Why Rescue A Piggy? Our Success Stories...

[Pebble]

Next a series of single boys – many of whom can’t be neutered for health reasons and are also not very boar-friendly so bonding is difficult to say the least!

Carson – again from Glynneath in 2011.

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He didn’t like any of the other rescue boars so originally came to me along with another norty boy Jackson for fostering whilst being neutered. Jackson was duly de-baubled and went back to Glynneath to be rehomed with a lovely wifepig. However it became apparent Carson had developing health issues so he wasn’t neutered and ended up staying with me permanently. Carson has urinary and gut issues and is on a special diet which unfortunately means no green veggies so instead he has dried herbage, fresh grass and the occasional piece of celery, cucumber, carrot or baby corn. He still lives on his own as he is scared of any and every pig – even girlies - which suggests he didn;t benefit from socialising with other guineas before he came into rescue.....born out by the fact he was on his own at the bottom of the garden in a tiny hutch and mostly ignored.He does now enjoy being in the same room and listening to the others, he will come out and let me stroke his head and has a very funny way of chewing the bars when he wants attention or food.

Next was mini-Maple – or Hathaway as he is now called –one of a group of young boys rescued from a petting farm and piggy trained up to Glynneath. It was love at first sight as he was the spitting image of one of my Rainbow Bridge Boars, Maple.

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Unfortunately Hathaway turned out to be a rather norty boy and wouldn’t bond with any of my single boars.......more on him later.

Rowan –


again from Glynneath in May 2011 when she was 4mnths old. She is a beautiful dainty little piggy who I got spayed by Simon and she found love with Bandit who I rescued from a garden centre in 2008.

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When Bandit passed away in 2012 she joined another recent addition – Mr Alan Maggots – again from Glynneath.

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Alan was handed into Rescue in 2012 by his then owners in a tiny cage that was inch deep in maggots – hence his name. Unfortunately he developed a serious heart condition – a result of an infection at some point in his past that had infected the heart valve. His time with Rowan was brief – approx a year – before he had to be PTS last summer as his heart could no longer cope.

Rowan is now with Hathaway having rejected both Carson and........

Big Boy Lewis –


a beautiful pink-eyed golden roan I removed from a garden centre in 2012. He and his brother had been handed in as unwanted fully grown adults. Unfortunately his brother had died so they had put a baby female rabbit in with him for company.....and he was rogering the poor little doe senseless when I discovered him. The garden centre would not separate and because Lewis was fully grown I persuaded them to let me have him as he probably wouldn’t be sold. Despite having a chronic respiratory condition, Lewis is still as boisterous as ever. He spent a brief period of time with Hathaway before they fell out – although they do still like their cages to be next to each other - and then failed miserably trying to find a friend when he went boar dating at Glynneath. It may well be time for Lewis to lose his plums and find a wifepig.

Sammy – from Glynneath – came here last year to be a friend for Bailey – but Bailey objected to Sammy’s stinky behaviour and bit his willy rather badly and poor Sammy had to have emergency surgery on his todger. He was then tried with Hathaway and they lived together for a few weeks.......


........ before Sammy got fed up with Hathaway humping him and bit his lip. Sammy is currently waiting to find a nice new friend but only once he has got his recent dental problems sorted. He cannot be neutered as he had a bad reaction to his last anaesthetic so now goes up to Northampton to see Uncle Simon for all his dental work. Sammy has lost one of his bottom incisors permanently so needs regular dental checks.

To be continued

 

[Pebble]

Finally I offered to rehome two single boars from a private individual last summer on the proviso they could be bonded with one of my single boys above.

Sadly Little Ed found Lewis too overbearing......





And whilst he was single again waiting to try with Sammy, he developed an extremely virulent URI overnight and had to be put to sleep at the end of October.


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Post mortem showed it wasn’t viral as we thought but probably Bordetella.



Randy Dandy is as norty and “in your face” as Lewis –




he is currently living next door to Sammy in the hope that some time in the New Year we can see if the two will bond. If not, Dandy will be tried with Lewis, although given both of them are extremely dominant I do not holdout much hope. As a last resort Dandy may have to be de-plummed and a wife-pig sought for him....which means we will also need to find a spayed wifepig for Sammy.


So currently I have 5 from Glynneath, one from Bramley, one from Rugby, two from a private individual and one from a garden centre. Sadly two of those Rescues have closed recently.......and aside from the neglect cases which are always treated by Rescues as a matter of urgency and can sometimes involve large numbers of piggies in one uplift; there are also too many piggies on waiting lists for Rescue spaces because e.g. the kids have grown tired of them/developed allergies, the pair of boars bought have fallen out, or the sows were pregnant and have had babies....many of these piggies ere originally bought from a pet store.

By re-homing a Rescue pig you not only help that pig....but you help another one get into Rescue. There are plenty to choose from and often the Rescues have baby pigs because a lot of the females taken in are pregnant. Not only that, if you go to a reputable rescue, you get a pig that is healthy, you get lifetime support....and you get help with bonding.

x

 

[xX Ginger and Friends Xx]

I shall tell you about Gingerness and Zoey

A long long time ago. . . .. . . ok ok ill change it (zoey stepped on my keyboard so i guess she doesnt like this beginning
. . .

Anyway , i wanted a little pet (as i got a horse and a cat. . . yes , am kinda spoiled. . )so i thought about a hamster too little then a rat . . it climbes cat would attack it.Then i remembered about my dad , he had a piggie too so then it was to adopt one.So we looked at Gumtree , there was a man which had a whole shed of rabbits and piggies (No, they weren't standing on each other's heads) so we helped him and adopted 2 piggies , we gave him £10 more as he has a jolly and careful man and his job was selling piggies AND his other job.Ginger peed my mom (as we could get to know them while talking) and Zoey thought my hair was some kind of jungle . Then we just relaxed and looked at the piggies how they were getting on every 10 mins. Teh End !! Now Zoey will write something as she is on my lap = rfeuiifvjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjukjf there we go

Oh i forgot , the man rescued ginger and her mum for a park

 

[Bekki]

Thought I would add mine, like any responsible pet owner should I spent months researching piggies, approximately 6 if I recall correctly so that every detail of their life was firmly in my head, I read a zillion health and illness threads from this forum and guinea lynx as well as guinea pig cages so I was well aware of signs and symptoms and should be able to spot them in a prey animal good at hiding such things, with internet access almost everywhere I feel ignorance is no excuse. I already knew rescues existed and had checked my local RSPCA who had none, it was at this point I learned of smaller rescues and found NEGPR I looked through their website and Georges face hit me and I knew him and his husboar were right for me and I adopted them 2 months later, my mum had to drive me there. Best decision I ever made loved them to bits on meeting them

This is george, Peppa is still with me and is the brown one on my DP.

 

[sport_billy]

Our 3rd and 4th piggies Cookie & Treacle were our first ever Rescue Piggies, we them found through this forum from Walsall RSPCA
We had space for another cage so said we would try and offer a home to any female piggies Walsall had in. Luckily for us these were the pair available and we passed our home check.

They arrived on March 20th 2011. They were so friendly and really interactive with us from the start. We would be greeted everyday with a chorus of wheeks whenever we went into the front room where they lived. They would also dangle out of the cage whenever it was opened waiting for noms.....

Once we moved house, they lived in the front room with us (which was one of the main reasons for wanting to move) One call of 'Girls, girls, girls' would have them run to the bars waiting for veggies Cookie is very outgoing and into everything and Treacle her sister was very gentle and would always follow her sisters lead into mischief

Cookie is still with us but unfortunately Treacy Bum passed away after a battle with Lymphoma in April 2013. Here are a section of photos of them below

 

[Lucyspiggies12]

My two girls were adopted in May last year from assis animal sanctuary, they had been there for six months as nobody was interested in them because of their red eyes, they are so sweet and I love them to pieces they make me soo happy

I will be adopting a castrated boar from the same sanctuary this Thursday! Will let you all know how it goes

 

[LisaAli]

Any time any of us have a bad day at work - just read these stories it perks you up no-end...

 

[jade Williams]

I've just rescued two more baby piggies from an owner that didn't want them will post a picture tomorrow when there a bit more settled x

 

[jade Williams]

These are the boys I rescued This is haywire on my jigsaw named him that because he is so cheerful even what he has been through This is Rodney he is the other one I rescued there obviously two different litters and both have colds. These boys have been through so much I just had to say yes and get them. Most of the guinea pigs found where rehomed but we recon that the person doing this didn't know what they were doing and bred piggies for the hell of it! Makes me angry! :@

 

[CAROL-ANNE]

hi this is Oscar and Song sorry I can't seem to get photos up on here. Oscar was on his own for months in the pet shop, I could stand it no longer and brought him home, . After a quick call to the SSPCA for some advice he was booked in to the vets to be nuetured. He then spent the next six weeks getting to know and trust me. I had contacted Hutches Rescue and he was safe we went to Hutches and got Song. They seem very happy together, Oscar never really made any noise till I got Song (she is very vocal) he is not as loud but mutters around. I am so glad I rescued as there are far to many animals discarded, but I still feel sorry for the ones in the shops.

 

[Bristolbelle]

Well I got my girls from the Littlest rescue in Bristol just over a week ago. I decided I wanted piggies after visiting Noah's Ark farm Zoo and handling some during the petting sessions they held there. I work in a care home and pet therapy is really expensive and as well as wanting some piggies for myself I did enough research to know that they would be perfect for the elderly people I work with too! So I started looking at pet shops - but there was a lot of information on a certain website about this, and I decided that was NOT the way to go. Then I looked up rescues in Bristol and saw two wonderful boys that i thought were going to be mine. They were 4 mounths old, brothers and I though ideal. I decided still not to go for it until I had done more research, but when I went to the rescue i really thought they were going to be the ones I'd get. The odd ting is as soon as I met them I knew they were the wrong ones for me. They were gorgeous, but now I knew about terrible teens, and potentially smelly oil glands, but the thing that really clinched it was they were too perfect. I'm pretty bog standard normal, the people I work with have many medical conditions to contend with as well as being elderly frail. I needed guinea pigs that would fit in this way. So I asked the lady at the rescue if she had any she thought might not be very re-homable, and she had two sisters that had only come in a few days before four year olds that had been well loved and looked after but had to be surrendered due to a change in circumstance. It was love at first sight.... and this is their version of events so far:-
"We thought we would "paws" for thought and drop you a quick note. It's been quite a frantic week or so for us. First we met our new family, had trips to the garden, days out in our playpen, and today.... well today was Easter Sunday, and we made our début at this old folks home. You should have heard all the squeals and squeaks and that wasn't us! Of course everyone loved us - well even we know we are adorable and guinea pigs aren't known for being super intelligent.
First we had to go in a pet carrier and then in car - of course we were really chilled about it all took it all in our stride. We were both a bit hesitant when "piggy slave" assembled our cage in a large lounge and all these strange people kept coming in and out making cooing sounds. But "piggy slave" had taken in a pot of titbits and well you know how piggies love to eat! So after about an hour we were happy to let all the old folks sit around and watch us nibbling and much to thier delight and amusement pooing - strange lot humans. Then later in the day "piggy slave" took us down to see some more people she said they had dementia they seemed ok to us. She put our playpen up and we ran about playing hide and seek in cardboard tubes and under newspaper tunnels. We made some new friends too. One human doesn't talk to other humans, but he chatted to us and he stroked Fudge and said "come back" when it was time to leave. Another lady finds it very hard to control her arms, but she concentrated really hard to smooth Toffee without hurting her. We liked the place a lot, and they all want us to go and live there, but "piggy slave" said we can't do that because there are some humans you just can't train to be "piggy slaves". We are going to try and go there at least once every two squeaks - I think that was what "piggy slave" meant. One lady said she didn't like guinea pigs and wanted "piggy slave" to get a dog instead, and another lady said "piggy slave" should get more than two piggies because there aren't enough piggies for everyone to cuddle. Sometimes "piggy slave" has to go to the place we visited today to do something called "work". But she isn't going tomorrow, so we have her working on the second story of our new des res, completed it will have two full floors, and an attic area and of course gentle safe "piggy ramps" with sides, and plenty of places to hide etc.
We had a bit of a job writing this as our paws were a bit small for the keyboard, so we dictated to "piggy slave".

Just got to go and demolish a salad bowl now - beetroot, lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, carrot, melon, grape, apple and salad cress - yep "piggy slave" isn't doing too badly for a beginner.

 

[Gelert]

Got my current pair from my local rescue center. I'd taken a two year break after my previous pair had passed on, but looking after the guinea pigs at college made me realise how much I missed having my own around!

Just by chance, I looked on the rescue's website, and, in the small animal section, there just so happened to be a pair of boars up for adoption. I rung up asking if they were still available, since it said that they'd been reserved. As it happened, that had fallen through, and off I went to see them. It was love at first sight. They hadn't had much attention from the public, mainly because one of them had red eyes, which were, in the opinion of many people, "creepy."

After a home check by the rescue, Harry and Ron (as they were then) became mine. Renamed them Radish and Chutney (previous guinea pigs also had food related names), and one and a half years later, they're a lot happier and getting fatter by the day!

 

[ashes]

out of the 6 i've had, 2 have been from a rescue centre and the other 4 were ones which we took in off friends and relatives to stop them going into rescue homes, as they were such lovely guinea pigs and I didn't want them to be spilt up so I took them in as my own.
It was probably the best decision I ever made

 

[lilpiggielover]

I posted my piggies story a bit in the intro's but since they are all rescues I can post in here too

My friend decided to get rid of her hutch after they lost their bunny... and I jumped at the chance! But it sat empty in my back garden for months as I couldn't quite bring myself to go out and buy baby piggies from the pet shop.

Then I saw a post on facebook for two male guinea pigs, the lady had just ended up with too many (how many she didn't say, but there were a fair few piggies in the pic).

So along came our first (well, since I was a kid anyway) piggies Ben and Jerry.

Quite happy. Then a friend posted that she wanted to find her lone boy a new home with piggie company, his older companion had died and as her daughter was now older and lost interest, they weren't going to get any more.

So Rocket (previously speedy, re-named by my son and so starting the 'theme').

After a while I managed to acquire another hutch. Which sat empty for a little while. Until I decided to get two girl piggies from a local rescue (becklen guinea pig rescue). I am not sure on the girls' background but they needed a home and I had one so....

Cornetto and Solero joined us

Then a few weeks later someone posted on facebook a free piggie, her sister had died last year.

So Fab joined the girls

All very well, until last night, when someone posted an adult and young female guinea pig free, didn't seem to bothered about where they were going either.

So Vienetta and her daughter Mini Milk joined us this morning!

I now have a hutch with 3 girls, one with 3 boys, one with mum and baby and a spare one if needed and I am sure I haven't stopped there! I can't stand it when people get rid of pets for free, you never know what sort of place they might end up.

 

[sindydoll]

I've so enjoyed this all the piggies are beautiful I would love to give them all a little cuddle.
So sorry about the darlings gone over the bridge,its lovely that you have taken the time to share this with everyone, thankyou

 

[Zar-Zar]

I absolutely love these stories. When I have room for more, I will most definitely adopt some lovely guineas from the nearby rescue. <3 May all you rescue guineas long, happy lives in your care (and for those that have passed, I'm sure they are eternally grateful for your care and are now happy living across the bridge).

 

[elfranco]

I had chilli and pepper from a little local rescue they came into the rescue with 7 other piggies. One has been living in a hamster cage so sad. I went to the rescue for two rabbits. I saw chilli and pepper and fell in love at the time tho I decided it was best to settle billy and poppy the rabbits into our home. I started to volunteer at the rescue few weekends and kept having cuddles not expecting them to be there long. Half the rescued piggies had gone to another rescue due to space. chilli and pepper was last ones left to be rehomed and the lady at the rescue knew i wanted them but didnt have cage/hutch she said she had one on stand from some bunnies she had rescued if i wanted to buy it . I knew I wanted them just needed to ask dh. He was reluctant so I took him to meet them he held them pepper nibbled him as he stopped fussing her and he fell in love too and said yea we deffinatly want them

 

[Pat Shields]

I will tell the story briefly of Redemption; many people know it already since I came here for help 3 years ago because I did not know a thing about guinea pigs except what they look like. It was a very hot summer day here in Missouri. I was at a yard sale. The woman there asked me did I want to buy a hamster. There was a pathetic little mouse cage in the sunshine that had enough urine in the bottom to slosh a little. There was a soggy paper towel in there along with some dry cat food, and a little creature hiding in the mouse wheel. I got a look at him and saw that it was not a hamster but a guinea pig. I did not know anything about guinea pigs but I knew that this guy was going to die if I did not take him home. For five dollars (3.14 pounds) she sold me the animal and the cage. It was so foul I could not bring it in the truck with me but had to put it outside in the back of the truck.
The woman at the yard sale (she was mentally challenged as in retarded, I am certain) told me the animal was about 3 months old. I discovered later after learning more about guinea pigs that he was probably no more than 3 weeks old at the most.
He grew up to be a lovely pig, but he was able to live only about 2 years. He got very bad bumblefoot in all feet even though I kept him on a proper surface; the guinea pig vet I found in St. Louis (they are rare on this side of the pond) said he probably was immunodeficient from being taken from his mother too early. Redemption got gangrene in one of his feet and since the vet said he probably had osteomyelitis, too, and would always be in some sort of pain, we decided it was best not to drag out a painful life. The vet gently put him to sleep.
I consider this a success story because I was able, with the forum's guidance, to give Red a life with love and lots of food as otherwise he would surely have died in that mouse cage in the heat; also because it taught me about guinea pigs and now I am no longer a stranger to them and I can care for Salvatore and know what to watch out for.

 

[PachaPigg]

I got my first piggy when I found him abandoned in a filthy fish tank by the side of the road, if you can believe it! Goes without saying, he was the first in a long, happy line of pig friends. Also had another one given to me when a family in my apartment building "got tired of it." (lots of those, sad to say). Another one was given to me by a local pet shop owner; the family had given it to him to find a good home as it was a terrible biter. (I'm sure the fact they let their child abuse the pig had "nothing at all" to do with his behavior) Yes, he WAS a horrible biter but with time, he became the sweetest little friend you could want. Have to say, though, when it comes to some of the organized rescues here in the States, I've had some bad experiences; one in particular in another, more affluent county than mine was very willing to help me adopt until they found out what part of the State I lived in; then they became extremely snobby and unwilling to let me adopt. It wasn't a rule that they couldn't adopt out of their area, understand, just that they didn't care for my part of town! I guess the fact I have owned pigs for years, have a great piggy vet within walking distance of my home, etc., didn't matter.....

 

[Sbhawkes]

It's so lovely to hear all your stories.

We believe in second chanes, which is why we found out new member of the family in an adoption centre, his name was 'cuddles' his previous owners decided that guinepigs wernt for them, so he was left behind.

He was very ting and skinny, very sky and jumpy but took to mummy's cuddles right away. (Which is me). He is now living with my much older boar, Harry. Who has now been a special member of the family for nearlly 5 years and is now completely in love with his adopted baby brother.

Cuddles has settled in, he's started tk eat and doesn't run away from me or my little boy, he loves cuddles (mainly with Harry) and loves to play! He's a changed pig. All thanks to a second chance.