New piggies :) but not mine :(

[FrankieBenny]

Yesterday morning I was rudely awakened by my friend knocking on my door. When I opened it all he said was "How big is your spare hutch again?" haha

His wife had mentioed to me a while ago that a single boar had arrived at the animal rescue her sister works at and they were thinking of getting him but had been reserved by the time they got there but they had decided to get a pair at some point which was when I offered the hutch.

His wife and MIL had taken the kids away for a week and he wanted to surprise them when they got home (she is experienced with piggies so it was fine). In typical fashionmy friend had left it til the last minute to sort it all out so my quiet morning at home turned into a rather frantic hutch moving and set up rolleyes (they were due home in a few hours)

He said to me that he knows I'll tell him off for going to p@h rather than rescue but he wanted to surprise his 3 year old boy (currently suffering from leukaemia 8... ) so I agreed to help!

His next question was "Dont suppose you can get a start-up kit together?" rolleyes 20mins later he was fully kitted out for the new arrivals!

Yep you guessed it.....next question....."Are you busy for the next hour or so?" rolleyes

Despite my dislike for p@h I went in and the lady was really good, she was impressed with the setup I'd sorted and was glad we knew what we were doing. Friend chose 2 girls who I have to say are very gorgeous. At the same time I got chatting to a customer who was looking at the giant rabbits they had in and managed to give her lots of info so yay 2 good deeds in one morning!

Bit of a long kinda pointless thread but new piggies are always exciting arent they?

Oh they have been named Mabel and Pippin despite their little boy wanting to call them Spiderman and Ironman

 

[PiggiePal]

What a shame you didn't go to Windwhistle warren to pick a couple of pigs from there. They currently have 40+ looking for new homes :-/

 

[twiams]

You've done a great thing helping that little boy get some new piggies ! i'm sure they'll brighten up your life a little.
And who can complain where the piggies come from !
Your the one that will probably be nagged for any information so no worries about any false info !
Well done, sounds like you've got some piggies a great home (:

 

[twiams]

What a shame you didn't go to Windwhistle warren to pick a couple of pigs from there. They currently have 40+ looking for new homes :-/

It was mentioned in the thread there wasn't really time for something like that, and although rescues are great, an awesome home was given to some piggies that may have ended up going somewhere else where someone didn't have a clue about them !
So it's not really a shame, 2 piggies still got a great home which is all that matters :x

 

[FrankieBenny]

I did tell him about Windwhistle as thats where I'm going hoping my bunnies can be bonded and that it would be better to wait but he wanted them there and then I thoughtit better to go with him and help with setting up/settling in than leaving him to it as its his wife who is the experienced one not him and she wasnt around

 

[FrankieBenny]

Thanks Twiams when they visited hereI showed them my piggies and their son thought they were brilliant fat hamsters hahaha he is a very loving little boy despite what he is going through and will make a great piggy owner (with our help of course) lol

 

[PiggiePal]

I did tell him about Windwhistle as thats where I'm going hoping my bunnies can be bonded and that it would be better to wait but he wanted them there and then I thoughtit better to go with him and help with setting up/settling in than leaving him to it as its his wife who is the experienced one not him and she wasnt around

All too indicative of todays society unfortunately. Must get what i want immediately! mallethead! :<>

Hope the bunny bonding goes well. Alice is an expert and she usually has around 100 rabbits looking for homes at any one time :-)

 

[Shuvvy]

All too indicative of todays society unfortunately. Must get what i want immediately! mallethead! :<>

He wanted to surprise his little boy to take his mind of his cancer. Give the guy a break

 

[Floydie]

Well done for helping out.

Why must everyone jump on others all the time, People have a choice and rescue doesn't always fit in with everyone.

Every thread ive clicked on lately someone has jumped on someone else to tell them how wrong they are for not going to a rescue, back off if anything this atitude will put people off. Its added pressure and not many people do well under pressure!

 

[willow]

I guess sometimes it's difficult for us to understand.. :{
One minute people are saying how bad P@H are, the next, congratulating someone for supporting them by buying guineas there.
As ive probably said before, you may feel good for helping a piggie to escape from P@H, but somewhere the parent guineas are being forced to produce babies over and over again to fill the empty cages.

take a look behind the scenes..i know it's not piggies, but the set up will be similar
http://www.brecklagh.com/petshops.html

 

[Amysmom]

I am so horrified sometimes by what I read on here.
Sometimes peoples passion for rescue guinea pigs blinds them to the 'full' picture,

He made it clear that the little boy has Cancer so what does it matter where the Piggys have come from?

People really need to stop themselves from jumping in and preaching.
We all know rescue is best but sometimes it's not right at that moment in time.

Also that link that keeps been put on is horrendous but not the way ALL Piggys are treated that go into petshops.

 

[FrankieBenny]

I guess sometimes it's difficult for us to understand.. :{
One minute people are saying how bad P@H are, the next, congratulating someone for supporting them by buying guineas there.
As ive probably said before, you may feel good for helping a piggie to escape from P@H, but somewhere the parent guineas are being forced to produce babies over and over again to fill the empty cages.

take a look behind the scenes..i know it's not piggies, but the set up will be similar
http://www.brecklagh.com/petshops.html

I am well aware ofthe horrible conditions on breeding farms which is why my friend knew I would advise against going to a pet shop and I had told him rescue would be better but he wanted them quickly as a surprise for his sick son.

I'm on this forum alot reading and enjoying many of the posts on here but I dont post very often. I just wanted to share a story and even knowing not everyone here agrees with buying from petshops I still posted about helping my friend.

Yes of course rescue is best but individuals also have a choice of where to go whether it for supplies or animals themselves. Its not very fair to be harsh in replies when I clearly stated in the 1st and later posts that I had advised rescue but it was his choice to go to the shop. What wasI supposed to do? Refuse to help when I know I am in a position to offer advice? Or maybe I should have let him go alone with the risk of receiving bad advice and not coming to me for help incase I got angry that he didnt rescue? I did what I felt was right.

 

[Claire W]

I guess sometimes it's difficult for us to understand.. :{
One minute people are saying how bad P@H are, the next, congratulating someone for supporting them by buying guineas there.
As ive probably said before, you may feel good for helping a piggie to escape from P@H, but somewhere the parent guineas are being forced to produce babies over and over again to fill the empty cages.

take a look behind the scenes..i know it's not piggies, but the set up will be similar
http://www.brecklagh.com/petshops.html

I really wish that you hadn't have put this link on here. My gerbils, hamsters, rats (past and present), one of my piggies and my degu who i thought i had done a good thing for all came from pets at home and now I feel like total crap!

 

[FrankieBenny]

I really wish that you hadn't have put this link on here. My gerbils, hamsters, rats (past and present), one of my piggies and my degu who i thought i had done a good thing for all came from pets at home and now I feel like total crap!

I think as Amysmom said that is a very extreme case and not all breeders are like that. I think everyone would agree that rescue is best but I would never have a go at someone for deciding to buy instead. Both my piggies are from p@h over 3 years ago. In future I will rescue but I dont feel bad about getting them there in the past.

I dont have a problem with people giving advice about rescuing and the conditions most shop bought animals come from its good to raise awareness but to just be (in some cases ive seen on other threads) extremely harsh and post upsetting links (we all know it happens we dont need to see it) is going a bit far.

 

[Claire W]

I think as Amysmom said that is a very extreme case and not all breeders are like that. I think everyone would agree that rescue is best but I would never have a go at someone for deciding to buy instead. Both my piggies are from p@h over 3 years ago. In future I will rescue but I dont feel bad about getting them there in the past.

I dont have a problem with people giving advice about rescuing and the conditions most shop bought animals come from its good to raise awareness but to just be (in some cases ive seen on other threads) extremely harsh and post upsetting links (we all know it happens we dont need to see it) is going a bit far.

My other three piggies are from rescues and I would never buy a piggy from a pet shop again but I wouldn't swap Eliza (from p@h) for the world.

My Marley (degu) came from pets at home adoption centre. I was very careful to do my research on him before adopting him. He had been returned to p@h twice as the first time, him and his brother had fallen out and the second time, the new owner didn't realise how much attention a single degu craved so I liked the idea of giving him his last and final home.

I'm looking at all my little rodents now imagining them in those horrendous conditions. I just don't think we needed to see it in this thread

 

[Connie]

I agree that sometimes we jump on people for where there piggies came from, but it is important to remember how frustrating it must be for someone who is running a rescue full to the brim of piggies needing homes to hear "oh but I wanted it now" because in this case I understand the reason, however that is something that happens frequently, and if every single person says "oh but its quicker" then nobody will ever rescue.

Also for me personally its about the shocking statistics that are how many sick, pregnant, miss sex piggies come from these places.

 

[Trish&Ewan]

I hope the little boy enjoys his piggies, what a sad thing, he deserves some happiness x

 

[willow]

Apologies if link has been posted before. I hadn't seen it.
I fight constantly to try and get a ban on pets being sold in shops which is why I get slightly passionate about it. (My MP is fed up with me badgering him that he no longer replies to me)
I really hope that the little boy is happy with his piggies, and that they don't have any health problems.

 

[twiams]

rolleyes
Why can't everyone just be happy for this little boy ?

 

[Connie]

Everyone is happy for the little boy. Its lovely that he gets to experience having guinea pigs the way we all do. But it would also be lovely if the guinea pigs he experienced having had been giving a second chance from a local rescue.

Rescue piggies can still be a surprise, I'm sure if someone wanting a suprise pair (particularly if the parents were the ones looking for the surprise) were to ring up a rescue everything could be done (like the home check - they may have just wished to see the hutch you were giving them as well) covertly, and they could still have been collected in time.

 

[jamarcham]

Well, poor FrankieBenny!

S/he has undoubtedly helped these piggies have a better set-up than they might have done, can no doubt help more in the future and was not the person who didn't do the planning!

I think we should close this thread and give FB a break.

 

[Connie]

I dont think anyone has critisised the OP. I think he/she did a lovely thing helping their friend! I was merly trying to help people see it from the rescues/rescuers point of view when it comes to their attitudes on people buying from pet shops.

 

[Amysmom]

It happens time and time again on here-comments made when somebody says they had Piggys from a petshop and I guess it will continue to keep happening.

I totally understand why people are so passionate about rescuing Piggys but I don't think it's fair that members who don't realise about how many Piggys there are in rescue get 'jumped on' and preached at.

Maybe people (and that includes myself) who have bought Piggys from petshops shouldn't be allowed to be a member here-yes that's extreme but it's not right to make people feel bad for where they had their much loved Piggys from.

Perhaps it should be a forum for people who have got rescue Piggys only although I'm not sure there would be a big number of members if that was to happen.

I'm sure that if new members who have bought petshop Piggys were warmly welcomed and educated about the amount of Piggys in rescue centres needing forever homes there would be even more members which means more people being educated about Piggys needing homes. I'm sure there are people who sign up to join this forum then see some of the threads and the comments that are made and don't bother with the forum again-so that's another person lost who could be educated about Piggys needing homes and caring for their piggy correctly.

 

[Connie]

Nobody was jumping on the Op! For starters it wasnt her piggy, so it wasnt her decision. he/she did exactly the right thing giving her friend all the information. She was kind, helpfull, and educated someone.

People were just pointing out how sad it is that this lovely home didnt end up being for some rescue pigs that deserve a second chance.

 

[Claire W]

I have already said what I wanted to say but I now think this thread is going round in circles mallethead

The OP clearly wrote the thread stating how he / she had spent the day helping oyt a friend to locate and set up a hutch for his poorly boys new pet guinea pigs.

The thread has now turned in to yet another debate which I am sure the OP didn't wish for

I think it should be closed

 

[gogoguineas]

Everyone has a choice, even if they are well educated on the pros of rescuing, they can choose to do as they wish and we need to respect that. The same way everyone has an opinion and the right to freedom of speech to voice said opinion.
There was a saying 'i may not agree with everything you say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it'.

The situation unfortuately did not suit a regular rescue circumstance but a poorly kiddie is happy and two piggies have homes.

Now, this forum is RESCUE FRIENDLY. Which means we are pro rescue, not rescue preach. Nor is it 'rescue or be outed'. If we kindly help and advise it would be more beneficial for everyone.
So more of the friendly please! -c

 

[Amysmom]

I'm sure there must be other people who came onto this forum just wanting friendly advice but ended up in the middle of some kind of debate and didnt bother to come back.

Unfortunately my daughter doesn't log on much anymore because she feels that it's not a friendly place, I'm sure she's not the only one who feels that way.

 

[PiggiePal]

Nobody was jumping on the Op! For starters it wasnt her piggy, so it wasnt her decision. he/she did exactly the right thing giving her friend all the information. She was kind, helpfull, and educated someone.

People were just pointing out how sad it is that this lovely home didnt end up being for some rescue pigs that deserve a second chance.

I second this. Apologies to FrankieBenny if they feel anything was directed at them. I think it's great that you're helping your neighbour learn the right ways to keep piggies.

It appears to be everyone else that has blown this particular thread of of all proportion! :{

 

[Chappers]

Spiderman and ironman are class names.

Ours wanted to call his Thomas. He was talked round to muffin.

However muffin is getting a mrs and she will be called Mia. I wanted Molly.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

We are a 'Rescue Friendly' forum, and I like to place the emphasis on 'friendly'. It saddens me that just lately we seem to be turning into a dictactorship. When Ellie started this forum it was to enable like-minded people the chance to chat about their guinea pigs, to share experiences and advice and to make people aware that there are rescues out there, with lots of very lovely piggies needing that special forever home. When we got our first guinea pigs we had no idea that guinea pig rescues existed. I knew dogs and cats could be in a rescue but it never crossed my mind that guinea pigs and rabbits would be too. I am sure many people are still unaware of the rescue option, and we can give them plenty of information to enable them to make a decision about where to obtain their pets from. However, neither Ellie or I wish this forum to become one where it's 'my way or no way'. Everyone is welcome here, but all we ask is that the intentional breeding and showing of guinea pigs is not discussed here.

Please can we keep things friendly!