I find it hard and sad for rescues

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Salt n Peppers mum

Salt n Peppers mum

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As some of you may know I foster guinea pigs for BARC. And I feel really fed up that the guinea pigs in rescue get overlooked.
I'm not preaching, I just feel a bit down today and I was looking at the forum and feeling that the 'Pet Shop bought guinea pigs, the 'free to a good home guinea pigs' seem to get snapped up within a week and dedicated Guinea Pig rescues are left *Bumping up threads of piggies that are desperate to find their forever home after having a rotten start in life. :(

I know all piggies deserve a good home, where ever they come from, but with this being a rescue friendly forum I thought a lot more people would be only too willing to look at a rescue when they are on the look out for their next piggie.

Just look at 'Fidget' one of my neutered Boars that was here for 8 month, me bumping up threads, posting gorgeous photos of the cheeky little man.... his wait was worth it as he has now found his perfect home... but I doubt that a pet shop would have piggies in so long otherwise they would have made the desicion to stop selling them (Hooray!)

If you go to a dedicated piggie rescue, like the rescues that post on this forum, you get a healthy piggie, lifetime help and piggie dating included for a small donation and to offer a good home.

Rescue do a brilliant job, unpaid volunteers that see some real awful cruelty cases and once a healthy rescue pig is re-homed we have space for another decerning piggie.
Just look back on my threads - one case recently of Kevin and Perry. We had a phone call from the member of the public, she had found 2 piggies could we take them...she said she could hang onto them for a while, so we said we could hopefully take them once we had space but it might take a week or 2. Thank godness we rehomed a piggie so space was available for Kevin and Perry to come in, little did we know the state Kevin was in he would have died within hours I'm sure if he didnt come in that very night. He was 326g and looked like an very poorly hunched up hamster compared to his brother Perry who was twice the size :(
The lady didnt realise anything was wrong as he was always sat over the food bowl he was desperatley trying to eat the nuggets but his teeth were so over grown he was basically starving to death.
Thankfully we got him in time, but how many more could we have let down because piggies are so slow to rehome.

All the piggies we have had in to rehome are young, even some sows have had babies after arriving at the rescue so its not that babies arn't available.

Yes it might take a week or two to e-mail, check the home is to meet the needs of the piggies, but thats a good thing, because at least then it can be seen that the new owners arnt getting the new piggies on a whim and they have thought it through?

It would be interesting to hear your thought?


barclogo-1.jpg

Foster carer and piggie slave
 
Extremely well said and i agree with all you're saying.
Having just started a new job I've come into contact with alot of new people and everyone i talk to about my volunteering work at Windwhistle Warren say that they didn't realise there were rescues out there for guineas and rabbits. I think if you're in the know then Yes rescue rescue rescue - i can't understand why people wouldn't unless there were none near to then and no chance of piggy train.
I really do think that somehow we all need to get together and advertise that small animal rescues exist to the rest of the non pig savvy population. X
 
I totally agree with you. Obviously as the vast majority of my piggies are from there I only have knowledge about Milhaven but if you saw Joanne's last thread you'd have seen that there are three gorgeous ginger ladies there that people are overlooking "for better looking piggies". They're just tugging at my heartstrings right now but I think I'd get told off. I stalk her website to the point where I could easily be accused of being obsessive, in the hope that piggies that have been there a long time have *reserved* above their name and when they do I'm just so pleased for them. There are a pair of boars there that I think were up, or were added just after, when I got my first two rescue pigs (in APRIL!). It makes me so sad that it takes rescues so long to adopt out some piggies (I honestly couldn't believe a boar like Fidget was with you for so long!) but pet shop piggies get snapped up. I think free to a good home piggies are slightly different as they need new homes too (I have one that I rehomed from a member here), but I definitely see where you're coming from.

I used to get my piggies from pet shops and I'm not ashamed to admit it, but now I know about rescues (and especially Milhaven as they're the closest to me) I will always go the rescue route. Thanks to Joanne I've got 13 lovely rescue piggies, some of which had a less than ideal start to life, and I hope they think they've got a lovely home too. Now, if we ever hear that friends/family want guinea pigs I will always point rescues out first to them in the hope that they too see that they can find the perfect piggies there. It may take more time, but the feeling at the end of it when you have your lovely piggies knowing that they've come from something less than ideal to being with you is amazing. I'd do that any day.

Knowing that I've been able to offer these piggies a home is fantastic and I also love that my adoption fees have been going towards their care, and allowing more piggies to get the help they need. The money I paid for my pet shop piggies went to the pet shop owners pockets - which is my fault, not the piggies, but I'd much rather know that it was going to a worthwhile cause. It's not enough though and one day I'd like to be able to do more - donate more or even start rescuing myself.

Also, I have every respect for rescues, and the people that volunteer their time to help these piggies. The piggies I and others have from them are happy and healthy. But we didn't see some of them when they came in. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to rescue. The dedication it takes to bring some of these piggies back, and the heartbreak which all to often accompanies it, takes a certain type of person to deal with and I take my hat off to you guys. You do a brilliant job.

At the end of the day I'm a rescue only girl now when it comes to my piggies. I'm going to do my best to highlight the plight of rescue piggies in the hope that people that are looking at pigs as a pet go rescue. The piggies so deserve it. :)
 
Reputable rescues do an amaaaaazing job, that's for sure!

I wonder how many people are put off by the home check etc. Of course these procedures should be in place, rightly so, but I imagine that it puts a lot of people off because they are either unable/unwilling to conform to the strict criteria (especially min hutch/cage sizes) or are just generally not keen on someone coming round to 'inspect' their home.

I don't think that the rules should be relaxed at all but I wonder if there's any way to get the message across better about why the homechecks etc are so vital and why the guidelines are so strict.

I agree that most people don't even realise that piggy rescues exist, so that's also a huge obstacle :(
 
I've lost count of how may times on here I have heard 'There was this poor little piggie on its own in the pet shop and I just couldn't leave it there' well actually they could leave it there instead of lining the pockets of the shop and give a rescue pig a home.
 
I couldn't agree with you more. I would have loved to rescue a piggy and have them already bonded but where I live there aren't any Guinea Pig rescues so I got both my boys from the pet store and LUCKY enough they are both healthy happy boys who are living together and I didn't have to separate them.
 
I completely agree...all my animals are rescues, not just the pigs. They've either come from a rescue, or in the case of the 2 daves, boxy and the chameleon, I've taken them directly from a neglectful situation.

I'm an avid supporter if any independent rescue too, as national rescues get so much support, it's the small independent rescues that struggle
 
I know this is a rescue friendly forum, but hopefully not a "rescue only" forum rolleyes

It's very tricky for someone like myself who hasn't got easy access to a good rescue. I have tried to get some rescue piggies before; once was from Wood Green Animal Shelter who had very strict requirements that at the time we just couldn't meet. Then we tried bonding one of our first pair of sows whose friend had passed away. This lady ran a rescue & had all her piggies freerange in her garden, she insisted we keep ours the same way (which we couldn't do for fear of foxes) & she "bonded" our piggy with a female who after we brought her home with ours, attacked ours so viciously it tore our poor piggie's mouth. :( Because we wanted a friend for her asap, we resorted to a Pet shop because by then we were so shaken & we didn't know about pet shop piggies & how they are bred. So I feel we had no option as our piggy was pining for her friend. Unfortunately our girly died not long after finding her friend & yet again we had a rush to get another, which we did, from a breeder who was actually recommended to us by a rescue who didn't have any babies!

Now I do not recommend getting piggies from breeders, but for us I feel we did the right thing, & in my opinion not all breeders are awful, we did a lot of homework & have seen piggies in rescues as well, & we have seen one breeder who frankly had so many it was awful & we were truly shocked :( although they were well cared for & well fed. On the other hand we have seen a couple of caring ones too. Our last piggy we lost in June was from a breeder & she was 7 years old, so she was actually the oldest one we'd ever had. Knowing how Pet shops breed theirs has put us off for life so we avoid them as much as we can, in case we are tempted rolleyes

One of the only rescues we would consider rehoming from would be Milhaven as Joanne is wonderful, but it is just such a long way from us. We would really have liked to have made several visits to see some of her piggies but we can't get there as & when we want. We didn't want older piggies as my OH was adamant he didn't want to have to bury another piggy for a long long time, & took some persuading to agree to even think about getting any more. We get so attached we are devastated when they die :( So we have donated from wish lists for Milhaven & Suzy & will continue to support rescues whenever we can.
I have found this forum a great support after losing my piggie. Hopefully this all makes some sense, & at the end of the day we all want to fall in love with that special piggy who will always have a place in our hearts, no matter where we find them :)
 
Poppy'sMum said:
I know this is a rescue friendly forum, but hopefully not a "rescue only" forum rolleyes/QUOTE]

WSS! I have no doubt in my mind that rescue is the best option. I would have loved to rescue a friend for either Dansak and Max. My first piggies were a resuce pair.

I think sometimes rescue's requirements are offputting - strict criteria on what to do in winter or whether you have kids, homechecks etc. I think i'd rather they had guidelines, but then could apply them with flexibiity based on the potential owners situation and the rescue discerning if the partnership could work.

Rescue policies re boars are offputting too....many simply state that i must have my boar neutered and find him a wife. No discussion of the fact he could be paird up with another boy.

Location is an issue too. There isn't much currently in my area.

There are rescues within an hour and a half of me....one of whom even did boar dating, but no match in spite of Al's hard work(thank you al!). In an ideal world I'd be driving to a rescue on the weekend which is a few hours away, but with a husband who is out of the house at least 12 hours a day mon to fri, school runs at 9, 12 and 3, commitments at church on a sunday and a 3 year old and a 5 year old, that leaves me with one day in which to do that. And actually I make no apologies about the fact that I'm not going to be doing a 6 hour round trip when we could spend precious family time.

If guinea savvy rescues were more widespread accross the country I'd be there like a shot. For us though it was about the need to balance Dansak's clear lonliness (and thus speed of finding a friend) with the desire to rescue rather than buy. If I'd have been looking for a pair/not trying to find a friend for a lonley piggy maybe i'd have waited for my local resuce to have one in.
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I'm very rescue friendly but I don't look down my nose at people who buy from a pet shop either. My rabbits Archie and Blanche and guineas Gladys and Rita all came from pet stores and I wouldn't change/changed them for the world. Gladys sadly was the standard case of pet store neglect and came to us with an underlying illness which sadly took her to the bridge. Blanche was in perfect health for over a year and a half until a bout of GI statis took her from us. And Archie and Rita are in perfect health, touch wood.

I have got rescue buns and guinea pigs as well and once again, I wouldn't change them for the world.

I myself didn't fit into the RSPCA criteria as my rabbits were to live in a double tier 5x2ft hutch and then have access to a 9ftx8ft run every single day. The run wasn't permanently attached, but inside the run their was a spare hutch as a base. The RSCPA said that this wasn't good enough and refused to even home check me. I then went to rescue number two who took in rabbits from RSCPA branch I previously spoke to, to help lighten the load. The rabbits/guineas at rescue number two were living in a fly filled garage, in small breeder style hutches (they were [*]not[/*] being breed from), on sawdust in horrible conditions with no access to a run or space to even hop about. The people at rescue 2 explained some rabbits had been with them for over 6months. 6months in a tiny cage, in a smelly environment ... that's acceptable? I think not. We didn't even stick around at the rescue as a. the conditions weren't something we believed to be acceptable and b. if I'm honest we were slightly annoyed that we'd failed a home check but that had been deemed acceptable.

In the end we went to another rescue and took the lovely Lois the rabbit home with us. They had guidelines when it came to housing animals, not strict rules. I wouldn't even bother looking at my local RSPCA and related rescue again as their attitude made me feel like a substandard owner, which I know isn't the case thanks to exotic vets telling me my animals are in perfect health.

Just to play devil's advocate do you sometimes think some people feel a bit patronized by rescues? The questioning, the home checks and the possibility of being turned down might be too much for some people. For instance people who have young children go to rescue and set heart on adorable baby bunny/guinea pig. The impatient children then have to wait for a few days/week or so for home check day, all the while buying toys for their new baby, maybe giving it a name, building themselves up. Home check comes and go and they fail. Said children are very upset. Parents decide they have to go and get a rabbit/guinea pig right now ... where is there a supply of readily available rabbits and guinea pigs? Pets at home.

I understand why rescues do it and it's all in the best interests of the animals, which obviously should be the main priority. I'm just bringing it from another point of view for people to ponder on.
 
It has been really interesting to hear your views. Thank you very much for spending the time to share your experiences.

Reading your experiences opens up lots more questions and thoughts…..?/ And I think my thoughts will drift into other questions during the day. So I will be adding to this thread, but for now I would really like to hear your views about what Missy and Zez have touched upon, homechecks, does it put potential owners off if they are asked what accommodation the piggies would live in? Has it put people off rescuing because it feels like are being ‘judged’? Do you think rescues have too strict criteria?
There is concerns about maybe larger rescues have more of a blanket rehoming policy – rather than looking at the individual home offered and the needs of the animal itself, however basic rehoming policies have to be in place too to guarantee the 5 freedoms set out by animal welfare organisations.

Home size
We all know how much piggies like to run and popcorn which = space
I’ve seen the beautiful piggie homes from picture on this forum from our members, we all seem to strive to give the biggest home we can manage – although Pet shops don’t do us any favours by selling tiny cages – this is where education via the pet stores (not just animal welfare organisations) could help to promote too.
It is in the best interest for animals to have adequate space for physical health as well as their mental health.
So the rescue asks for minimum 4ft by 2ft for a pair – with added exercise time
I think education and reinforcing the minimum cage sizes is paramount and the ‘big beefs’ that could/should help get behind this is the companies that make, and sell the cages.

Some people seem to have bad experiences or bad advice given to them by 'Rescues'. Assent to add not seemingly by the rescues that are members on here. Zez has been given advice by a rescue that her boy needed to be neutered to be able to find a friend – as we all know this forum actively promotes ‘Boar dating’ So it seems again, education and knowledge is call upon.

What else...... @) Mmmmmmm
 
I think a rescue needs to provide exemplary care as mentioned in my previous post to be turned down by a rescue, then to see them fostering out guinea pigs and rabbits to another rescue where they reside in terrible conditions is laughable.

I'm not criticizing anyone in particular here so I don't want anyone to feel judged but if a rescue requires a 4x2ft hutch with attached 6x4ft run for example, then the rescue itself should have that sort of accommodation. It is out of order in my opinion for rescues to ask for one thing but do the other themselves. Especially when you get some long termers who could be there for 6/7/8months.

Like I said I am [*]not[/*] aiming this at anyone other than the rescue I viewed personally and as far as I am aware they are not a member on this forum.
 
I should add that it isn't homechecks per se that I object to - of course its necessary to see that he cage is big enough etc. but i was made to feel by one rescue that i was really putting her out to have to travel the 3 miles to my house to homecheck me and she wasn't willing to work with me to find a time that was convenient to us BOTH. If i choose a far away rescue home checks become much harder for all. the first rescue i used was happy to see photos, measurements of my set up and the situation around it since i was over an hour away. A good compromise?
 
agreed youthnovels. I can see a situation where a person could be turned down if their planned cage was say a double ferplast 100 - doesn't meet the 4 by 2. Though a couple of rescues i have seen certainly had some hutches smaller that that due to space constraits and trying to fit in as many hutches to help as many animals as possible. So a pig waits in resuce, in a hutch smaller than the 4 by 2, because a loving home in want of a pig can only provide a double ferplast 100. Never mind that the potential forever home naturally can offer more free play time due to the rescue as they only have 2 guineas to look after, not 40! Afraid it doesn't always make sense to me. Of course you rescues do an amazing job, its just that not all rescues are the same and offer such exemplary comditions...
 
zez said:
agreed youthnovels. I can see a situation where a person could be turned down if their planned cage was say a double ferplast 100 - doesn't meet the 4 by 2. Though a couple of rescues i have seen certainly had some hutches smaller that that due to space constraits and trying to fit in as many hutches to help as many animals as possible. So a pig waits in resuce, in a hutch smaller than the 4 by 2, because a loving home in want of a pig can only provide a double ferplast 100. Never mind that the potential forever home naturally can offer more free play time due to the rescue as they only have 2 guineas to look after, not 40! Afraid it doesn't always make sense to me. Of course you rescues do an amazing job, its just that not all rescues are the same and offer such exemplary comditions...
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Exactly, I guess it's hard for rescues to decipher who is a good owner though and who is going to leave the animal cooped up in the substandard cage when the novelty wears off.

I can see it from both points of views really so although my posts seem to be attacking rescues, I'm honestly not. Just being a normal person whose never ran a rescue, I only really have my own experiences to post about.

Very interested to see some of the rescues point of views though about what myself and zez have posted about :)
 
Yeah, i probably come across as a rescue basher now, which i'm honestly not at all. I guess I've just had a couple of experiences with resuces (one small animal, and one breed specific dog rescue) which seem to have a kind of "guilty until proven innocent" attitude....you know, assuming you don't want the best for your pets, when really i'd have thought any one who really didn't give a monkeys about their pets welfare probably has an easier way to get hold of a pet than via rescue. I appreciate my negative experinces have clouded my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong though and there are people who will go to the trouble of seeking out a rescue only to neglect/abuse an animal, so I'm happy to stand corrected.
 
Sometimes rescues and the rspca have too strci criteria. I dont particulary want anyone coming to my house to mooch about,i can get any animal i want from many other sources without them coming to my house.
There is the cost,most rescues and certainly the rspca charge for their animals when there are 1000's on offer free to good home on countless websites and in local free ads papers. Some people will say of you cant afford to buy a pet from rescue/rspca then you cant afford to own one,thats rubbish. Ive had 7 rabbits and a guinea pig , none were ever neutered or vaccinated and they all lived long lives, only trips to the vets were to have a couple of rabbits pts and one had to have his teeth done.
I know a lot on there type of forums will say i dont care if ive never had my animals neutered or vaccinated but the idea is to give them a similar lifestyle that they would have in the wild,you dont see any neutered wild animals anywhere. If your wonereding i never bred from any of my rabbits except one accidental litter of 2 babies (was 3 but one the mother killed) which we kept.
On the subject of hutch/run sizes we dont have a run,our current guinea pig has the run of the whole garden for a few hours a day,under supervision of course. We bought him a large 2 tier indoor cage but he wouldnt take to it,just sat in in frightened to death and wouldnt move for hours. Put him back in his own 80cm indoor cage and he was as happy as larry.
 
I know people don't agree with some of what we do or don't do, but we always do a home visit, I personally don't think photos are good enough, anyone could take photos of accomadtion of the internet, and until you have been to someones house to talk to them it is hard to be able to tell who is genuine and who isn't.

I guess being the RSPCA we do have alot more calls than some of the smaller/piggy only rescues but we do turn down quite a few people, and I have failed some homevisits.

As for accomadtion all our pairs / single piggies are in at least 4ft x 2ft hutches and trios are in 5ft x 2ft hutches. All bunnies are in 6ft hutches.

I do find it frustrated that people don't come to rescues, Scooby Doo has been with us over 3 months now, and we haven't had one serious enquiry about him.

As for an adoption fee, without asking for one, we wouldn't be able to take in any more animals it is as simple as that.
 
Interesting subject that about rescues housing the piggies in at least the minimum standards –
From my own view point – absolutely! If rescues are recommending a 4ft by 2ft cage, then this is the bare minimum they should house them in the rescue – or in my case foster carers.
I myself don’t have many foster piggies because I like to give individual attention and room, I like to temporary house boars so that I don’t have to worry about floor time and female smells for my bonded pairs to fall out. – Tyko for instance is a single male housed in a c&c cage measuring 2 grids by 4 grids which is 2 and a half foot by 5 ft., he gets outdoor grass time, weather permitting in a min 5ft by 5ft run (sometime a 7 ft. depending what is available), free range floor time inside and extra cuddles from all the family including my own young children – supervised of course.
Angie is the rehoming co-ordinator at BARC has 6ft by 2ft hutches for the rabbits she rehomes from her back garden, as well as a wooden playhouse, as well as a 12ft by 6ft dog kennel/run – it is definitely the rescues responsibility to show good housing setups within the rescue to promote and again, yes my favourite word of the day, Educate.

There was a debate about this on the Rabbit Forum too which was an interesting read.
 
In the past have been made to feel a bit like "well you do have to have this pair or that pair" when enquiring about rescuing (not from any of the rescues on here I might add) when sadly I do feel that although it may be difficult to choose as such, I have to feel a connection with the piggy I go to look at. If I don't feel I could grow to love it, then I don't see the point in taking it home as it wouldn't get the home it deserved. I don't want a posh piggy but one that does catch my eye it doesn't have to be perfect :) If there are no reputable rescues near someone does that mean they should remain piggyless forever? :( That's very sad. If they are careful to check where they get their piggies from, look at the conditions they live in, how many there are living there etc then surely that is a responsible owner that will give their piggies a good life?

I also have a problem in that most rescues only rehome bonded pairs, so you can't say get a piggy you may fall in love with then try to pair it with a rescue piggy, as they simply don't have many singles in rescues unless they don't get along with other piggies rolleyes
 
Poppy'sMum said:
In the past have been made to feel a bit like "well you do have to have this pair or that pair" when enquiring about rescuing (not from any of the rescues on here I might add) when sadly I do feel that although it may be difficult to choose as such, I have to feel a connection with the piggy I go to look at. If I don't feel I could grow to love it, then I don't see the point in taking it home as it wouldn't get the home it deserved. I don't want a posh piggy but one that does catch my eye it doesn't have to be perfect :) If there are no reputable rescues near someone does that mean they should remain piggyless forever? :( That's very sad. If they are careful to check where they get their piggies from, look at the conditions they live in, how many there are living there etc then surely that is a responsible owner that will give their piggies a good life?

I also have a problem in that most rescues only rehome bonded pairs, so you can't say get a piggy you may fall in love with then try to pair it with a rescue piggy, as they simply don't have many singles in rescues unless they don't get along with other piggies rolleyes
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The way we work is if they come in as part of a pair or trio then they are rehomed as such, but if they come in as a single then we keep them single and rehome them with another piggy. We only bond 2 piggies at the rescue if someone wants to offer them a home as a pair.
 
"I personally don't think photos are good enough, anyone could take photos of accomadtion of the internet, and until you have been to someones house to talk to them it is hard to be able to tell who is genuine and who isn't. "

nothing personal X-vic-x, i know you are just doing your job, but this is what i have an issue with, sorry to say. Its the "assume i am trying to get an animal by any means fair of foul". I guess I've always thougth that if someone is the kind of person to pinch photos of a good set up that isn't theirs in order to get a pair of rescues piggies adn then stick them in totally unsuitable housing, they probably aren't the kind or people to seek out a resuce piggy - rather they'd just go to a pet shop. I hate the assumption that i, or anyone else would bother to lie and try and defraud resuce, that i am that bad a person that i want my animals to knowingly suffer. I know there are bad people out there, but i just didn't see them getting their pets from genuine rescues. Maybe I'm wrong.

My judgement is clouded by an experience i have had with a dog resuce. I have italian greyhounds - tiny fraglile dogs - and a 3 adn 5 year old. I already had an iggy, kids were proven to be calm and safe around her. Was happy to have my home visited to attest to this fact and so rescue could see how my kids were around these fragile dogs. But no, all kids under 8 are too boisterous apparently adn my dogs were at risk. And with children, there will be toys everywhere that the dog will trip and hurt themselves on. I do not live like that! It was a blanket no, for another 5 years, guilty until proven innocent. So my lonely Belle (who clearly wanted a friend) should live as a single dog in the meantime. Needless to say I got a puppy from a breeder, all is well and I've proven myself a responsible owner, nursing one dog through a leg break (nothing to do with the kids!) and another through meningitis, steroids and chemo. WIth all the associated vets bills. Per rescue i am still an unsuitable owner.

Unfortunately SOME piggie rescues have made me feel like this...to a much lesser degree.
 
I think education and also style of communication is really key. I do feel for rescues as they have to deal with extremes - on one hand they are seeing really badly treated animals and rescuing from ill / sometimes cruel / sometimes just ignorant people. This must make them pretty sceptical about everyone. But then they have to appeal to good homes and hand over the animals they have just nursed back to health. The temptation must be to be almost overprotective because why should they trust people considering what they have just seen?:(

However, they do need to rehome and appeal to the caring people who are out there. I have read some rescue list of requirements and they can be really daunting and would, I believe put off some good homes especially if first time owners. This is why I went to a small breeder (sorry :{) for my first 2 piggies but have adopted 2 since.
But I think if they could communicate more with the rescue and in a more relaxed way, they may well find there is more flexibility eg different types of bedding, different hutch styles etc. But if they are put off by a really strict list of rules on a website they may never ring up to have that conversation.
 
but it is so hard to tell how big a hutch/cage is from a photo, I guess being a rescue you see the bad in people alot more than the good. Also maybe someone has a brand new 4ft hutch, but the garden doesn't have a secure fence and next door have a dog? there are lots of things you can't tell from a photo. One instance we had a child take a photo contact the rescue, when we got there to do the home visit the parents didn't want another piggy.

I wouldn't send my own animals to live somewhere without meeting the people first and seeing where they are going, so I'm not prepared to send my foster ones.
 
I don't think that anybody on here is so stuck up that they require every member on here to go to silly lengths to rehome guinea pigs from a rescue, but it would be nice if more people made a conscious effort to actually look and enquire at rescues within a reasonable reach. The problem is that other than piggies in pet shops or from freeads, rescue piggies are not as easy to get hold of and they do not give people the same feel good factor of having rescued a piggy themselves! The impulse factor is simply not to be underestimated - as is the appeal of a "pretty" piggy...

The reason why I always mention "reputable" rescues is that not all rescues are, and not all reputable rescues rehoming guinea pigs are experienced with them or aware of possible bonding problems/possibilities (I have made my own experiences on that score) or are keeping piggies the way they ask for.

Some rescues also have far too rigid requirements in terms of only allowing outdoors housing, access to lawn, no children etc. and somebody like me, who has a non-standard setup wouldn't be considered by quite a few rescues. That is a real pity! However, I still think that a homecheck is necessary and a good thing.

Sadly, requirements differ enormously between rescues, but it would be wrong to tar all rescues with the same brush, just because one had a bad experience with one. It would be good to remember that most of the questions or procedures are there to safeguard piggies who have had a bad experience already. On the other hand, it would be great if places could be more flexible in terms of non-standard setups if they found that all the other criteria were more than met.
 
Wiebke - very balanced posting. Thanks
xvicx - happy to stand corrected. I suppose, like you say, you see a lot more of the bad than the good.

I've certainly seen extremes of rescues some not so good, and one I only have good things to say about (even if the possible guinea and Dansak didn't want to be friends)
 
Wiebke - I love non-standard set ups - one of my foster piggie housing is a converted 1960's sideboard :))

DSCF9775.jpg


It's good to think 'outside the box' and be fexible with each potential new adoptor and the piggies too.
And its great when you know a piggy you've personnal nurtured as a scared, abused Guinea Pig has found a great home and is the most rewarding factors for me.
Once you've been through the process of fostering and attached a very special bond to the piggy that is finding a new home its often a case of thinking at the back of your mind would I rehome my own animals to this person?

I think this forum has excellent dedicated Guinea Pig rescues as members - again I think education has got to be key to make it better for the Piggies.
 
Salt n Peppers mum said:
Wiebke - I love non-standard set ups - one of my foster piggie housing is a converted 1960's sideboard :))

DSCF9775.jpg


It's good to think 'outside the box' and be fexible with each potential new adoptor and the piggies too.
And its great when you know a piggy you've personnal nurtured as a scared, abused Guinea Pig has found a great home and is the most rewarding factors for me.
Once you've been through the process of fostering and attached a very special bond to the piggy that is finding a new home its often a case of thinking at the back of your mind would I rehome my own animals to this person?

I think this forum has excellent dedicated Guinea Pig rescues as members - again I think education has got to be key to make it better for the Piggies.
Click to expand...

Thankfully, there are also plenty of rescues who WILL consider non-standard setups - as long as they get to know the people and can get an idea about the kind of life the piggies will be having.

I usually recommend people to ask all rescues within their reach for their specific requirements first, so they run less of a risk of failing a home check or be disappointed. But a lot depends on where you live; rescues are founded and run by volunteers, so it is often a matter of chance how many you can get to.

It certainly helps a lot being a forum member; rescues active on here can get to know you and you can find support from other forum members for rehoming from a rescue further away (piggy trains). I have rehomed piggies from as far as Gretna in Scotland, Suffolk and Crawley near Gatwick airport with the support of others and the rescue involved and am deeply grateful for that! A lot depends on to which lengths you are prepared to go.

It would also be good if forum members considered more what they would get in terms of support and service from a good resscue for the extra effort and wait: Healthy, handled piggies whose characters and specific issues are known. Well bonded pairs with a less high risk of fall outs; the support/backing of the rescue if fall outs happen; no risk of unwanted pregnancies and birth complications/dead babie/too many babies. Considering the steep learning curve quite a few members have been through on that score (me included), that level of security and support surely must be worth somewhat?

Personally, I find that waiting for a special piggy really enhances the joy of getting it; even if it doesn't always have to be the full 10 weeks pregnancy watch (like for my dream piggy Caron) or even the three months I had wait for Taffy from when I fell for her big sad eyes just after she was rescued until she and her rescue born daughter were ready to make the long journey. But she is certainly more precious to me for that!
 
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zez said:
"I personally don't think photos are good enough, anyone could take photos of accomadtion of the internet, and until you have been to someones house to talk to them it is hard to be able to tell who is genuine and who isn't. "

nothing personal X-vic-x, i know you are just doing your job, but this is what i have an issue with, sorry to say. Its the "assume i am trying to get an animal by any means fair of foul". I guess I've always thougth that if someone is the kind of person to pinch photos of a good set up that isn't theirs in order to get a pair of rescues piggies adn then stick them in totally unsuitable housing, they probably aren't the kind or people to seek out a resuce piggy - rather they'd just go to a pet shop. I hate the assumption that i, or anyone else would bother to lie and try and defraud resuce, that i am that bad a person that i want my animals to knowingly suffer. I know there are bad people out there, but i just didn't see them getting their pets from genuine rescues. Maybe I'm wrong.

My judgement is clouded by an experience i have had with a dog resuce. I have italian greyhounds - tiny fraglile dogs - and a 3 adn 5 year old. I already had an iggy, kids were proven to be calm and safe around her. Was happy to have my home visited to attest to this fact and so rescue could see how my kids were around these fragile dogs. But no, all kids under 8 are too boisterous apparently adn my dogs were at risk. And with children, there will be toys everywhere that the dog will trip and hurt themselves on. I do not live like that! It was a blanket no, for another 5 years, guilty until proven innocent. So my lonely Belle (who clearly wanted a friend) should live as a single dog in the meantime. Needless to say I got a puppy from a breeder, all is well and I've proven myself a responsible owner, nursing one dog through a leg break (nothing to do with the kids!) and another through meningitis, steroids and chemo. WIth all the associated vets bills. Per rescue i am still an unsuitable owner.

Unfortunately SOME piggie rescues have made me feel like this...to a much lesser degree.
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x-vic-x said:
but it is so hard to tell how big a hutch/cage is from a photo, I guess being a rescue you see the bad in people alot more than the good. Also maybe someone has a brand new 4ft hutch, but the garden doesn't have a secure fence and next door have a dog? there are lots of things you can't tell from a photo. One instance we had a child take a photo contact the rescue, when we got there to do the home visit the parents didn't want another piggy.

I wouldn't send my own animals to live somewhere without meeting the people first and seeing where they are going, so I'm not prepared to send my foster ones.
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I agree with both posts.

Firstly, my girlfriend and her family lost their 14 year old rescue Staffy last year, the previous year they'd bought a puppy from a breeder. When the Staffy (Jade) died, they looked into finding the puppy (Sapphire) a new friend. So they contacted a rescue near them (can't remember it's name, somewhere near Horsham, West Sussex ) and they were completely ignored for weeks after discussing the possibility of rehoming a young male Staffy cross. They only got back in contact with them to tell them AFTER he'd already been rehomed by another family.

She's also contacted local ferret, guinea-pig and rabbit rescues and had similar disheartening experiences, they either see her set-ups which are perfectly adequate, or just the house itself and disregard them taking on any animal. She now takes in lots of animals from 'free to good home' ads online and strays from her local vet clinic. Most rescues just want 'picture perfect' lifestyles for the animals they have, sod the amount of time, experience, money and space someone's offering, if it's not 'just right' in their eyes, they don't want to know! Some of them are too picky and this is possibly another reason why so many animals are in rescue, they're just not giving potential owners a chance, they're too choosy, they're too strict.

But I'm going to completely contradict myself here and wholeheartedly agree that a photo does not explain anything at all and is nowhere near enough for rescues to conclude that this home is ideal for a certain animal. I know from working at the LETBR (it's a Boxer dog rescue but the name is really long lol) when I was a kid and how meticulous they were about it, but they have people up and down and all over the country working with them, doing home checks for them and 'delivering' dogs to new homes.

I've seen two sides to rescues, but in most cases they need to have that 'strictness' about them as it's the animals' lives and futures we're talking about, but some can be a bit OTT about it.

Yea, I'm planning to open a rescue one day with my girlfriend so my negative views on it are probably ridiculous lol, but it's the only thing I will ever genuinely want to do with my life. To be honest I think my girlfriend would be able to open a ferret rescue right now and rehabilitation for ones who are either biters, are malnourished and just need reminding how to be a ferret again because she's taken in a lot of strays who just don't even know how to simply play!

Rescues do so much for animals, but then they should be obligated to educate people as well, not just reject them as potential owners. I see both sides of the story.
 
Ive looked online at rescues, but honestly I find their strict requirements and home visits extremely intimidating. Just reading the adoption requirements is enough alone to conjure up a huge fail in my mind. Id love to adopt from a rescue, but I'm quite shy and a home visit from a stranger to inspect standards, is just my worst nightmare. But I do totally understand why they have these requirements, I'm just sharing why I havent adopted from an official rescue.
Most of my animals are unwanted pets and have come in tiny cages and hutches where they have been mostly ignored. My conscience is clear that I provide the best that is possible for all of them, but I also fear my best isnt good enough. Despite giving them all larger cages and hutches with runs (I have a shed full of tiny indoor rabbit and guinea pigs cages and 2 hutches)
2 days ago a lone guinea pig came to me in a tiny hutch that the bottom was just about hanging on and the wire mesh at the front is all bent inwards from where the pet dog hurled itself at to get to the guinea pig. Poor thing is still frightened to death. Ive put her in a nice clean albeit indoor cage with hay (she came with no hay, I dont think she was given any at all, and no food bowl. How she was fed I have no idea!) and some hidey holes. The indoor cage is not the best for her, but plans are in motion to get her a bigger home and a friend. Given her conditions before I consider her a "rescue" even though she didnt come officially from one.
 
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