even though she certainly has the capabilities.
 
JanetH said:
Actually we (Walsall RSPCA) have had approxiimately 50 piggies neutered over the last 12months and have lost 1. We aren't against boys living together we just do not do adult boar dating or rehome our neutered males to live with other males.
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So in effect your saying that you will not let somebody adopt a baby boar to live with an adult male. We were told by one of the RSPCA branches that 99% of boars end up fighting which our vet found shocking. She said its more like 99% of them get on okay.
 
No I am saying we do not do adult boar dating, which means we do not pair up 2 adult male guinea pigs. There are a number of people on this forum that have been to us and paired their adult piggy with one of our baby piggies. i
 
JanetH said:
No I am saying we do not do adult boar dating, which means we do not pair up 2 adult male guinea pigs. There are a number of people on this forum that have been to us and paired their adult piggy with one of our baby piggies. i
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I must have been misunderstood, its a baby piggy we want to ideally pair with Cookie with because he would accept a baby better. I didn't say we wanted an adult boar.
 
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Sara412 said:
Well I have 5 boys , 3 and a 2 and none of them are neutered, so I don't understand why RSPCA are anti this as mine all live happily together.
All mine are from rescue centres, and introduced to the older boys when they were babys- yes I get the odd squabble but on the whole they live together happily.
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RSPCA neuter so that there is no chance that any boars they rehome can be bred from. I can understand this policy and why it is in place, it is not from any behavior point of view.
 
sport_billy said:
RSPCA neuter so that there is no chance that any boars they rehome can be bred from. I can understand this policy and why it is in place, it is not from any behavior point of view.
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I completely understand this but the point I'm trying to make is that there are no exceptions at all. We have a 3 year old boy who after losing his cage mate that he was very close to is in need of a new cage mate because he is lonely. Surely if RSPCA don't want people in this situation to go to breeders (which they are trying to stop through neutering) they would consider an individual situation. That to me is putting an animals welfare first i.e Cookie.

I must add again-the email we received said nothing about them neutering all boars to stop breeding. It said they don't put boars together because 99% end up fighting-this was the reason they gave us.
 
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