C
chuffnut cavies
Hello folks - I have finally signed onto this forum. I run the Melbourne shelter for the Australian Cavy Sanctuary...
And when I googled myself tonight, I found this thread: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32441
It was a bit rough to hear so many issues with me not contacting Bonnie when she was enquiring about adopting a couple of my boys...so I feel I should have at least some chance to "explain" myself, mainly because there were some reasonably mean comments made on that thread (oh, and some really understanding, nice ones too!).
OK - I run a shelter through the ACS - Only done so because Jess (ACS founder) asked me to - piggies are my hobby, NOT my sole occupation, not my income-earner - my hobby. And I am the only ACS and piggy dedicated shelter in the whole of Melbourne, and at the stage Bonnie was adopting, the only one in Victoria.
I also work a full time job that often has crazy hours and massive demands on my time, and my stress levels. And I also have second casual job.
When Bonnie first made enquiries to adopt, I was still in shock (and still am) after losing more than a dozen friends in the Victoria (Black Saturday) bushfires - and my own home was threatened by the fire, as was my husbands 2nd property only a week before the Feb 7th fires. I also lost 2 gorgeous antique train carriages in the Black Saturday fires. The funerals for my friends had only started around the time Bonnie first made an enquiry to adopt but the last of the funerals wasn't until July - all because the Coronor couldn't identify people's remains so we couldn't even bury our dead until many many months later.
Bonnie did make a note that I had cancelled collection of her piggies due to illness - it wasn't a cold - I have recently been diagnosed with a range of debilitating food allergies that can wipe me out for days if I eat the wrong thing. And I hadn't, at that stage, been diagnosed so had no idea what was causing my ongoing illness.
Add to that, my involvement in many local-community issues, trying to protect the bushland and wildlife habitat throughout Victoria, especially under threat since the bushfires. I also do wildlife rescue.
And being the only ACS shelter in Victoria, I was totally over-run with piggy rescues and have gone from 13 animals as personal pets, to over 130 animals in under 12 months of being a shelter. I had more than 80 when Bonnie made contact. And many came to me in terrible condition - fungal, mites, malnourished, pregnant.
So, if I delay in getting back to people re. adoptions, well, I beg forgiveness, and ask only that people think twice about other peoples personal circumstances before they start having digs at them on a world-wide forum.
And that includes Programming-Pat who was attempting to become an ACS shelter but he, and the facility he intended to run the shelter from, are piggy and rabbit breeders, and their animals were kept in hideous conditions...I approached their request diplomatically and tried to have them understand what is required of them to be a shelter (ie. no breeding, good piggy knowledge, $$ for vet/produce/treatments), but after they refused to listen, I had to be blunt about the issues with their setup and lack of piggy knowledge. They didn't like this, and they now attempt to defame me wherever they can. So, I was certainly pleased that others on the forum could see what Pat was about, and that the thread was closed.
I hope this lengthy post doesn't p*$& folks off too much.
And when I googled myself tonight, I found this thread: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=32441
It was a bit rough to hear so many issues with me not contacting Bonnie when she was enquiring about adopting a couple of my boys...so I feel I should have at least some chance to "explain" myself, mainly because there were some reasonably mean comments made on that thread (oh, and some really understanding, nice ones too!).
OK - I run a shelter through the ACS - Only done so because Jess (ACS founder) asked me to - piggies are my hobby, NOT my sole occupation, not my income-earner - my hobby. And I am the only ACS and piggy dedicated shelter in the whole of Melbourne, and at the stage Bonnie was adopting, the only one in Victoria.
I also work a full time job that often has crazy hours and massive demands on my time, and my stress levels. And I also have second casual job.
When Bonnie first made enquiries to adopt, I was still in shock (and still am) after losing more than a dozen friends in the Victoria (Black Saturday) bushfires - and my own home was threatened by the fire, as was my husbands 2nd property only a week before the Feb 7th fires. I also lost 2 gorgeous antique train carriages in the Black Saturday fires. The funerals for my friends had only started around the time Bonnie first made an enquiry to adopt but the last of the funerals wasn't until July - all because the Coronor couldn't identify people's remains so we couldn't even bury our dead until many many months later.
Bonnie did make a note that I had cancelled collection of her piggies due to illness - it wasn't a cold - I have recently been diagnosed with a range of debilitating food allergies that can wipe me out for days if I eat the wrong thing. And I hadn't, at that stage, been diagnosed so had no idea what was causing my ongoing illness.
Add to that, my involvement in many local-community issues, trying to protect the bushland and wildlife habitat throughout Victoria, especially under threat since the bushfires. I also do wildlife rescue.
And being the only ACS shelter in Victoria, I was totally over-run with piggy rescues and have gone from 13 animals as personal pets, to over 130 animals in under 12 months of being a shelter. I had more than 80 when Bonnie made contact. And many came to me in terrible condition - fungal, mites, malnourished, pregnant.
So, if I delay in getting back to people re. adoptions, well, I beg forgiveness, and ask only that people think twice about other peoples personal circumstances before they start having digs at them on a world-wide forum.
And that includes Programming-Pat who was attempting to become an ACS shelter but he, and the facility he intended to run the shelter from, are piggy and rabbit breeders, and their animals were kept in hideous conditions...I approached their request diplomatically and tried to have them understand what is required of them to be a shelter (ie. no breeding, good piggy knowledge, $$ for vet/produce/treatments), but after they refused to listen, I had to be blunt about the issues with their setup and lack of piggy knowledge. They didn't like this, and they now attempt to defame me wherever they can. So, I was certainly pleased that others on the forum could see what Pat was about, and that the thread was closed.
I hope this lengthy post doesn't p*$& folks off too much.
it's awful how so many things all seem to happen at once 