How far would you travel for your dream pig?

Pigmamma

Pigmamma

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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What’s the furthest you or someone you know has traveled for their dream piggy? I have found one that is beyond perfect in my eyes but it’s a hell of a long way away!
 
I know @Wiebke has made some pretty long trips (often on public transport) to bring home piggies she felt she could offer a good home to.

Personally all of our guinea pigs have come from places less than 30 minutes away, but I did once travel from Switzerland to the UK to re-home a dog that I just 'knew' was destined to be mine. I flew over on a Monday, picked him up first thing Tuesday morning, and flew him back to Switzerland that evening.
 
Swissgreys said:
I know @Wiebke has made some pretty long trips (often on public transport) to bring home piggies she felt she could offer a good home to.

Personally all of our guinea pigs have come from places less than 30 minutes away, but I did once travel from Switzerland to the UK to re-home a dog that I just 'knew' was destined to be mine. I flew over on a Monday, picked him up first thing Tuesday morning, and flew him back to Switzerland that evening.
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Holy cow, that is one trip to hike for a little one but it's worth it for pets. Dogs are with you a long time; bet that trip was well worth it! That is a lucky baby.
 
I think the farthest I have driven is around an hour and half one way for Donald.
 
I’m looking at 3 hours each way but I keep thinking it’s just one day and then I’ll have him
 
Pigmamma said:
OMG what an amazing story! That’s incredible. Tell me about this special dog.
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The dog was a retired racing greyhound called Jet.
He had a very successful racing career, and his syndicate decided to keep him and use him for breeding once he retired from racing.
After a few years he was offered up for re-homing, but because of his size and very high prey drive he was constantly overlooked.

He had already been waiting for a home for almost 2 years (the syndicate paid for his place in a rescue kennel - this is wonderful but quite unusual) when one of the kennel staff contacted me to ask if I would be interested in giving him a home.
They were unaware that since I last re-homed a dog from them I had moved abroad, but I had previously taken on several less 'desirable' dogs from them - I was a sucker for the old and unwanted ones.

I told them I had moved from the UK to Switzerland, but I couldn't get Jet out of my mind.
A few months later I unexpectedly lost one of my other greyhounds (a young and previously healthy female) to a heart attack, and this left me with one very old greyhound on his own.
The problem was that this particular greyhound had lived in kennels for the first 10 years of his life with his brother, and had never, ever been without another greyhound as a companion.
After his brother died no one thought he would survive, but I convinced the kennels that had him to let me offer him the first (and only) home he would ever know. I just wanted this 10 year old dog to expereince the comforts of living in a home. He remained very institutionlised in many ways, but was probably the most rewarding dog I ever owned.
If it had been any other dog I would have let them live out their remaining time as a lone dog, but Buttons just couldn't be without a canine companion.
So I called the kennels and said if Jet was still available I would take him, as long as they could agree to him coming to live abroad.

It took a week or so to sort out the paperwork and flights, and the very first time I met him was the day he flew home with me.

Thankfully he and Buttons got on from the moment they met, and Jet was a wonderful addition to our family who enjoyed many happy years with us.
IMG_1219.webp
IMG_1228.webp
Jet in his crate being loaded onto the plane. I love the second photo of the ground staff squatting down to talk to Jet.
IMG_1251-copy.webp
Jet, the dark brindle (stripey!) dog in the garden with Buttons (my old boy who spent 10 years in kennels), on the day he finally arrived home.
 
That’s a truly remarkable story and what a beautiful ending. Some things are meant to be and it would seem this is exactly one of them xx
 
@Pigmamma it's less about how far you should travel and more about how far the pig can comfortably travel. Remember he's got to do the journey back with you!
 
Swissgreys said:
The dog was a retired racing greyhound called Jet.
He had a very successful racing career, and his syndicate decided to keep him and use him for breeding once he retired from racing.
After a few years he was offered up for re-homing, but because of his size and very high prey drive he was constantly overlooked.

He had already been waiting for a home for almost 2 years (the syndicate paid for his place in a rescue kennel - this is wonderful but quite unusual) when one of the kennel staff contacted me to ask if I would be interested in giving him a home.
They were unaware that since I last re-homed a dog from them I had moved abroad, but I had previously taken on several less 'desirable' dogs from them - I was a sucker for the old and unwanted ones.

I told them I had moved from the UK to Switzerland, but I couldn't get Jet out of my mind.
A few months later I unexpectedly lost one of my other greyhounds (a young and previously healthy female) to a heart attack, and this left me with one very old greyhound on his own.
The problem was that this particular greyhound had lived in kennels for the first 10 years of his life with his brother, and had never, ever been without another greyhound as a companion.
After his brother died no one thought he would survive, but I convinced the kennels that had him to let me offer him the first (and only) home he would ever know. I just wanted this 10 year old dog to expereince the comforts of living in a home. He remained very institutionlised in many ways, but was probably the most rewarding dog I ever owned.
If it had been any other dog I would have let them live out their remaining time as a lone dog, but Buttons just couldn't be without a canine companion.
So I called the kennels and said if Jet was still available I would take him, as long as they could agree to him coming to live abroad.

It took a week or so to sort out the paperwork and flights, and the very first time I met him was the day he flew home with me.

Thankfully he and Buttons got on from the moment they met, and Jet was a wonderful addition to our family who enjoyed many happy years with us.
View attachment 86352
View attachment 86353
Jet in his crate being loaded onto the plane. I love the second photo of the ground staff squatting down to talk to Jet.
View attachment 86354
Jet, the dark brindle (stripey!) dog in the garden with Buttons (my old boy who spent 10 years in kennels), on the day he finally arrived home.
Click to expand...
That’s a lovely story.I love a happy ending x
 
My Ebony and Ivory travelled for almost 5 hours to get to me. They came up to the West Midlands from the Isle of Wight! I needed a nice calm, docile baby that could be bonded to Bramble and Ebony has been the perfect match.
 
Last weekend we drove 4 1/2 hours each way to collect Mavis and Peggy from Little Pip's in Devon. Well worth the trip, they are both adorable.
They were a little stressed by the journey (on a very hot day) but i sat in the back of the car next to their carrier to keep an eye on them. Once they were in their new home they settled in quite quickly.
 
Remember as well if you don't fancy driving, there are always pet couriers who can bring the piggy to you. Just make sure they're a reputable one that has traveled piggies before.
 
@Pigmamma have you checked with the breeder whether this pig is still available. They have been using that same image on their adverts on free ad sites for a little while now so you would need to check that he's actually available before considering (I know the picture cos it's local to me)
 
Swissgreys said:
The dog was a retired racing greyhound called Jet.
He had a very successful racing career, and his syndicate decided to keep him and use him for breeding once he retired from racing.
After a few years he was offered up for re-homing, but because of his size and very high prey drive he was constantly overlooked.

He had already been waiting for a home for almost 2 years (the syndicate paid for his place in a rescue kennel - this is wonderful but quite unusual) when one of the kennel staff contacted me to ask if I would be interested in giving him a home.
They were unaware that since I last re-homed a dog from them I had moved abroad, but I had previously taken on several less 'desirable' dogs from them - I was a sucker for the old and unwanted ones.

I told them I had moved from the UK to Switzerland, but I couldn't get Jet out of my mind.
A few months later I unexpectedly lost one of my other greyhounds (a young and previously healthy female) to a heart attack, and this left me with one very old greyhound on his own.
The problem was that this particular greyhound had lived in kennels for the first 10 years of his life with his brother, and had never, ever been without another greyhound as a companion.
After his brother died no one thought he would survive, but I convinced the kennels that had him to let me offer him the first (and only) home he would ever know. I just wanted this 10 year old dog to expereince the comforts of living in a home. He remained very institutionlised in many ways, but was probably the most rewarding dog I ever owned.
If it had been any other dog I would have let them live out their remaining time as a lone dog, but Buttons just couldn't be without a canine companion.
So I called the kennels and said if Jet was still available I would take him, as long as they could agree to him coming to live abroad.

It took a week or so to sort out the paperwork and flights, and the very first time I met him was the day he flew home with me.

Thankfully he and Buttons got on from the moment they met, and Jet was a wonderful addition to our family who enjoyed many happy years with us.
View attachment 86352
View attachment 86353
Jet in his crate being loaded onto the plane. I love the second photo of the ground staff squatting down to talk to Jet.
View attachment 86354
Jet, the dark brindle (stripey!) dog in the garden with Buttons (my old boy who spent 10 years in kennels), on the day he finally arrived home.
Click to expand...

Good for you! Back in my younger days I helped with the Buffalo NY Greyhound society. It broke my heart to be with these beautiful, graceful animals and see how they are discarded. Luckily, there were a lot of people like yourself whom came every weekend to the park and adopted when they had their events. I'm not sure if it's still so bad here (and I hope not) but back then, we saw many tracks that just got rid of them in the worst way once they were retired (and some were only around a year when they weren't able to race any more).

I'm certain the cost was significant for you but really, just good for you for doing this for them. I know here in America, we have organizations that will sell supplies for greyhounds and accessories which they use a lot of the proceeds to help with the organization costs and still keep up with them. Greyhounds are just such special pets.

You have some gorgeous babies there.
 
Lady Kelly said:
@Pigmamma have you checked with the breeder whether this pig is still available. They have been using that same image on their adverts on free ad sites for a little while now so you would need to check that he's actually available before considering (I know the picture cos it's local to me)
Click to expand...
Actually Lady Kelly makes a good point. If you haven't dealt with this person before, and they are not a recommended rescue then I would seriously consider going in person to make sure the pig you are getting is exactly the one you want. It will also allow you ro see where he comes from, etc.
If you are worried about the distances, maybe drive up one day and stay overnight somewhere nearby before collecting the piggy the followig morning.
 
I’ve decided it’s just too far to go. As much as I would love that piggy I can’t warrant such a journey
 
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